Assignment 6 Stories
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974
I remained as Cadillacs interior chief designer through November of 1974 when I became chief designer of Chevrolet one interior. I was transferred at that time to work on the downsize 1977 Chevrolet impala caprice. probably the most important vehicle redesign GM design in the 1970s. George Moon told me the reason for my Chevrolet assignment, he saw the Bob Lund John Shettler successful team approach on the interior of the 1976 Seville and wanted the same success for the downsize 1977 Chevrolet Caprice that was to become one of the most important and successful, exterior-interior designs and financially successful in General Motors history. At the time Bob Lund was made Vice president of Chevrolet in November of 1974 Pete Estes became General Motors.’s President and Tom Murphy became Chairman of General Motors.
Again my chief job what is to take and already approve concept basically a paper concept sketch and make it work production wise and cost wise. I know now my future mission at General Motors design was to use my idea making ability and visual creative problem-solving ability to turn concepts into production reality working within the constraints of engineering, manufacturing, finance, and marketing. Again my AMP / MBA helped make me an integral part of the Chevrolet-Fisher Body cross-body engineering, manufacturing, financial and marketing team developing the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice. My lessons learned in Cadillac attention to detail to continue to make it the standard the world and bring that culture and approach to the Chevrolet caprice. I injected a visual creative problem solving process culture into our Chevrolet interior studio design team, the Chevrolet and Fisher body team, creating a culture no constraint, design, engineering, cost, and manufacturing wise we couldn’t solve.
As the studio was finishing 1977 Caprice for production we started and the interior of the 1978 Monte Carlo which have basically same platform as the 1978 Malibu. We applied our creative design process to a concepts that have never been done before MGM interiors and instrument panel pod sitting across on top of the steering wheel with the right side or passenger side push forward to the legal limit of safety crush ability it was a hard concept .to sell, but we stuck with it. The pushed forward passenger side gave the driver passenger compartment a visually open interior environment and gave a completely new look change to instrument panel design in 1978. The Chevrolet engineering project team manager was very concerned about the center air-conditioning outlets being able to move air to the driver without the pod interfering with airflow.
However single-occupant vehicles accounted for 42 percent of all person trips,80% of the time only one person, the driver was in the car. Particular in the US south west for example drivers spend as much as an hour to two hours a day going back-and-forth from their job to their home that made great A-C flow a number 1 priority. The average number of vehicle trips made by a household in a year's time was 1,865 in 2017, which translates to an average of 5 household trips per day (one-way). ( Again illustrating the Interior designers stationed at GM Design Center did not recognize or realize the GM Southeast and Southwest customer number one need was Great A-C flow.)
However, the team stuck with it and we went to Arizona Mesa GM Proving Grounds and ran air conditioning flow tests on the1978 Malibu and 1979 Monte Carlo. the daytime temperatures in the region was about 111 degrees and inside the vehicle it would be heat soaked up to 142° and then the vehicle was started to find out the flow and how long it would take to reduce the temperature do you say 68 degrees farenheit and did it flow around the right edge of the pod to the driver. It worked and that was a great victory for our new Creative design process, and Visual creative problem-solving process and after that we immediatelylaunched into the 1980 Chevrolet Citation interior the first BFI body frame integral, transverse front wheel drive General Motors product.
The 1980 Chevrolet Citation instrument panel concept came from the GM Design Advanced area where the exterior and interior were being created. The car was smaller and had less interior space than the downsize Chevrolet Caprice and Monte Carlo but needed to accommodate a SAE 95th percentile male, front and rear headroom wise and as in 4 door sedan package size like the rest of the Chevrolet downsized product line. Yes from an instrumental design panel concept the right side push forward as far as crash worthiness standards (MVSS) would allow.
similar to the Monte Carlo right side but it was not the pod concept that we used in the Monte Carlo it had the appearance of a pod but it was basically cluster with the right side pushed forward. It was difficult from a design and human factors point of view. the radio and HVAC unit was designed vertical dial face with a it a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial face in a vertical manner. I thought this would be a problem human factors problem for the customer and in later versions of the citation management came to the same conclusion and made the radio horizontal, however but the first one that was released in 1980 was a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial. The vertical HVAC control what made this even more complex from ergonomically and safety standpoint was the standard shift was on the steering column so.that you had look to the steering call home shift lever do you see the radio controls end the HVAC controls.
