{"id":13065,"date":"2012-06-14T12:03:09","date_gmt":"2012-06-14T17:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/?p=13065"},"modified":"2012-06-15T00:00:16","modified_gmt":"2012-06-15T05:00:16","slug":"gm-automotive-design-celebrating-85-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/gm-automotive-design-celebrating-85-years\/","title":{"rendered":"GM Automotive Design: Celebrating 85 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cadillac Ciel Concept – GM was the first automobile manufacturer to single out automotive design. On June 23, 1927, the Executive Committee of General Motors approved the creation of a new department to \u00d2study the question of art and color combinations in General Motors products. What was true 85 years ago is still true today: GM Design is united in its passion for creating vehicles that make an emotional connection with customers. X12SN_SN572 (06\/13\/2012)<\/p><\/div>\n

General Motors created the art of automotive design when GM was the first automobile manufacturer to open a specific design studio assigned to make sure products extended beyond simple function.\u00a0 There have been some notable models that were not GM’s finest moments.\u00a0 But there have also been — and will continue to be — models that take your breath away.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur global team is united around its passion for designing vehicles that make an emotional connection<\/a> with customers,\u201d said Ed Welburn, GM vice president, Global Design. \u201cWhat was true 85 years ago is still true today: A designer\u2019s role is to create a beautifully executed exterior with great proportions to draw you in, and an interior environment that invites you into a relationship that develops and grows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welburn, the sixth design chief in GM\u2019s 104-year history and the first to have global vehicle design leadership responsibilities, will serve as honorary chairman of another visionary group at the 25th<\/sup> annual EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition<\/a> on Sunday, June 17. Proceeds benefit the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology\u2019s efforts to find scientific breakthroughs to help those with severe vision loss.<\/p>\n

Under Welburn\u2019s strategic eye, each of GM’s eight global passenger car brands is distinctive in form and vocabulary from one another as well as from other brands in the marketplace. Cadillac and Buick have each undergone a design renaissance, and Chevrolet has become a global brand with a globally recognized design language. Vehicle introductions that have helped propel GM\u2019s resurgence include the Chevrolet Camaro<\/a> sports car<\/a>, Malibu<\/a> midsize sedan<\/a> and Cruze<\/a> compact car<\/a>; the Cadillac CTS Coupe<\/a>, GMC Terrain<\/a>, and the Buick Enclave<\/a> and LaCrosse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The award-winning Chevrolet Volt<\/a> electric vehicle with extended range<\/a> went from concept to production in just three years. Volt won North American Car of the Year honors and, along with its European sibling, the Opel Ampera<\/a>, the European Car of the Year award as well. GM\u2019s other award-winning global brands include Holden in Australia and Wuling and Baojun in China.<\/p>\n

Welburn and his global design team say their best work lies ahead. Tomorrow\u2019s classic cars, he said, are on the sketchpads and computers of today\u2019s designers. GM Design is at the forefront of an ongoing global product renaissance that will see 70 percent of the vehicle portfolio replaced within the next three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur global structure allows us to design more new vehicles and to dedicate more people using the latest technology and tools to bring them to market,\u201d said Welburn. \u201cThe diversity of thought, experience, culture and perspective we foster here is unrivaled, and it fuels our creative process. Though we have multiple design centers, our mission is clear: Every new product we develop has to be a home run; each one has to be a great vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

GM was the first automobile manufacturer to single out automotive design. On June 23, 1927, the Executive Committee of General Motors approved the creation of a new department to \u201cstudy the question of art and color combinations in General Motors products\u201d and hired Harley Earl, a custom coach builder from Hollywood and the creator of the 1927 LaSalle, as its leader.<\/p>\n

Earl\u2019s entry into the auto industry doomed rival Henry Ford\u2019s \u201cthe customer can have it any color he wants as long as it is black\u201d motto. Among Earl\u2019s numerous accomplishments are the development of concept cars; the yearly model changeover; the vehicle tailfins of the 1950s; the traveling Motorama auto shows and the development of the iconic Corvette. Earl also is credited with hiring the industry\u2019s first female automotive designers.<\/p>\n

Earl also was responsible for identifying architect Eero Saarinen to design the GM Technical Center campus, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized around the world for its mid-century architecture.<\/p>\n

GM Design vice presidents following Earl were William Mitchell (1958-1977), Irving Rybicki (1977-1986), Charles Jordan (1986-1992), Wayne Cherry (1992-2003) and Welburn (2003-present).<\/p>\n

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General Motors created the art of automotive design when GM was the first automobile manufacturer to open a specific design studio assigned to make sure products extended beyond simple function.\u00a0 There have been some notable models that were not GM’s … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,364,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cadillac-news","category-concept-cars","category-site-info-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13065"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13089,"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13065\/revisions\/13089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}