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Quote »Solstice Designer Bolts to MazdaDate Posted 02-16-2005Summary: Franz Von Holzhausen has been named design director for Mazda's North American Operations.Full story: Franz von Holzhausen has resigned from General Motors to join Japanese automaker Mazda, an affiliate of Ford Motor Co., as design director of North American Operations.Von Holzhausen, who was design manager at GM, is best known as the designer of the original Pontiac Solstice concept. At GM, he was responsible for managing the design process for several production programs, including the 2006 Solstice and its sister car, the 2007 Saturn Sky.Prior to GM, Von Holzhausen was assistant chief designer at Volkswagen.At Mazda, he will be responsible for overseeing the design and development of all vehicles for the company's North American operations.Von Holzhausen is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.What this means to you: The zoom-zoom folks should be putting even more pizzazz into their future designs.http://www.edmunds.com/insidel...04734I sure hope GM can still put out groundbreaking products like the Solstice and SKY without him!

Something tells me that the "new" Miata will look strangely similar to the Solstice. As evidence from the dude from Chrysler who bolted for GM and designed GM's PT Cruiser.

It doesn't look that much like the solstice. The 2007 Miata just looks like a larger, beefier Miata with dual exhaust. The nose-piece for the Miata will be redesigned, and will look more similar to the RX-8.