Doug Gaffka is the design director of Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

's Living Legends vehicle program, a position he has held since April of 2001. Ford's Living Legends oversees the development of classic Ford nameplates, like the Thunderbird

Ford Thunderbird

The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...

 and Mustang

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...

, as well as new vehicle design. Gaffka has been with Ford since 1978, joining the company after graduating from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan with a Bachelor of Fine Arts

Bachelor of Fine Arts

In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...

 degree the same year. Since joining the company he has held a number of vehicle design-related positions for Ford's North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n operations and has worked in Ford's German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n operations. Gaffka was the chief designer for the Taurus

Ford Taurus

The Ford Taurus is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States. Originally introduced in the 1986 model year, it has remained in near-continuous production for more than two decades, making it the fourth oldest nameplate that is currently sold in the North American...

 and Sable

Mercury Sable

The Sable was a very important sedan for both Mercury and the American auto industry.Ford had lagged in introducing mid-size front wheel drive cars to compete against General Motors' Chevrolet Citation and its best-selling Chevrolet Celebrity/Pontiac 6000/Oldsmobile Cutlass/Buick Century quartet as...

 vehicle programs in 1994, the Mustang

Fourth-generation Ford Mustang

For 1994, the Mustang underwent its first major redesign in fifteen years. The design, code named "SN-95" by Ford, was based on an updated version of the Fox platform. It featured dramatic new styling by Patrick Schiavone that incorporated some stylistic elements similar to those of earlier Mustangs...

 in 1999, and the Thunderbird

Ford Thunderbird

The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...

 in 2001. Most recently, Gaffka was the chief designer behind the 2008 Mustang Bullitt

Fifth-generation Ford Mustang

-Mustang:The 2005–2009 base Mustang is powered by Ford's cast iron block 4.0 L Cologne SOHC V6, replacing the 3.8 L Essex OHV V6 used in 2004 and older models...

 and 2010 Mustang

Fifth-generation Ford Mustang

-Mustang:The 2005–2009 base Mustang is powered by Ford's cast iron block 4.0 L Cologne SOHC V6, replacing the 3.8 L Essex OHV V6 used in 2004 and older models...

.