Employers:  Auto manufacturers

Openings: Art design schools and networking

Salary Cap: Low seven figures

Number of Jobs: About 1,000

"We smoothed the front and sharpened the edge of the rear to cut down on the drag," explains Boniface, running his hand reverently along the surface of a clay model of the car. "The show car wasn't the most aerodynamic, so we had to do a lot of work on that."

As director of design for the Volt and for G.M.'s electric-car efforts in general, Boniface was charged with creating a great-looking sports coupe that's streamlined and light enough to require less energy to power it. The first one is due out in November 2010, with 60,000 cars planned for production for the first two years. It's expected to retail under $30,000.

"The Volt has to look tough and confident," Boniface says. "We didn't want to design a jelly bean. It's going to be a sporty four-door coupe that will appeal to those who are buying transportation that's environmentally conscious, but would like a sports car."

It's not Boniface's first pass at bringing style to environmentally correct cars. At Daimler Chrysler, he was the lead designer for the 2002 Jeep Liberty, 1998 Dodge Intrepid, and the 1996 Intrepid ESX hybrid concept car, as well as the hydrogen-powered G.M. Sequel. His designs proved so popular that, in 1998, he received the Young Leadership and Excellence award from the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Boniface, whose father collected classic cars, says he's been drawing autos since he was four and always dreamed of designing them himself one day. But he studied psychology and economics in college, and then worked as an accountant, while drawing cars in the evenings. One of his sisters eventually talked him into going back to school for an art degree, which led to a job at Chrysler, followed by G.M. in 2003.

Today, Boniface supervises a team of 45 designers, sculptors, engineers, and support staff on the Volt project.

The continued rise in gas prices will likely have a profound effect on the way cars are designed, Boniface says. The most energy-efficient cars may come in unattractive shapes to accommodate what's under the hood, but he believes that cars should still have character and personality.

"I'd hate to see us take all the life out of a car to get that last bit of drag out. That'd be design by science only," he says. "Cars are an emotional purchase, and they say a lot about you. The Volt is going to be a car that looks good and drives efficiently."