Eric Stoddard (born 24 June 1975), is an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

and industrial designer who has worked for

DaimlerChrysler The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...

and Hyundai Kia Automotive Group.

Background

Stoddard was raised in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

and is the son of a violinist for the

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. History George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Compa ...

Early career

After graduating from the

Cleveland Institute of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at fir ...

in Cleveland, Ohio with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design, Eric worked as a designer at

from 1998 to 2002. In 2002 he was recruited to work for Hyundai Motor Company in Irvine, California. In 2008, Eric joined Hyundai in Korea.

DaimlerChrysler

While at the Chrysler Headquarters and Technology Center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Eric worked under Don Renkert to design the Chrysler Crossfire Concept released at the North American International Auto Show in 2001. Eric went on to become the lead exterior designer of the

production model Production vehicles or production cars are mass-produced identical models, offered for sale to the public, and able to be legally driven on public roads ( street legal). Legislation and other rules further define the production vehicle within part ...

of the

Chrysler Crossfire The Chrysler Crossfire is a rear-wheel drive, two-seat sports car that was sold by Chrysler and built by Karmann of Germany for the 2004 to 2008 model years. Developed during the union of Daimler and Chrysler, the two-seater is based on the ...

under Andrew Dyson. Eric was also the lead exterior designer on the Dodge SRT-4 as well as a contributing designer to the

Chrysler Pacifica Chrysler Pacifica is a nameplate used by Chrysler for a variety of vehicles. The name was first used on a luxury minivan concept vehicle in 1999, and later a crossover concept in 2002. From 2004 to 2008, it was used on a mid-size crossover, and ...

, 2003

Dodge Viper The Dodge Viper is a sports car that was manufactured by Dodge (by SRT for 2013 and 2014), a division of American car manufacturer FCA US LLC from 1992 until 2017, having taken a brief hiatus in 2007 and from 2010 to 2012. Production of the two- ...

and

Chrysler Sebring The Chrysler Sebring ( ) is a line of mid-size automobiles that was sold from 1995 through 2010 by Chrysler. Three generations of convertibles, two generations of sedans, and two generations of coupes were produced. Although the coupe shared the ...

Hyundai

In 2002, Eric was recruited as a senior designer to Hyundai Kia Automotive Group in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

. At Hyundai, under Design Chief Joel Piaskowski, Eric lead the exterior design of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe Concept unveiled at the 2007

LA Auto Show The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in early December. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition. It is open to the public for ten days each year, filling of exhibit s ...

, the Production 2010

Hyundai Genesis Coupe The Hyundai Genesis Coupe is a rear-wheel drive sports coupe from Hyundai Motor Company, first released on October 13, 2008, for the Korean market. It is Hyundai's first rear-wheel drive sports coupe, and shares its basic platform with the Hyundai ...

, the HCD-9 Talus Concept, the 2007

Hyundai Elantra The Hyundai Elantra, also known as the Hyundai Avante ( ko, 현대 아반떼), is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 1990. The Elantra was initially marketed as the ''Lantra'' in Australia and some European m ...

and KCD-1 Slice Concept.

Awards

Eric Stoddard is the recipient of a

Red Dot Design Award The Red Dot Design Award is a German international design prize awarded by Red Dot GmbH & Co. KG. There are prize categories for product design, brands and communication design, and design concept. Since 1955, designers and producers can appl ...

in 2009 for a bicycle design concept called the Zoomla and was a finalist for the 2010 Taipei Cycle Show for his bicycle entry the AutoVelo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoddard, Eric American automobile designers Chrysler designers People in the automobile industry Hyundai people DaimlerChrysler Living people 1975 births