PUT yourself in the position of Italian-based, American automotive design icon Tom Tjaarda. You are the creator of the SUV, one of the auto mega trends, as well as some of the world's sexiest cars.

You have designed more than 70 automobiles, prototypes and industrial products in the past 50 years. You designed two splendid Ferraris: the 330GT 2+2 (1963) and the 365 California (1963). You created classics in the vintage collections of Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin and other iconic brands.

Today, you're the master, representing the highest level of automotive design.

What are your plans? Downshifting to a lower gear?

For Tom Tjaarda, he just keeps on working and innovating.

Tajaarda is now working on what he calls a "less offensive" and less aggressive-looking car for women, the Personal Security Vehicle (PSV). Where security is an issue, PSVs appeal to women who don't want to drive a tank. In fact, the father of the SUV says they are unnecessary. They are too big, they consume too much oil and are a bad trend.

Taking a break from his own company (Tjaarda Design Ltd in Italy), Tjaarda recently visited Shanghai for the 2012 Feidiao Strategic Press Conference. Feidiao Group of Italy is a provider of automation and power technologies, and Tjaarda will design switches and offer new ideas in industrial design. He signed a contract at the event.

Tjaarda was born in 1934 in Detroit, America's motor city, the son of a noted Dutch American auto designer who had been an aeronautical designer in the Netherlands. He grew up in Detroit and followed in his father's footsteps.

He studied architecture at the University of Michigan and took a short course in industrial design.

He was hooked on Italian cars, Ferraris, and culture and longed to go to Italy. In his senior year he designed a sports station wagon as a project that drew applause. He was invited by the manager of Carrizzeria Ghia, the famous automaker, to work in Turin, Italy. He eventually became the head of the design department.

"I had cars in my blood," Tjaarda told Shanghai Daily in an interview.

In Italy he was living his dream of cars, design, art and architecture. At first he planned to stay for only two years and return for post-graduate studies in the US, but he stayed on.

When he was just 26 and still working in Italy, he became involved in many aspects of design, including auto wheels, tires and furniture.

The first car he designed was the 1961 Innocenti 950 Spyder, which was a commercial success with young drivers, especially in economically difficult years.

He has been living and working in Italy for 52 years.

Tjaarda talked to Shanghai Daily about his life and career. The key to auto design, he says, is in his heart.

Q: Where does your inspiration come from?

A: From anything actually. A designer can be influenced by so many things. Today when I come here to China, I am influenced by Chinese culture. This is different but this is interesting, it's interesting to see new things. You have to generalize them or interpret these to the taste of people. When you design a car, cars are different from tables or switches, because you are working on an object which moves. You see it coming, you see it go by, you see it dirty and you see it clean. You see it old and you see it new. So there are many influences that you have to take into account. The most important thing in designing a car is to have nice proportions. If people feel the car is too long or too heavy, they don't like it. They don't know why, but it's our job to know why.

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: Flying radio control airplanes. They are very big. They are huge. I do competitions, when I was young I wanted to be a pilot but I didn't have the eyesight so I could never be a pilot. But I can always fly my airplane thinking I'm a pilot.

Q: Among all the cars, what are a some of your favorites?

A: I always like the Mercedes 300srl, Jaguar E, the older BUGATTIs from 1934 and 1935 and I like the Ferrari 275 GTB. It was designed 42 years ago but you see it today and it still has presence. You still see it with the "wow" effect. You look at that before you look at the other cars.

Q: Which of your own designs are you proudest of?

A: I am proud of all my designs and I can't really pick one. People ask this all the time but I don't know what to say. I designed the first Ford Fiesta, which was a small economy car but I thought a small car could be elegant so that's what I had in my mind. I designed the first SUV that's a big car but I still thought a big SUV could be a nice-looking car so I made it less like a truck and more like a car. Ferrari - I'm very proud of the fact that I am an American who could design two Ferraris, that's unusual.

Q: What are some future design trends?

A: Years ago there were trends, a car might be rounded or squared off. But today there are really no trends; the only trend that you have is to design a nice certain car because today there are so many new countries using cars, like China, India and Brazil, so you have to make cars that many people will like, not only the Americans.

Also, designers today have to think differently. Before, when we designed a car to make it look it beautiful, even if that car is 30 years old, it still looks beautiful. But today you have to make sure the car doesn't ruin the planet, that it doesn't take all the resources or make horrible things happen.

Designing cars in China for example, you have all towns. Here in Shanghai you have all plain roads since the city is very prosperous. Thus, you have no problem here. But you have got some towns that are very old and falling apart, so designers should go there and rehabilitate them. Today's designers must think of those towns.

Q: You designed the first SUV. What do you think of it and the high gas consumption?

A: I never liked the SUVs, because you don't need those cars. It's a trend but to me it is a bad trend. Because you can get the same thing in the small cars but, unfortunately, you have too much money, you have too much prosperity, so you like big cars, especially for woman since they feel safe.