Ford design chief resigns

One of the many vehicles that Jay Mays has shared his design skills with is the Ford Shelby GR1 Concept.

The 59-year-old, one of the last top executives of Jacques Nasser's tumultuous era, began his career as Ford's vice president of design in 1997 after working for BMW, Audi and Volkswagen.

His design work shaped the 2014 Ford. Merger/Mondeo, Ford Focus 2012 и 2011 Party. But he was also responsible for most of the style Jaguar XF 2008, 2010 Ford Mustang, current F-150 and Ford GT 2005.

J ("just J, that's my name," he said at a presentation in Detroit) Mays has also led the development of concept vehicles including the Ford Interceptor, Fairlane, Shelby GR-1 and 427, Jaguar F-Type and 2012 Lincoln MKZ . Concept.

But his career has not been without controversy. He was criticized for introducing the "soft" Ford Five Hundred and Freestyle, but admitted in a 2012 Automotive News interview, "I don't want to force this on anyone else."

"I don't think Five Hundred or Freestyle were one of my highlights at Ford, but developing a car is not a one-man effort and a lot of people contribute to what kind of product they want," he said.

“I have been with the company for 13 years and have had five CEOs. Some of these executives had more conservative tastes than others. And luckily the one we have now allows me to jump over fences.” Mace was seen redeeming himself under current Ford CEO Alan Mulally, especially with the Ford Fusion/Mondeo and Fiesta.

On January 1, 2014, he will be replaced by Moray Callum (54), Ford's current director of design for North America.

Writer on Twitter: @cg_dowling