It is a fact that Design is considered a multidisciplinary field of knowledge. Projects in the automobile industry perfectly illustrate this point: from the act of invention to the product s engineering; from exterior to interior design; and from the auto-parts industry to the various kinds of paints used in the production process. Projects are developed in simultaneous engineering; auto-parts are produced in various parts of the world and assembled wherever it is more rentable. In this sense, the modern automobile industry has proved itself global. Notwithstanding, a question arises on how to harmonize local legislation and preferences with the international productive structure. This dissertation illustrates some aspects of the strategy of project development in the automobile industry, taking the Brazilian experience as reference. The most experienced Brazilian automobile designers both pioneers and contemporary professionals were interviewed. Although each firms strategy is different a fact which will make a sole conclusion impossible , this dissertation sheds some lights on the challenges of developing automobile industry projects where the design is global but sales are local.