Innovative car designs come from around the globe
Jerry Garrett

One of the most glamorous concept cars of recent years was never seen at an auto show. In fact, it was banned from them-by the company that created it.

When the Buick Blackhawk first appeared in spring 2000, Wayne K. Cherry, the design chief of General Motors at the time, was reportedly incensed. Why?

The Blackhawk, based on a famed 1939 Buick model, was independently conceived by Michael E. Doble, then Buick's special vehicles manager, and designed by Steven D. Pasteiner, an independent designer and former Buick stylist. It was not designed "in-house", as they say, by GM's pool of designated designers. So Cherry decreed that the Blackhawk was officially an outcast-never be shown at a GM display at any auto show or official GM event.

The Blackhawk was an extreme example of why auto manufacturers produce concepts-as well as why they don't. An officially produced and properly sanctioned concept car-or design study, as they are also called-is an icon for a company and its future direction. A renegade design, no matter how compelling, may not send the message the company wants to send.

The Blackhawk, despite critical acclaim for its bold retro styling and big V-8 performance, was not a direction GM intended to go in its future styling. No planned models would look like the Blackhawk, nor were any future GM vehicles likely to share any components, features or design cues from the Blackhawk. It was just a quaint rear-view window to GM's past.

But that's not to say GM learned nothing from the Blackhawk experience. The system at that time was one of a silo mentality, where design studios in the worldwide organization reported only to higher-ups within their regional organizations. This system had the side effect of spawning renegade designs, like the Blackhawk. Since Cherry's retirement in January 2004, that system has been changed by his successor, Ed Welburn.

"Up until four or five years ago, it was like GM was four different car companies," Welburn said in an interview after the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. "I mean, there was some interaction, but not a whole lot. The design studios in the individual regions were not linked. Now, we have one global design studio."

The result, he said, is a more inclusive environment where a bigger pool of ideas from 11 design teams-in Germany, Sweden, Australia, India, South Korea, Brazil, China, California and Michigan-can be considered.

"We can now link up all 11 studios and simultaneously consider a design," Welburn said. "It really helps us understand the needs of the regions and what regional perspectives they can bring to the whole."

GM also now rotates designers from studio to studio, much as administrative personnel can be rotated between international and domestic assignments.

A notable example is Sangyup Lee, the South Korean-born stylist who was recently transferred from the design headquarters in Michigan to the Holden subsidiary in Australia. There, Lee will be working directly with the Zeta platform team that is bringing to production his design for the 2009 Camaro. (Holden specializes in large rear-drive cars like the Caprice, a big seller in the Middle East, where it is sold as a Chevrolet.)

"It helps in our recruiting of new designers to be able to say, 'Come to GM and see the world,'" Welburn said. "Diversity is very important here-in experience, in cultures, in every idea."

GM designers no longer feel as if they have to buck the system to have their ideas considered, he said. He pointed to their international design showcase at the Detroit show, where award-winning models from elsewhere in the world were displayed. These included the Saab Aero X sports car, Chevrolet T2X crossover, Chevy WTCC high-performance compact and the Holden Efijy retro coupe-a crowd favorite at the Detroit show.

Ironically, a number of people commented that the Efijy reminded them of none other than the black-listed Blackwood.

Richard Ferlazzo, the Australian native who designed the Efijy, was quick to disabuse anyone who said so of that notion, "Its design theme goes back to late '40s Chevrolets, though it is really based on the 1953 Holden FJ."

Either way, Welburn said the "family resemblance" noted between the Efijy and Blackwood was no longer considered an insult to GM's design staff. Now, he said, "It generates competition, in a friendly way.

"Every concept has a different mission. It's a stake in the ground for a new direction."

Welburn predicted that the most likely outcome from the positive response generated by the design showcase vehicles is that his styling studios will be further emboldened as they design future models.

"There's a difference between styling and designing," he said, explaining the difference between flights-of-fancy concept cars and meat-and-potatoes production models. "A production design not only has to look good, it also has to be priced right."

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