The latest installment: https://driventowrite.com/2025/07/09/never-a-dull-moment-part-18/#more-128821 Never a Dull Moment — Part 18 Clash of the Titans This slideshow requires JavaScript. We should probably deal with the elephant in the room first. As previously discussed, my meeting with Mr. Jordan had not gone as anticipated, and was as a matter of fact, an unmitigated disaster. Driving home that Friday evening my brain was focused on how things had gone so wrong so fast. What should my next step be? How would I handle this situation? Was Chuck really that disappointed in my performance and that of the entire Saturn Studio, or was he just having a bad day? That weekend, while doing a number of domestic tasks and family related events, the recent meeting remained at the forefront of my mind. That Sunday evening I received a phone call from Jerry Palmer, Corvette/Camaro Chief Designer and one of Mr. Jordan’s confidants. He was incredulous about the situation and asked what had transpired between myself and ‘the boss’ that previous Friday. Apparently he had full knowledge of the situation and wanted my side, so I explained the chain of events as best I could. Jerry reassured me that I shouldn’t panic, not do anything rash and should prepare myself for the next assignment. I enquired as to what that might be and was told I was being transferred to the Pontiac 1 Exterior Studio immediately, to be the Assistant Chief Designer for incumbent Chief Designer, Terry Henline. What? Pontiac? A little less than two years in Saturn, and now starting over again in Pontiac? While the Saturn Sedan and Coupe were 95% complete at that point, I thought I should at least have the opportunity to see them through to final production. Chuck made it clear he had other plans for the remaining Saturn design staff and it looked like I inadvertently started the ball rolling by being the first sacrifice. Pontiac. The excitement division (“We Build Excitement”). I figured it could have been much worse. Grand Am, Grand Prix, Trans Sport, Sunfire/Sunbird, Korean and Canadian small cars. High volume cars for young people. The antithesis of Cadillac. I could deal with that. GM Design studio Chiefs under Bill Mitchell L to R Dave Hills, Stan Wilen, Irv Rybicki, Stan Parker, Paul Gillan, Jack Humbert, Chuck Jordan. Source: GM Design " data-medium-file="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/170-P1-Executive-Jordan-office-D-66070-HiRez-GM-300x236.jpg" data-large-file="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/170-P1-Executive-Jordan-office-D-66070-HiRez-GM.jpg" class="size-full wp-image-129172" src="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/170-P1-Executive-Jordan-office-D-66070-HiRez-GM.jpg" alt="" width="707" height="555" srcset="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/170-P1-Executive-Jordan-office-D-66070-HiRez-GM.jpg 707w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/170-P1-Executive-Jordan-office-D-66070-HiRez-GM-300x236.jpg 300w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/170-P1-Executive-Jordan-office-D-66070-HiRez-GM-150x118.jpg 150w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/170-P1-Executive-Jordan-office-D-66070-HiRez-GM-446x350.jpg 446w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" style="-x-ignore: 1"> GM Design studio Chiefs under Bill Mitchell. L to R Dave Hills, Stan Wilen, Irv Rybicki, Stan Parker, Paul Gillan, Jack Humbert, Chuck Jordan. Source: GM Design Now might be a good opportunity to backtrack a bit and look at some of the players in this drama. In any organization with more than three people, there inevitably will be politics. Government, higher education and corporations have their share of egos and power-seeking individuals looking to establish themselves and GM Design was no different than any of those organizations. In some ways GM had less political intrigue than I had witnessed at Ford Design, but we had our share. Harley Earl left a gigantic footprint in his establishment of the car design process and profession. He and his staff invented car design with processes still used today, 100 years later. Bill Mitchell followed in Mr. Earl’s footsteps in establishing GM as the pre-eminent vehicle design organization in the world. Period. The cars under Mr. Mitchell’s tenure would become classics and icons alike. Toronados, Rivieras, Corvettes, Cadillacs, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets. Bill Mitchell was a larger-than-life character who made an indelible mark on automotive design. Mr. Mitchell had created a powerhouse of design and eventually many of the staid corporate types in General Motors had had enough of Mitchell’s brash management style. Colorful being the operative word. Mitchell had made many enemies while producing great results. However, when Mitchell’s retirement was approaching things became complicated and the vultures started to circle. C. M Jordan Opel Design. Source: GM Design " data-medium-file="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Image-300x245.jpg" data-large-file="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Image.jpg" class="size-full wp-image-129175" src="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Image.jpg" alt="" width="743" height="607" srcset="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Image.jpg 743w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Image-300x245.jpg 300w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Image-150x123.jpg 150w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Image-428x350.jpg 428w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" style="-x-ignore: 1"> C. M Jordan Opel Design. Source: GM Design Mitchell made it very clear that he was supporting Chuck Jordan as his replacement. Chuck had a meteoric rise at the Design Staff, had served at Opel in Germany with stellar results and had all the accoutrements of the right image and passion for design. Chuck favored creativity above all else and was an advocate of Advanced Design and newness. An MIT Graduate, Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild winner and a proven designer with an outstanding track