ETC: Project Runway team readying reality show about car designers

Like most of the Autoblog staff, I've fostered a love for both automobiles and writing since I was young, and I consider myself tremendously fortunate to have made these passions my career. But had I had any sense of design whatsoever â€" a better sense of scale, proportion and perspective (hell, the ability to hold a pencil correctly) I would've been happy to spend my adult life designing car door handles and CHMSL housings for any two-bit automaker who would have me. In the end, it's probably better for all those involved that it didn't turn out that way, but there's no doubt that the world of automotive design is a fascinating, hyper-competitive sphere.

The world could use more general-interest TV shows that show the car business in a positive, exciting light.

Unsurprisingly, from what auto designers tell me, the road to becoming a professional in the field isn't a particularly easy process, nor is it always a clear one. In part that's because it's apparently very rare to have high school and college art teachers and guidance counselors encourage talented young people to get into the field. That's why I'm cautiously excited about Revved Up, a forthcoming reality television series from Bunim/Murray Productions, the team behind Project Runway, The Real World, and innumerable other reality television shows. According to JeanKnowsCars, Revved Up is looking to cast designers eager to impress a car company and get into the business full-time. Apparently the show is willing to consider designers of all experience levels and professional backgrounds, so if you're interested in being on the show, you can fill out an application on BMP Casting's website. It isn't immediately clear when the show will run, or on what network.

Of course, perhaps I shouldn't be so optimistic â€" as a genre, reality television competition shows (and reality TV in general) exist in a pretty vacuous landscape, and Revved Up could fall into that easy trainwreck "I'm not here to make friends" trope (Bunim/Murray does plenty of that, too). But in my estimation, the world could use more general-interest TV shows that show the car business in a positive, exciting light... hopefully Revved Up can put careers in the business on more people's radar, or at least increase the appreciation for a major part of what goes into the cars they park in their driveways.

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