About this time we had a visit from Bob Gurr and a few other WED Imagineering designers in a walk through of our Chevrolet interior one studio. in the spring of 1976 in the midst of finishing the 1978-1979 Monte Carlo and the 1980 Citation interiors
I didn't think much of the meaning of this visit, however they must of liked our visual creative DesignProcess as we assembled the final released 1978 Monte Carlo and 1980 Citation interior instrument seating buck for Bob Lund’s approval because few weeks later I received invitation to come out to WED imagineering and visit and a walk-through. It so happened that I was teaching a fourth year transportation department's students at Art Center, College in Pasadena, an Instrument panel problem. (note in 1976 when I was teaching and presenting the instrument panel design problem to the art center fourth year students I was shocked but also validated my believe that automotive interior design was thought of as a second priority to exterior design curriculum at Art Center and CCS and most US Automotive Design Schools and the American Auto Industry as a whole. I don't know what causes out but that's what's students had any understanding of interior instrument panel design or automotive interior design as a whole.)
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974-10-9-2023
I decided I would go to Art Center to review the final instrument panel problem results and then go over and visit WED Imagineering at their invitation.
I had gone to Disneyland for the first time in 1969 and Disney World and in the 1974 1975 timeframe. I was very excited to have the opportunity to see where and how these parks were created.
When I arrived I was greeted at the lobby of WED Imagineering by Gordon Cooper one of the original seven astronauts who at that time was Vice President of Disney WED
Imagineering. As I waited in the balls what are lobby Open word Imagineering I noticed everyone from the reception is to maintenance to sanitation the mail delivery all were wearing a badge it said imagineering another words everyone have wedding imagineering was an Imagineer making them or the culture tight creative or imaginative team.
I was led into our conference room and on the table in this conference room what is a scale model of the proposed future world and the world showcase pavillions. On the wall surrounding the conference table with the model were storyboards of each of the future world pavilions the scripts for each of their pavilions was done by Ray Bradberry Science Fiction Author the visual storyboards were drawn by Robert McCall World famous and probably one of the worlds greatest Aerospace illustrators. To be frank I was completely blown away by these storyboards visualizing the rides each of the final pavilions that now appear at Epcot some 42 years later. At the moment GM Ford Volkswagen we're all thinking about sponsoring the pavilion for 10 years at $35 million. Then I was taken on a Tour of how they created the rides for Disneyland Disney world and soon to be Epcot. All of them started with a script,a story then turn into a storyboard, then the story board became a small scale model of how the ride would work inside the pavillion . Every Disney park ride started with a story board I would imagine the story board process came from Walt Disney's approach of creating storyboards for each of his animated films. In 1976 they would review the storyboards on 4 x 8 sheets of plywood and they would take that plywood wiith pinned up storyboards and take them into a conference room, attach them to hangers on the wall for the review of the Disney management or in the case of visiting fireman such as myself to review. From that point they took me into where are they deeveloped scale models of the ride and set them at shoulder height as if you would be on the ride whether it be vehicle or whether it would be in of boat like the Pirates of the Caribbean and you would look at each part of the ride as a three-dimensional storyboard. In my mind at the moment I saw how storyboarding would be of great use at General Motors design as customer use storyboards or how you would drive the vehicle how are you will get in and out of the vehicle crashworthiness storyboards and so forth.
In the 1976 there was no Internet no Google the only way to communicate basically and a work environment searches or creative environment searches where did vegetarian who is sus storyboards.
At that moment I was thinking that I would put my résumé together and apply to WED Imagineering as soon as I got back to Detroit. I talk to my wife who is that time I was on a leave of absence from general motors working Anna Masters degree in clinical psychology at Wayne state I'm planning to go the medical school and planning to go medical school and so it look like the perfect time ditch to work at Disney Imagineering so I sent my résumé Jan and got a reply almost immediately saying they're weird we like you we think your approach to design is what we were looking for but at this moment be patient and will be in touch. Little did I know that I was being looked at to be the chief designer for General Motors design working with Disney or WED Imagineering starting in officially January of 1981. I started unofficially working on GM World of motion in1979.
