Michelle Christensen
Michelle Christensen is a U.S. car designer. She was Acura's first female exterior designer.[1] Since 2005 Christensen has worked for Acura and was the lead designer of the second generation Honda NSX.
Life[edit]
Christensen grew up in San Jose, California. She learned about the mechanics of cars from her father, who was into hot rods and muscle cars.[1] In school she developed an interest in drawing and fine art and at community college she learned about car design and went on to study at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.[2][3] Christensen said that car design is the ideal blend of her passions, "art, cars, and making things for people."[4]
Christensen undertook an internship at Volvo's Camarillo studio in California before joining Acura in 2005.[1] She briefly worked for General Motors in 2010[5] before returning to Acura as Lead Principal Designer at Honda R&D. The 2016 Honda NSX was her first project as the lead designer.[6] Christensen received the Woman on Top award from Marie Claire magazine.[1]
In 2018, Christensen worked briefly at Faraday Future and then was appointed Senior Manager of Design with Nissan Design America[7]
She is vice-president of design for Karma Automotive.[8]
Car designs[edit]
- Acura ZDX (concept design) 2009[5]
- Acura RDX
- Acura RL sedan facelift
- Acura RLX sedan[9]
- Honda NSX (second generation) 2015[10]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "For new NSX, Acura's designing woman". Los Angeles Times. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ "Acura NSX Designer Michelle Christensen on the Influence of Nature, and the '67 Chevelle". Car and Driver. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ "Michelle Christensen: Making history as Acura's first female exterior car designer". ArtCenter College of Design. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ File, Forbes Style. "Women of Influence: Meet the Women Auto Designers Behind the Wheel". Retrieved 2016-06-26.
- ^ a b "Michelle Christensen The next Philippe Starck". Marie Claire. 12 September 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ "Michelle Christensen – Acura Designer". MotorWeek. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ "Inspiring International Automotive Designing – Women And The Future of Autos". Auto Futures. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Automotive, Karma. "DESIGNER MICHELLE CHRISTENSEN TACKLES SOME OF AUTO INDUSTRY'S BIGGEST CHALLENGES -- FIRST THE ACURA NSX; NOW KARMA". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ "For new NSX, Acura's designing woman". 11 January 2015.
- ^ "The woman behind the bold NSX". Automotive News. 17 January 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.