I'm not a pro. However being someone who has read numerous books by people currently in the industry, and knowing what internal sketches look like, a pro from 30 years ago VS a pro from today, are two entirely different things. No offense to anyone in particular, it's just how things actually are these days. The styles used in the past were more focused on the body, with small wheels (which were more realistic), tall greenhouses and thin looking bodies. Today, the pros who work in the industry today, use two methods, underlays of current vehicles which may be up for redesign or a complete free hand sketch with no boundaries. The above sketch was a teaser from general motors and was used during the design development phase of the Solstice as an "Approved" design. Granted it does not fit the Solstice design almost at all technically, you can still tell unmistakably that it is in fact a Solstice. This is where the disconnect is here on the Forum. While designers use these type of sketches to fine tune their "ideas" or design language, the actual process takes weeks or sometimes months to morph from a stack of ideas (from numerous designers) into more ideation sketches and eventually into several realistically proportioned designs. So in essence anyone who asks for a realistic production ready design in a matter of weeks from amateur designers (including myself) are expecting too much. Also, many of the entrants are full time students or work full time and do not have the time to dedicate to this 100%. The design for the next Mustang began before the 2010 redesign was released. It's not done yet.

I think everyone harping on the "it doesn't fit the template" theme should sit back and enjoy the fact that Dave Smith and company has given the public the opportunity to influence and perhaps completely design the next product from factory Five. I've enjoyed the contest and appreciate my work being shared. I am defensive about criticism that is based on unfounded presumptions that a design proposal needs to be 100% production ready. Kachi, architecture is a completely different animal. However, even the most interesting and inspiring architectural "designs" challenge reality;
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb...0-FB919E6E.jpg