Like Cyberdemon, I thought that there was no way I wouldn’t be a car designer. I was racing and restoring cars by age 17. Nice cars. At 18 I drove #2286 Shelby Daytona Coupe at Road America. I’ve lost my fingerprints after sanding 80 hours for a paint job. “Gasoline in my veins” was an apt description.
Junior year I got into the car design class, usually only for seniors at my school. It was entirely boring. There wasn’t anything new to learn. My “Car Styling” magazines said it all, it was a styling-only exercise. (the frog ads on the back cover intrigued me more than the cars).
Also that year, at the Chicago car show, GM had a 2 story exhibit. The second floor was a “design studio”. First time I saw Alias, that was cool. I spoke with a designer who had worked there for 18 months. She was most proud that she designed the steering wheel in next year’s Escort. I asked if she drew circles for the last 18 months. She said yes. That was the final nail for me.