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Who picks car colors and materials? Designers like Hannah Custance

As automotive journalists, we're often asked "how did you get that job?" People usually didn't even know you could do such a thing. In this 7 Questions series, we're highlighting other jobs in the automotive industry that you might not have heard about before. What do they do, how'd they get to do it and other questions about their particular corner of the car world. Slowly but surely, the automotive landscape is becoming more colorful. Look beyond the unrelentingly conservative palette of white, black and gray most buyers opt for and you'll see the increased use of exterior trim types beyond the usual chrome. There's gloss black, of course, but also other metallic finishes like gold or copper. Those can be found inside, too, where there's also an increase in colorful leathers and trims, innovative fabrics, new wood types and finishes, and greater creativity in general. So where is this change coming from? The answer is designers like Hannah Custance, the color and materials design manager for Jaguar Land Rover. Her team's latest effort is also its magnum opus, the 2022 Range Rover. Although saddled with the expectations that comes with one of the automotive industry's classic nameplates, the all-new Range Rover is also a celebration of cutting edge manufacturing and fashion-forward materials selection. We sat down with Hannah at the L.A. Auto Show to find out more about color and materials designers, how she ended up in the industry, and advice she might have for young designers out there. It has been condensed for brevity. Autoblog: What does a color and materials design manager to do?Hannah Custance: I basically look after a team of designers who design finishes for every A surface on the car. So, that could be exterior finishes. It could be interior trim materials, soft materials, hard materials, chromes, metals, woods, ceramic – that's one of the new ones – anything you can kind of touch and see is color material design. Autoblog: How early in the design process does your team become involved.Hannah: Right at the very start. In fact, we look at materials that don't have a product assigned to them or a car assigned to them. So, it takes actually a very long time for us to get materials approved and fully validated. We have to find suppliers that are willing to work in automotive and our test standards are incredibly high, some of the highest in the industry.

Jaguar sets a lap record at a near-forgotten French race track

If asked to name any race track in France, most racing and car enthusiasts would probably answer the Circuit de la Sarthe, known for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Then there's the famous Magny-Cours or Circuit Paul Ricard, but not everyone remembers the Circuit de Charade near Clermont-Ferrand. This challenging track has been called a "twistier and faster" version of the Nurburgring, and in its original five-mile form, it barely had any straights. Formula 1 races were held there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but safety concerns saw the French Grand Prix moved to Paul Ricard for most of the 1970s and 1980s, alternating with Dijon-Prenois. Later on, the track was essentially halved during modernization work, and it's now largely used for track days. The full length circuit was last used in 1988. This history lesson about a seemingly forgotten French race track is due to one good reason: Jaguar has returned to the venue to set a lap time with a new, all-wheel drive XE. The flying lap of the full five-mile track was the first one in 30 years, and the 4-minute, 9-second lap time set by Belgian racing driver Vincent Radermecker now stands as a record. Due to changes and the fact that the track originally utilized parts of public roads, the lap now included two gateways and a roundabout. Unshockingly, those weren't around in its racing days. The comparisons with the Nurburgring are apt, as Radermecker's comment confirms. "I set the production (sedan) record at the Nurburgring in the XE SV Project 8 last year and this lap was every bit as demanding. The longest straight is barely 600 metres, so I can see why drivers used to call this the French Nurburgring." The Jaguar used for the record lap is an XE 300 Sport, which is powered by Jaguar's 300-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine. It hits 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, and the average speed on the Charade lap was 72 mph. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery Jaguar XE record lap View 9 Photos Image Credit: Jaguar Jaguar Automotive History jaguar xe

Stolen Jaguar E-Type reunited with owner after 46 years

Barely six months into owning it, Ivan Schneider had his Jaguar E-Type stolen from outside of his Manhattan apartment in 1968. Now, 46 years later, the somewhat beat-up convertible has been recovered just before it was about to be shipped to a new owner in The Netherlands.
US Customs agents at the Port of Los Angeles found the car during a routine check, and they contacted Schneider to arrange returning it to him. When the feds found it, the E-Type was already in a shipping container ready to go to its new owner. The condition is hardly perfect today, including rough paint and a replacement door, but Schneider is ecstatic to get his classic back.
Understandably, the now 82-year-old never thought he would see his droptop Jaguar again. Schneider told the LA Times that he bought the E-Type for $5,000 after winning a case as a lawyer, and it was originally painted gray. Now, he plans to have to have the vintage convertible restored to its former glory in New York.