Refining November 12, 2023
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974
I remained as Cadillacs interior chief designer through November of 1974 when I became chief designer of Chevrolet one interior. I was transferred at that time to work on the downsize 1977 Chevrolet impala caprice. probably the most important vehicle redesign GM design in the 1970s. George Moon told me the reason for my Chevrolet assignment, he saw the Bob Lund John Shettler successful team approach on the interior of the 1976 Seville and wanted the same success for the downsize 1977 Chevrolet Caprice that was to become one of the most important and successful, exterior-interior designs and financially successful in General Motors history. At the time Bob Lund was made Vice president of Chevrolet in November of 1974 Pete Estes became General Motors.’s President and Tom Murphy became Chairman of General Motors.
Again my chief job what is to take and already approve concept basically a paper concept sketch and make it work production wise and cost wise. I know now my future mission at General Motors design was to use my idea making ability and visual creative problem-solving ability to turn concepts into production reality working within the constraints of engineering, manufacturing, finance, and marketing. Again my AMP / MBA helped make me an integral part of the Chevrolet-Fisher Body cross-body engineering, manufacturing, financial and marketing team developing the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice. My lessons learned in Cadillac attention to detail to continue to make it the standard the world and bring that culture and approach to the Chevrolet caprice. I injected a visual creative problem solving process culture into our Chevrolet interior studio design team, the Chevrolet and Fisher body team, creating a culture no constraint, design, engineering, cost, and manufacturing wise we couldn’t solve.
As the studio was finishing 1977 Caprice for production we started and the interior of the 1978 Monte Carlo which have basically same platform as the 1978 Malibu. We applied our creative design process to a concepts that have never been done before MGM interiors and instrument panel pod sitting across on top of the steering wheel with the right side or passenger side push forward to the legal limit of safety crush ability it was a hard concept .to sell, but we stuck with it. The pushed forward passenger side gave the driver passenger compartment a visually open interior environment and gave a completely new look change to instrument panel design in 1978. The Chevrolet engineering project team manager was very concerned about the center air-conditioning outlets being able to move air to the driver without the pod interfering with airflow.
However single-occupant vehicles accounted for 42 percent of all person trips,80% of the time only one person, the driver was in the car. Particular in the US south west for example drivers spend as much as an hour to two hours a day going back-and-forth from their job to their home that made great A-C flow a number 1 priority. The average number of vehicle trips made by a household in a year's time was 1,865 in 2017, which translates to an average of 5 household trips per day (one-way). ( Again illustrating the Interior designers stationed at GM Design Center did not recognize or realize the GM Southeast and Southwest customer number one need was Great A-C flow.)
However, the team stuck with it and we went to Arizona Mesa GM Proving Grounds and ran air conditioning flow tests on the1978 Malibu and 1979 Monte Carlo. the daytime temperatures in the region was about 111 degrees and inside the vehicle it would be heat soaked up to 142° and then the vehicle was started to find out the flow and how long it would take to reduce the temperature do you say 68 degrees farenheit and did it flow around the right edge of the pod to the driver. It worked and that was a great victory for our new Creative design process, and Visual creative problem-solving process and after that we immediatelylaunched into the 1980 Chevrolet Citation interior the first BFI body frame integral, transverse front wheel drive General Motors product.
The 1980 Chevrolet Citation instrument panel concept came from the GM Design Advanced area where the exterior and interior were being created. The car was smaller and had less interior space than the downsize Chevrolet Caprice and Monte Carlo but needed to accommodate a SAE 95th percentile male, front and rear headroom wise and as in 4 door sedan package size like the rest of the Chevrolet downsized product line. Yes from an instrumental design panel concept the right side push forward as far as crash worthiness standards (MVSS) would allow.
similar to the Monte Carlo right side but it was not the pod concept that we used in the Monte Carlo it had the appearance of a pod but it was basically cluster with the right side pushed forward. It was difficult from a design and human factors point of view. the radio and HVAC unit was designed vertical dial face with a it a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial face in a vertical manner. I thought this would be a problem human factors problem for the customer and in later versions of the citation management came to the same conclusion and made the radio horizontal, however but the first one that was released in 1980 was a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial. The verticalHVAC control what made this even more complex from ergonomically and safety standpoint was the standard shift was on the steering column so.that you had look to the steering call home shift lever do you see the radio controls end the HVAC controls.
