You make a great point. Of course every designer's sketch goes through transformation when getting ready for production. Some designs change drastically, others emerge unscathed into production. The two sketches I posted are quite conservative. No reason why most of what is there couldn't survive the scrutiny of the engineers and manufacturing organizations.
Indeed, Andrew. The GM Design archives set out several years ago digitizing the work of former designers. Some managed to keep their work over the years; others had their work destroyed during the 'clean up the files' purges that used to take place every 6 months. They digitized my work several years ago. I have over 500 sketches I managed to save over the years. They photographed each and every piece. Believe it or not, much of the archives material used to be stored in the Design Staff basement. Several years ago, there was a once in a 100 year rain that flooded the basement, and many original pieces of historical artwork was lost. They set the digitizing process into high gear once that happened. I believe they have done a great deal of the photographic process before the Pandemic. Everything ground to a halt since.
It would seem Tom Peters was especially adept at evolving a strong design to arrive at a 'production ready' form. Especially where form has come to follow the dictates of function in recent times...
Te True, they look very feasible in addition to being very nice but would they stand up to the bean counters and execs demanding more chrome and fussy details? Did they in fact have the clout to demand such changes or am I being too negative?
As John mentions some designs survive the process better than others. But there is something else to consider that gets into the designing process. The design sketches and renderings in the Detroit scheme of things (which includes their overseas operations) historically are cheating the proportions. The depiction is made wider, lower, longer as part of selling the design theme. Later on it starts to get pulled back into the real sizing which sometimes adjusts easily and at other times not so much.
Who has the clout to dictate what changes altered with each company and at which time. Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell had substantial clout and the ability to control access by non-Design executives into the studios. Not so any more. Ford from early on in the 1950s ended up with kiss-ass politicians running design until Jack Telnack ascended. George Walker did quotes saying how he tried to placate all the senior execs by incorporating their items. I call that promoting a process that made camels. His successor Bordinet has design taste issues. Telnack did some god work up until he was submarined out of the place. Chrysler when Exner was in charge had someone strong enough and with the correct top level backing, until he didn't, to win battles. His successor Engle did not have that. Dick Macadam was talented but lost out to Hal Sperlich in their battles. Tom Gale was supremely successful while he had the backing of Bob Lutz.
Came upon these pics of the early 80’s Lancia Beta Montecarlo Gr. 5 race car and it reminded me how this car most likely influenced the design of the (mid-80’s) Testarossa. I always really liked the Montecarlo (Scorpion in N.A.) as it had the look of a mini Ferrari BB. And the Gr. 5 car, with its nicely shaped (Pininfarina designed) and aggressive looking rear fenders housing radiator and inter-cooler must have influenced the Testarossa designers—even the DLO shape is similar. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Was always a big fan of those '80's Grp 5 race cars. The Lancia Stratos was not very successful, but looked great!
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All stylists like to put really big wheels and a black rubber band for a tire on every friggin sketch they do. Must be in there DNA. Admit it looks good but is, of course, a terrible design with regards to actual suspension and car parameters. A case of the stylist and designer (that is the engineer on the car) agreeing to disagree.
Not Giugiaro, LOL. Check the rubber he used on this sketch of the M1. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I know we’re talking 70’s but I don’t ever remember seeing tires drawn like that—they must have been planning 13” wheels, ha-ha. Sorry for the cropped picture, screen-grabbed them from great YouTube I just saw a few days ago on the design of the M1 by ItalDesign. Another good one is on the design of the Golf.
The four lug bolt pattern is a curious choice to. Though speaking of scale the Countach used 14 inch wheels for it's design...
... and in keeping with the spirit of the past few pages, here is an Op-Ed whereby the author is expecting a lot more retro design elements to be applied to the cookie cutter chassis designs of electric cars. Agree or disagree? https://**********.com/2020/08/editorial-the-pros-and-cons-of-retro-styled-cars.html Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hadn’t even noticed the 4-lug design. Maybe the brief from BMW included reusing period 3-series wheels for cost reasons ;-)
I think designers can be “inspired” or “influenced” by classic designs but trying to too faithfully or literally (good word?) adapt an old design to modern proportions, tires and safety requirements doesn’t work. The ISO and “new Miura” in the article show that you can’t do better than the original so best to try an evolution of a design. The 2 new Ford GTs are good examples of well-executed evolutions, while the BMW M1 study was awful, in my opinion. The “new Miura” couldn’t match the perfect lines of the original despite being so smoothly contoured but let down by the proportions being off, added useless flick-ups and other details and a poorly executed visor-type windshield.
