EyesOn Design Car Show

05/27/2026

Tim McGrane shared…. This year marks the 39th Annual EyesOn Design at Ford House on June 21, celebrating automotive design past, present, and future. Ford House is the historic lakeside estate of Eleanor and Edsel Ford, located in Grosse Pointe Shores along the shores of Michigan’s Lake St. Clair. Built in 1928, this National Historic Landmark was the home where Eleanor and Edsel Ford raised their children — Henry II, Benson, Josephine, and William Clay — hosted artists and innovators, and nurtured their shared love of design, nature, and culture.
Top automotive designers will gather in metro Detroit on Friday, June 19, to present Gorden (Photo )with the 2026 EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award for his outstanding career in vehicle design. The award ceremony for Wagener — most recently chief design officer for Mercedes-Benz Group AG — will take place at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan.

Recipients are chosen exclusively by previous winners, creating an unbroken chain of design excellence that spans generations. Stellantis chief design officer Ralph Gilles (the 2023 recipient) will make the presentation, and Laurens van den Acker, chief design officer of Renault Group, will also speak to Wagener's career during the gala event.

Representatives from the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, recognized this year with EyesOn Design's Preserving the Vision award, will also be in attendance.

The EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award stands as the automotive industry's highest honor for design excellence. Since 1988, this prestigious award has recognized individuals whose creative vision and innovative spirit have fundamentally transformed automotive design

05/26/2026

EyesOn Design
In addition to the main exhibition on Sunday June 21,extra events on Saturday ,June 20th , two design symposiums will be presented at the Ford House.
First one is at 9am…
Fabulous Fiberglass: One of two design symposiums presented .
Enjoy a fascinating conversation with Geoff Hacker, Ph.D. ( Top photo )on the wonder material of the 1950s, the 'carbon fiber' of its day.
A premier researcher, archivist and author of the history of handcrafted American sports cars and a cofounder of Forgotten Fiberglass, Hacker owns Undiscovered Classics, the Florida-based company which finds and restores these rare cars.
Geoff's work has been seen on television including Jay Leno's Garage, AmeriCarna, and the "Barn Find Hunter."
The Fabulous Fiberglass symposium will take place amid the historic splendor of the 88-acre home of Edsel and Eleanor Ford, at the beautiful new Visitor Center. take place amid the historic splendor of the 88-acre home of Edsel and Eleanor Ford, at the beautiful new Visitor Center.
Consider lunch reservations at The Continental, or register for both
symposiums and grab a snack in between from The Speedster.
Capacity is limited and these events may sell out, so reserve your seats soon.
Tickets are $50 per Symposium and must be reserved in advance at https:// henryfordgiving.com/netcommunity/ events/26---eyeson-design-registration-page
Or learn more at https://
www.eyesondesign.org/ford-house.

The second one…..Join Leslie Kendall, chief historian and curator of the famed Petersen Automotive Museum, this year's recipient of EyesOn Design's Preserving the Vision award.@
Leslie will share his deep knowledge on the two spectacular vehicles the Petersen is bringing in from their museum in Los Angeles.

The first is a 1939 Delahaye Type 165 roadster built for the 1939 New York World's Fair and considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco automobile design.( Bottom left)

The second is a one-of-kind 1952 Ferrari 212/225 Barchetta, the last one ever built, a gift from Enzo Ferrari, built for and owned by Henry Ford II.( Bottom right)

The Petersen Automotive Museum symposium will take place amid the historic splendor of the 88-acre home of Edsel and Eleanor Ford, at the stunning new Visitor Center. Consider lunch reservations at The Continental, or register for both symposiums and grab a snack in between from The Speedster.

Capacity is limited, so reserve your seats soon.

Tickets are $50 per Symposium and must be reserved in advance at https://henryfordgiving.com/netcommunity/events/26---eyeson-design-registration-page

Or learn more at https://www.eyesondesign.org/ford-house.

05/23/2026

Well orange you gorgeous. Sixty-five vehicles spanning eight decades of transportation design, from a 1952 Lancia Aurelia to a 2025 Ferrari Daytona SP3 to an actual certified personal jet. The 2026 Design Invitational is a living classroom and a world-class design showcase on display in a sculpture....

05/22/2026

Visit the page today! Like & Share…..🚗

05/22/2026

60s / 70s CLASSES:
Personal Luxury Coupes
Full-Sized American Luxury Cars
Full-Sized American Luxury Convertibles
The Horsepower Wars
In the sixties and seventies, the personal luxury coupe appeared and many could be ordered in a high performance version, again blurring the line between luxury and power. Full-sized American luxury reached its peak as well. This era also saw the emergence of the muscle car, and the subsequent Horsepower Wars……

05/22/2026

Another category at this years Eyes on Design…. POST WAR ERA CLASSES:
Elite Elegance
Power for the People
Fabulous Fiberglass
In the Post War era, power and luxury began to move into the mass market with the emergence of the OHV V-8, superchargers, and fuel injection. In another part of the market, small companies began producing bodies made from the new miracle material, fiberglass, that promised to turn any conventional car chassis into a sports car in both looks and performance. Meanwhile, custom coach builders and some manufacturers shifted their luxury offerings to cars for the Hollywood Elite…..

05/22/2026

EyesOn Design to Showcase Historic Vehicles in Exclusive Duesenberg Class

The 39th annual EyesOn Design at Ford House, a curated collection of nearly 200 extraordinary vehicles of the past, present and future, will take place Father's Day Sunday, June 21, at the historical home of Edsel and Eleanor Ford in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan.

Six iconic automobiles will be gathered on the Ford House lawn in a class comprised entirely of Duesenbergs, a perfect representation of the 2026 car show theme: "Power and Elegance". They will include the vehicle featured on this year's commemorative poster - a Model J Weymann St. Cloud, owned by Don Gahreeb.
In the Classic era, the Duesenberg represented the perfect melding of power and elegance. This was due, at least in part, to the vision of Errett Lobban Cord. Fred and August Duesenberg were talented and accomplished engineers (their cars won the Indianapolis 500 four times during the 1920s), but by 1924 their fledgling company was bankrupt.

Their fortunes took a turn for the better when E. L. Cord purchased the company's assets in 1926 and assigned them the task of developing the fastest and finest automobile the world had ever seen.

Designed and engineered to compete with the world’s most luxurious and powerful cars, the Duesenberg Model J was introduced to the world in December 1928. It was the epitome of luxury, at a price only the elite could afford. The car was lightyears ahead of its time.

Regardless of body configuration, with a 265 hp engine (almost double its nearest competitors) nothing came close to the performance of these production cars. Even more amazing for nearly century-old cars, they are fully capable of keeping up with modern traffic.

In addition to the poster car, the EyesOn Design Duesenberg Class will also include Model Js from collectors Greg Ornazian, and Doug and Judy Cadman, Stahl's Automotive Foundation, the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum, and RM Sotheby's. It will be a spectacular sight, not to be missed.

10/29/2025

Bryan Nesbitt & Matthew Rossetti announced as dignitaries for EyesOn Design at Ford House 2026. See the details here!

Bryan Nesbitt of GM Design selected as Honorary Chairman and Matthew Rossetti of Rossetti Architecture named Grand Marshal for EyesOn Design 2026.