Kia, Chrysler, others prove high style doesn't have to mean high prices

Kia Optima (Kia)

Chrysler 300 (Chrysler)

Ferrari. Aston Martin. Lamborghini. Their distinctive and beautiful designs are matched only by their astronomical price tags. Need proof that fine art exists outside museum walls? Check out a Jaguar.

Sadly, like a Rodin sculpture, these cars are out of reach for the average Joe and Jane.

There's good news for the paycheck-challenged, though -- refined automotive design is becoming democratized.

Brandon Faurote, head of Chrysler design, explains: "A lot of companies have gotten better at the basic building blocks and the foundation of vehicle quality. Everyone has raised the bar. And so the one thing left to differentiate and liberate a brand is design."

Style is an affordable way to attract buyers. To a large degree, it costs a manufacturer the same to bend metal into the shape of an Audi A5 as it does an AMC Gremlin. Which would you rather drive?

Dodge Challenger (Chrysler)

Kia, best known as a budget brand, is an example of a company reinventing itself through design. In 2006, the Korean automaker hired former Audi and Volkswagen alum Peter Schreyer as its chief design officer. Since then, Kia's Sportage and Optima have gone from vanilla to vivacious, sporting consistent design elements like the "tiger nose" grille.

Tom Kearns, chief designer at Kia Design Center America, credits top management for making style a priority. "They understand the importance of design being crucial to overall product success," he says. "They hired Peter Schreyer, one of the industry's most influential designers, and allowed me to assemble a talented and experienced American design team."

The result? Kia's popularity has soared. When asked whether the new approach is responsible, Kearns says, "I might be a bit biased, but I definitely think that design is such a huge differentiator and communication tool for any brand today."

The 2011 Buick LaCrosse, designed in the U.S., Germany and China, is a popular pick in China. (General Motors)

Established manufacturers tend to be more evolutionary than revolutionary. The 2011 Chrysler 300, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Challenger clearly owe a debt to their heritage, but the modern and refined interpretations have never been so handsome.

"You really have to have a sense of the brand's DNA," says Chrysler's Faurote, who is responsible for the new 300. "Stray too far from the path and you'll find yourself in trouble."

To become more competitive, Ford is consolidating models globally and relying on a "world car" strategy. That means Americans will get the same stylish Focus as Europeans. The outgoing conservative sedan we know is quite different than the Euro car of the same name. The 2012 Focus wears Ford's swoopy kinetic design.

Ford is not alone in its global approach. Expect more adventuresome style, as vehicles have to resonate with people around the world, not just a particular market. Chrysler's 300 will be sold in Europe as the Lancia Thema. Hyundai's "fluidic sculpture" approach, found on its Sonata and Elantra, is being embraced throughout the world.

The quintessentially American Buick brand is popular in China, selling twice as many cars there as it does in the U.S. "The LaCrosse was designed in both America and Germany, while much of the interior was done in China," says Jim Federico of Buick. Expect that country to influence the look of Buicks in the future.