About this time we had a visit from Bob Gurr and a few other WED Imagineering designers in a walk through of our Chevrolet interior one studio. in the spring of 1976 in the midst of finishing the 1978-1979 Monte Carlo and the 1980 Citation interiors
I didn't think much of the meaning of this visit, however they must of liked our visual creative DesignProcess as we assembled the final released 1978 Monte Carlo and 1980 Citation interior instrument seating buck for Bob Lund’s approval because few weeks later I received invitation to come out to WED imagineering and visit and a walk-through. It so happened that I was teaching a fourth year transportation department's students at Art Center, College in Pasadena, an Instrument panel problem. (note in 1976 when I was teaching and presenting the instrument panel design problem to the art center fourth year students I was shocked but also validated my believe that automotive interior design was thought of as a second priority to exterior design curriculum at Art Center and CCS and most US Automotive Design Schools and the American Auto Industry as a whole. I don't know what causes out but that's what's students had any understanding of interior instrument panel design or automotive interior design as a whole.)
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974-10-9-2023
I decided I would go to Art Center to review the final instrument panel problem results and then go over and visit WED Imagineering at their invitation.
I had gone to Disneyland for the first time in 1969 and Disney World and in the 1974 1975 timeframe. I was very excited to have the opportunity to see where and how these parks were created.
When I arrived I was greeted at the lobby of WED Imagineering by Gordon Cooper one of the original seven astronauts who at that time was Vice President of Disney WED
Imagineering. As I waited in the balls what are lobby Open word Imagineering I noticed everyone from the reception is to maintenance to sanitation the mail delivery all were wearing a badge it said imagineering another words everyone have wedding imagineering was an Imagineer making them or the culture tight creative or imaginative team.
I was led into our conference room and on the table in this conference room what is a scale model of the proposed future world and the world showcase pavillions. On the wall surrounding the conference table with the model were storyboards of each of the future world pavilions the scripts for each of their pavilions was done by Ray Bradberry Science Fiction Author the visual storyboards were drawn by Robert McCall World famous and probably one of the worlds greatest Aerospace illustrators. To be frank I was completely blown away by these storyboards visualizing the rides each of the final pavilions that now appear at Epcot some 42 years later. At the moment GM Ford Volkswagen we're all thinking about sponsoring the pavilion for 10 years at $35 million. Then I was taken on a Tour of how they created the rides for Disneyland Disney world and soon to be Epcot. All of them started with a script,a story then turn into a storyboard, then the story board became a small scale model of how the ride would work inside the pavillion . Every Disney park ride started with a story board I would imagine the story board process came from Walt Disney's approach of creating storyboards for each of his animated films. In 1976 they would review the storyboards on 4 x 8 sheets of plywood and they would take that plywood wiith pinned up storyboards and take them into a conference room, attach them to hangers on the wall for the review of the Disney management or in the case of visiting fireman such as myself to review. From that point they took me into where are they deeveloped scale models of the ride and set them at shoulder height as if you would be on the ride whether it be vehicle or whether it would be in of boat like the Pirates of the Caribbean and you would look at each part of the ride as a three-dimensional storyboard. In my mind at the moment I saw how storyboarding would be of great use at General Motors design as customer use storyboards or how you would drive the vehicle how are you will get in and out of the vehicle crashworthiness storyboards and so forth.
In the 1976 there was no Internet no Google the only way to communicate basically and a work environment searches or creative environment searches where did vegetarian who is sus storyboards.
At that moment I was thinking that I would put my résumé together and apply to WED Imagineering as soon as I got back to Detroit. I talk to my wife who is that time I was on a leave of absence from general motors working Anna Masters degree in clinical psychology at Wayne state I'm planning to go the medical school and planning to go medical school and so it look like the perfect time ditch to work at Disney Imagineering so I sent my résumé Jan and got a reply almost immediately saying they're weird we like you we think your approach to design is what we were looking for but at this moment be patient and will be in touch. Little did I know that I was being looked at to be the chief designer for General Motors design working with Disney or WED Imagineering starting in officially January of 1981. I started unofficially working on GM World of motion in1979.
