The German-born businessman also worked for BMW, and during his tenure led several show-car projects including the Mini Monte-Carlo concept vehicle and the BMW Motorcycle "Cruiser" sidecar project.
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| Henrik Fisker, ex-Aston Martin Design Director, discusses the design of the new Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage with journalists after the vehicle's introduction at the North American International Auto Show, January 6, 2003. (Photo: Aston Martin) |
Koehler became Director of 3D Services at Designworks USA, and eventually promoted to Director of Operations, responsible for the overall project and capacity planning.
Like Fisker, Koehler took a trip to London to joined Ford Motor Company, but as the Director for New Business Development at Ingeni. He was responsible for the design centre's revenue targets for Ford Motor Company and other non-Ford clients. As part of his job, Koehler managed Aston Martin's modeling and operations for design and concept, which included the DB-9 and the AM-V8 Vantage.
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| The past is riddled with visionaries that may have had more enthusiasm than business sense, such as Gerry Wiegert and his all composite Vector W2, W8, Avtech WX3, and M12. (Photo: Vector) |
With the two company principal's having such a storied history in critical areas needed to succeed in the automotive business, their future indeed looks rosier than the majority of automotive entrepreneurs of the past.
The automotive sector is brutally competitive, chewing up and spitting out auto executives faster than most other industries. The past is riddled with visionaries that may have had more enthusiasm than business sense, such as Gerry Wiegert and his all composite Vector W2, W8, Avtech WX3, and M12, the longest list of on-again, off-again supercar models, teasing enthusiasts with aeronautical technology and becoming the pride of America during a drought of domestic performance cars.