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| '''Patrick le Quément''' (born [[4 February]], [[1945]] in [[Marseille]]) is a [[France|French]] car designer, currently chief designer of [[Renault]].
| | #REDIRECT [[Patrick le Quément]] |
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| Born in France but bought up in the [[United Kingdom]], Le Quément holds a BA Hons. degree in Product Design from [[Birmingham Institute of Art and Design]], and an [[MBA]] from [[Anglia Ruskin University|Danbury Park Management Centre]].
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| Le Quément joined [[Simca]] of France in [[1966]] after graduation, but left and set up his own design business which failed <ref>[http://www.itv-motoring.com/features/people/659.asp ITV Motoring]</ref>. He returned to England and [[Ford]] in [[1968]] as a designer, where his signature products included the [[Ford Cargo]] [[truck]], and from [[Dusseldorf]] [[1982]]'s seminal [[Ford Sierra]], ridiculed at the time for its jelly-mold shape. Promised promotion, he went to [[Detroit]] but returned to Europe in June [[1985]] when [[Carl Hahn]], Chairman of the [[Volkswagen]]-[[Audi]] [[Volkswagen Group|Group]], invited him to set up a centre for Advance Design and Strategy <ref>[http://www.europaacademy.com/europa_advisoryboard_patricklequement.htm Accademy of Automotive Excellence]</ref>.
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| In light of poor and declining sales, Renault then-chairman and CEO [[Raymond Levy]] recruited le Quement on a hunch that French design could jump-start the company. But before he took the job as Vice President, corporate design in [[1987]], le Quement demanded structural changes in the role of design at Renault, telling Levy: his department would no longer answer to engineering; outside consultants were removed; the design team was doubled to more than 350 people; the department took a seat on the executive board; and personally, le Quement answers to no one but the chairman <ref>[http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/89/business-at-its-best.html fast Company]</ref>.
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| His team's products since have included [[Twingo]], [[Megane|Mégane]] and [[Megane|Mégane II]] - which he later admitted in an interview with Automotive News Europe magazine, was too much of a bold design; [[Renault Scenic|Scénic]]; the [[Renault Espace|Espace]] models of [[1994]] and [[1998]]; [[Renault Kangoo|Kangoo]]; [[Renault Laguna|Laguna]] models of [[1994]]; [[Renault Avantime|Avantime]] and the [[Renault Vel Satis|Vel Satis]] of [[2002]].
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| Le Quément's motto is '''Design = Quality''', and says his structural changes of Renault design were to develop an independent and innovative formal language: ''"Up to just a few years ago, I would have given you the name of individual products - but today I would be more inclined to say Renault Design. So basically we have abandoned what I call 'styling [[esperanto]]', namely the formal language used by most other manufacturers"'' <ref>[http://www.raymondloewyfoundation.com/luckystrike/pastwinners/lequement.html Raymond Loewy Foundation]</ref>.
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| In [[1987]] Le Quément was appointed Senior Vice President of Quality and Corporate Design in [[1995]], when he also joined the Renault Management Committee. He is the head of Joint Design Policy Group formed by [[Renault]]-[[Nissan]] design body, since it was founded in [[1999]].
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| In [[2002]] he was the winner of the [[Lucky Strike|Lucky Strike Designer Award]] <ref>[http://www.raymondloewyfoundation.com/luckystrike/pastwinners/lequement.html Lucky Strike Designer Award]</ref>, and he sits on the board of the Europa Accademy for Automotive Excellence <ref>[http://www.europaacademy.com/europa_advisoryboard_patricklequement.htm Accademy of Automotive Excellence]</ref>.
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| ==References==
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| <references/>
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| ==External links==
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| *[http://www.renault.com/renault_com/fr/main/10_GROUPE_RENAULT/40_Management/30_Comite_de_direction_Renault/trombinoscope/Cards/le_Quement_Patrick.aspx Official Renault Bio in French] and [http://www.renault.com/renault_com/en/main/10_GROUPE_RENAULT/40_Management/30_Comite_de_direction_Renault/trombinoscope/Cards/Le_Quement_Patrick.aspx English]
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| *[http://www.renault.co.uk/NMNewsItemDisplay.aspx?nid=9&nc=43 Renault.co.uk interview re early life and design]
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| *[http://www.ae-plus.com/Key%20topics/kt-design-news6.htm Interview re concept of "Fluence"]
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| *[http://www.raymondloewyfoundation.com/luckystrike/pastwinners/lequement.html Citation re winning the Lucky Strike Designer Award]
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| [[Category:car designers|Le Quément, Patrick]]
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| [[Category:Ford designers|Le Quément, Patrick]]
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| [[Category:Renault|Le Quément, Patrick]]
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