Olivier Boulay
Olivier Boulay (sometimes mis-spelt as Oliver) is the former head of design at Mitsubishi and was responsible for the controversial design of the TL Magna series.
Boulay was appointed to Mitsubishi in March, 2001 after a lengthy career within the DaimlerChysler empire. Notable achievements in Boulay's career include:
- Design Manager of Daimler Benz AG in Sindelfingen, Germany from 1987-1989. During this time Boulay was responsible for the of the exterior design of Merceded S and C class.
- From 1992 until 1998 Bolay was the general manager of Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center in Japan. During this time he created the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Centre, new models to stimulate production designs in Germany, the 1996 Paris Motor Show's F200 Imagine and 1997 Tokyo Motor Show's Maybach concept.
- Following his success in Japan, he was relocated to Germany as the General Manager of DaimlerChrysler Advanced Design. In this role he prepared the Maybach for production.
Boulay wanted all Mitsubishi design studios to work together and use a corporate face (mainly designed by him). He claimed that he wanted anyone looking in their rear-view mirror to know they were being followed by a Mitsubishi regardless of the model. In an interview prior to the release of the TL Magna, Boulay is quoted as saying "You will have people who hate it, and you will have people who love it, but that's the way you create the brand." [1]. Unfortunately for MMAL more people hated the TL than loved it.
When the original design proposal for the TL was taken to Japan for consideration, Boulay hacked the front of the Australian's clay model with a bow saw [2]. Apparantly with the Magna to be exported to North America as the Diamante, Boulay believed it to be the perfect vehicle to showcase the new corporate face.
Boulay left his posisiton at Mitsubishi when DaimlerChysler witdrew support for Mitsubishi in April 2004.
Production Cars
Prior to heading design at Mitsubishi, Boulay was responsible for the following cars:
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class W140
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class W202
- Maybach 62/57 series
- 1992-1997 Subaru Liberty
- Smart ForFour
Designs at Mitsubishi
The following received a Boulay treatment (has some aspect of their design worked on by Boulay):
- TL TW Magna, KL KW Verada
- MY03 Colt
- CH Lancer
- Ninth Generation Galant
The following were completely influenced by Boulay:
- Grandis
- i (to be released in 2006)