8 oddballs from the Monterey auctions- https://www.hagerty.com/media/auctions/the-monterey-auctions-may-be-online-but-these-8-oddballs-keep-it-weird/
1950's Cadillac Design Story of the Week Remembering a Great Cadillac Designer: Ed Glowacke By Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher Images Courtesy of the General Motors Archives Published 8.12.2020 Image Unavailable, Please Login 1948 Cadillac front end artist rendering by Ed Glowacke (GM Media Archives) Looking back at the talented automotive designers that should be recognized in our auto history books, they should include Ed Glowacke, chief of the Cadillac design studio during the 1950s. His peers referred to him as the man with impeccable taste and immaculate attire at General Motors. One of his most important attributes was a great talent for designing automobiles. It was his passion. On May 19, 1947, Harley Earl appointed Glowacke to supervise a newly formed studio called “Special Automobile Design,” which started work on what became the 1951 LeSabre show car. An early example of his work was this early proposal rendering (above) of a Cadillac front end that he designed in 1948. In September of that year, Earl decided to make Glowacke head of the Chevrolet studio, where he was responsible for the design of 1953 Chevrolet models. Image Unavailable, Please Login Ed Glowacke with 1957 Cadillac front end design (GM Media Archives) In June 1, 1951, Glowacke became Cadillac studio design chief. Later, he expanded the idea from a Bertoia Diamond Chair design to influence the front end of the 1957 Cadillac grille, which became extremely popular. The 1957 Cadillacs were restyled for the first time in three years and introduced at the New York Automobile show, where they became a huge hit. However, prior to the 1957 Cadillacs’ debut, Glowacke was involved with two great looking Cadillac show cars in 1954, the Cadillac El Camino and the La Espada models. The models were both two-seater designs, one a coupe and the other a convertible. They were the first Cadillac models that introduced quad headlights. Later, quad headlights would appear on the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham models. Image Unavailable, Please Login 1954 Cadillac El Camino show car (GM Media Archives) The 1954 Cadillac El Camino show car was a drivable two-seater model that was introduced at the 1954 GM Motorama show. The model offered a fiberglass body and a brushed stainless-steel top. The model also offered a passenger compartment with curved glass and an aircraft type canopy that was unique. Image Unavailable, Please Login 1954 Cadillac La Espada show car (GM Media Archives) The 1954 Cadillac La Espada show car was also a drivable model introduced at the 1954 GM Motorama show. Its fiberglass convertible body featured a great design that the public really admired. Image Unavailable, Please Login 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham (GM Media Archives) Another classic show car that came out of Glowacke’s studio was the first Cadillac Eldorado Brougham that made its debut at the 1955 GM Motorama show. It was a great looking pillarless four-door hardtop and was on of the most admired cars at the show. The model sported a brushed stainless-steel roof and quad headlights. Image Unavailable, Please Login 1950s Cadillac Design Studio with Ed Glowacke on the far right (GM Media Archives) The 1956 Cadillac models proved to be very popular with the buying public. Model year production surpassed over 150,000 units. Walter McCall, author of “80 Years of Cadillac LaSalle,” said, “Tail fins on the 1956 cars were squared off and capped with a fine chrome bead that extended the full length of the rear fenders.” Image Unavailable, Please Login 1956 Cadillac parked inside the GM Tech Center lobby (GM Media Archives) The final photograph of this story (below, above the bibiography) represents more Cadillac models completed under the direction of Glowacke, including the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham Town car, which was part of the 1956 Motorama circuit. Image Unavailable, Please Login Ed Glowacke at the GM Tech Center Cadillac Studio 1956 (GM Media Archives) In conclusion, Ed Glowacke was Cadillac studio’s chief designer from June 1, 1951 to August 1, 1957. He gave the brand a new look during the 1950s and was known for his high standard for design. Sadly, Glowacke died of leukemia in 1962 at the age of 41. He left an incredible legacy in Cadillac designs that both historians and enthusiasts will admire for many years to come. Image Unavailable, Please Login 1956 and 1957 Cadillac models Bibliography McCall, Walter M.P. “80 Years of Cadillac LaSalle.” Crestline Publishing, 1988. Hendry, Maurice D. “Cadillac Standard of the World: The Complete History.” Automobile Quarterly, 1979. Lamm, Michael & Holls, Dave. “A Century of Automotive Style 100 years of American Car Design.” Twenty Mod. “The Mysterious Link Between the 1957 Cadillac Grille and a Chair.” By Jwide.
Looks like Ed has his hands on the first Lexus Spindle grill in 1956! Image Unavailable, Please Login
