Derek Jenkins was appointed to the position of Design Director, Mazda Design Americas in April 2009 and one of his first projects was the new highly successful CX-5 that recently went on sale and is in very short supply. As the former Chief of Design for Volkswagen Group North America, Jenkins is credited with numerous concept and production vehicles including the Audi A2, A8 and Volkswagen Scirocco concept. Prior to joining VW in 2000, he held various design roles at both VW and Audi, both in North America and abroad. As Design Director, Jenkins oversees a staff of about 25, which pushes creative boundaries by developing advanced ideas for Mazda's next generation of cars. In this video he shows us the MX-5 Spyder. Derek, 42, like many successful global car designers, is a graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and comments on what influences his design ideas.
Mazda's TAKERI Concept made its North American debut at the 2012 New York International Auto Show in April and is Mazda's first concept vehicle to feature the SKYACTIV-D clean diesel engine and as well as other Mazda-developed, fuel-saving technologies such as i-stop, a stop-start system, and i-ELOOP, a regenerative braking system. TAKERI is likely the next generation 2014 Mazda6 sedan with confirmation expected in late September at the Paris Auto Show.
