Design to Driveway: New Shannons documentary series airs online

Shannons has launched a new documentary series, interviewing and exploring the works of Australia’s leading automotive designers, while offering incredible footage of their teams at work.

The series, titled ‘Design to Driveway’, is airing online over seven weeks. You can find the episode links at the bottom of this story, so grab a snack and throw your feet up – this is good watching.

UPDATE: Episode 4 now live!

Episode 4 of Design to Driveway is now live, so keep scrolling to see links to each episode in order – or use the links below to jump to your preferred next episode.

Photo: Shaun Scerri's HQ Monaro GTS. Photo: Chris Thorogood.

JUMP AHEAD

• Episode 1: Leo Pruneau
• Episode 2: David Ford
• Episode 3: Dennis Nicolle
• Episode 4: Phil Zmood

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Episode 1: Leo Pruneau

“I could not get the gasoline out of my blood”.

Watch the episode here

In episode one, host Warren Brown speaks with Leo Pruneau, the American-born designer responsible for the 1965 Chevy Impala and – after relocating to GM’s Australian business in Holden – the Statesman Caprice (inspired of course by Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin).

Along with the first-gen VB Commodore and its facelifts through to VK, Pruneau was also the designer behind the iconic LE Monaro coupe – partly through a serendipitous coincidence, as you’ll discover in the video.

Although Leo Pruneau retired from Holden in 1988, he says “I could not get the gasoline out of my blood”.

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Episode 2: David Ford

"It was a hell of a ride while I was on it."

Watch the episode here

In episode two, Shannons steps over the great automotive divide to land in the blue oval, to speak with David Ford (not related!), the product planner and honorary ‘designer at heart’ who helped shape and introduce the XR Falcon – later steered, in 1967, to Ford’s first Bathurst victory by Fred Gibson.

David later made significant contributions to the next-generation Falcon models, XA through XC, and into the XD body, while also driving the creation of Australia’s Fairlane.

“Shannons are proud to commission this landmark series to celebrate the rich design heritage of the cars we all know and love. While Shannons plays a key role as Australia’s leading insurer for motoring enthusiasts, we also believe it is very important to preserve our automotive history for future generations” said Mark Behr, Executive Manager, Marketing for Shannons.

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Episode 3: Dennis Nicolle

"Hey Charger!"

Watch the episode here

The strange tides of the automotive industry gave one man the job of designing two distinctly different yet still iconic Australian cars – the VJ Valiant and the TM Magna.

Nicolle's career saw him go from the Chrysler Keswick pattern shop in Adelaide, but his first big design job was in helping on the VJ Valiant Charger. He later travelled to the US to train with the legend, Bob Hubbach.

"Upon returning to Australia, Nicolle then helped pen the likes of Valiant,
Regals and more Chargers again before he caught the wave of Australia’s surf culture, creating the winning styling of the Drifter Panel van and Drifter
utility," Shannons says of Nicolle.

When Chrysler exited and Mitsubishi moved into Tonsley Park, Nicolle found himself responsible for styling multiple generations of Magna (and Verada), including export models.

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Episode 4: Phil Zmood

"...otherwise Holden might've disappeared even earlier than it has."

Watch the episode here

Winning an influential car design competition in London saw Phil Zmood get his start in the Holden design studio, designing the pieces we might not think about as being a standalone job: wheel caps, grilles and badges.

Phil is perhaps best known, though, for his work on the HQ series, evolving into the Kingswood, Premier and Monaro – along with sports variants of the GTS, commercial vehicles, and luxury models loved by so many today.

The story of Phil Zmood at Holden is a long and rich one, so this episode is not one to be missed.

Keep an eye out for more episodes to air each week.

UPCOMING

• Episode 5: David Hardy – Leyland Australia Designer Premieres 13th November
• Episode 6: Graham Wadsworth – Ford Australia Designer Premieres 20th November
• Episode 7: Richard Ferlazzo – Holden Chief Designer Premieres 27th November

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