record. Everyone figured Chuck would replace Mitchell. The corporation however had other ideas. I was working in Chevrolet Studio on loan when the announcement was made regarding the changing of the guard,and Irv Rybicki was named as Bill Mitchell’s successor. The whole building was in a state of shock as no one saw that coming. Irv Rybicki GM Design photo " data-medium-file="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Irvin_Rybicki_in_the_GH_Design_Studio_1980s_General_Motors_6-300x292.jpg" data-large-file="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Irvin_Rybicki_in_the_GH_Design_Studio_1980s_General_Motors_6.jpg" class="size-full wp-image-129181" src="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Irvin_Rybicki_in_the_GH_Design_Studio_1980s_General_Motors_6.jpg" alt="" width="636" height="618" srcset="https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Irvin_Rybicki_in_the_GH_Design_Studio_1980s_General_Motors_6.jpg 636w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Irvin_Rybicki_in_the_GH_Design_Studio_1980s_General_Motors_6-300x292.jpg 300w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Irvin_Rybicki_in_the_GH_Design_Studio_1980s_General_Motors_6-150x146.jpg 150w, https://driventowrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Irvin_Rybicki_in_the_GH_Design_Studio_1980s_General_Motors_6-360x350.jpg 360w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" style="-x-ignore: 1"> Irv Rybicki GM Design photo Over the years there have been many theories as to why the decision was made to promote Mr. Rybicki. Those decisions can sometimes be confounding as to the whys but the one theory that made the most logical sense was that Mitchell had alienated so many within the corporation, they were afraid that Mr. Jordan would simply be a continuation of what had gone before. So who was Irvin Rybicki? He had an excellent track record in Chevrolet (Camaro, Impala, Corvette, Monte Carlo), Cadillac (Seville), Buick and Oldsmobile. A self-taught designer who had risen through the ranks under Earl and Mitchell. Nowhere near as charismatic or as flashy as Mitchell or Jordan, ashe was known for his congeniality and professionalism. Lacking Mitchell’s outsized ego, Irv kept a relatively low profile. His ascension to Vice President took most everyone by surprise and while he had been responsible for the direction of many great designs, he didn’t appear to have the gravitas nor the panache of his predecessors. He was simply a good leader and designer, sans outsized ego. Good or bad, one knew what they were getting with Rybicki. The era that Irv took control of design was problematic at best, with corporate reorganization, downsizing, government regulations, fuel economy, safety standards and foreign competition all weighing heavily. The results were mixed at best. The ’84 Corvette, the Pontiac Fiero and the new Camaro/Firebirds were big hits. The A Bodies however were labelled as lookalikes and suffered accordingly and we’ve already discussed the ’86 Eldorado and Seville. Irv’s reputation suffered mightily during his tenure as he was accused to acquiescing to finance, engineering and a stricter upper management. The competition between Chuck and Irv was intense and I believe Chuck thought he was a shoo-in to replace Mitchell. Once Irv had been given the VP position with Chuck as his assistant, no one was sure how that relationship would work. In practice, not very well. I give great credit to Mr. Jordan for accepting his fate as ‘number two’, but the reality was another matter. They had divergent design philosophies along with different management styles. Jordan favored the most creative, imaginative designs possible, while Rybicki preferred a more conservative approach. This slideshow requires JavaScript. Navigating through these divergent personalities was not an easy task and once Irv retired, Chuck wanted to rethink everything and went about transformingthe organization with his own vision. Both leaders enjoyed the loyalty of the design teams. On a personal level, I had a great deal of respect for both men. Chuck Jordan had believed in me as a student and hired me out of Art Center. He was affable, friendly and had a passion for design and novelty which I embraced. He mentored me and I had the respect for his accomplishments and his vision. As a bonus, he was a Ferrari aficionado and an all around cool guy that I saw as a role model. This slideshow requires JavaScript. Conversely, Irv gained my respect once I was a member of his team and was always congenial and complimentary of my work and our studio’s output. He was the one that encouraged me to pursue an MBA and was one of my biggest supporters. There was never any drama with Irv. How had the Saturn experience made such a wrong turn for myself? I don’t want the previous chapter related to the experience with Mr. Jordan to in any way impugn his character. To this day I respect and have great admiration for all that he accomplished. He and I had a difficult period which passed once I had re-established myself.
Just do it yourself! https://www.autoevolution.com/news/cosmotron-the-weird-bubble-car-built-from-scratch-with-household-items-151941.html Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Daryl Starbird was big into "Bubbletops" as well; https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Darryl_Starbird, but there was only one "Rat Fink", https://www.ratfink.com/ Image Unavailable, Please Login
A lot of aerospace industry was located in Southern California. They stole the idea from bubble canopy fighters.
Darryl Starbird sure put together a nice hall of fame- glad to see so many of his creations survive. The yellow AMC pacer sticks out to me the most! Looks like he merged with the museum of American speed and they've taken it to the next level. Hopefully someone can do a sit-down interview with Darryl and get some more stories out of him.
British Luxury car design https://open.substack.com/pub/cardesignresearch/p/the-reassertion-of-british-luxury?r=2bbol&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false https://cardesignresearch.substack.com/p/the-reassertion-of-british-luxury