Refining November 12, 2023
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974
I remained as Cadillacs interior chief designer through November of 1974 when I became chief designer of Chevrolet one interior. I was transferred at that time to work on the downsize 1977 Chevrolet impala caprice. probably the most important vehicle redesign GM design in the 1970s. George Moon told me the reason for my Chevrolet assignment, he saw the Bob Lund John Shettler successful team approach on the interior of the 1976 Seville and wanted the same success for the downsize 1977 Chevrolet Caprice that was to become one of the most important and successful, exterior-interior designs and financially successful in General Motors history. At the time Bob Lund was made Vice president of Chevrolet in November of 1974 Pete Estes became General Motors.’s President and Tom Murphy became Chairman of General Motors.
Again my chief job what is to take and already approve concept basically a paper concept sketch and make it work production wise and cost wise. I know now my future mission at General Motors design was to use my idea making ability and visual creative problem-solving ability to turn concepts into production reality working within the constraints of engineering, manufacturing, finance, and marketing. Again my AMP / MBA helped make me an integral part of the Chevrolet-Fisher Body cross-body engineering, manufacturing, financial and marketing team developing the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice. My lessons learned in Cadillac attention to detail to continue to make it the standard the world and bring that culture and approach to the Chevrolet caprice. I injected a visual creative problem solving process culture into our Chevrolet interior studio design team, the Chevrolet and Fisher body team, creating a culture no constraint, design, engineering, cost, and manufacturing wise we couldn’t solve.
As the studio was finishing 1977 Caprice for production we started and the interior of the 1978 Monte Carlo which have basically same platform as the 1978 Malibu. We applied our creative design process to a concepts that have never been done before MGM interiors and instrument panel pod sitting across on top of the steering wheel with the right side or passenger side push forward to the legal limit of safety crush ability it was a hard concept .to sell, but we stuck with it. The pushed forward passenger side gave the driver passenger compartment a visually open interior environment and gave a completely new look change to instrument panel design in 1978. The Chevrolet engineering project team manager was very concerned about the center air-conditioning outlets being able to move air to the driver without the pod interfering with airflow.
However single-occupant vehicles accounted for 42 percent of all person trips,80% of the time only one person, the driver was in the car. Particular in the US south west for example drivers spend as much as an hour to two hours a day going back-and-forth from their job to their home that made great A-C flow a number 1 priority. The average number of vehicle trips made by a household in a year's time was 1,865 in 2017, which translates to an average of 5 household trips per day (one-way). ( Again illustrating the Interior designers stationed at GM Design Center did not recognize or realize the GM Southeast and Southwest customer number one need was Great A-C flow.)
However, the team stuck with it and we went to Arizona Mesa GM Proving Grounds and ran air conditioning flow tests on the1978 Malibu and 1979 Monte Carlo. the daytime temperatures in the region was about 111 degrees and inside the vehicle it would be heat soaked up to 142° and then the vehicle was started to find out the flow and how long it would take to reduce the temperature do you say 68 degrees farenheit and did it flow around the right edge of the pod to the driver. It worked and that was a great victory for our new Creative design process, and Visual creative problem-solving process and after that we immediatelylaunched into the 1980 Chevrolet Citation interior the first BFI body frame integral, transverse front wheel drive General Motors product.
The 1980 Chevrolet Citation instrument panel concept came from the GM Design Advanced area where the exterior and interior were being created. The car was smaller and had less interior space than the downsize Chevrolet Caprice and Monte Carlo but needed to accommodate a SAE 95th percentile male, front and rear headroom wise and as in 4 door sedan package size like the rest of the Chevrolet downsized product line. Yes from an instrumental design panel concept the right side push forward as far as crash worthiness standards (MVSS) would allow.
similar to the Monte Carlo right side but it was not the pod concept that we used in the Monte Carlo it had the appearance of a pod but it was basically cluster with the right side pushed forward. It was difficult from a design and human factors point of view. the radio and HVAC unit was designed vertical dial face with a it a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial face in a vertical manner. I thought this would be a problem human factors problem for the customer and in later versions of the citation management came to the same conclusion and made the radio horizontal, however but the first one that was released in 1980 was a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial. The verticalHVAC control what made this even more complex from ergonomically and safety standpoint was the standard shift was on the steering column so.that you had look to the steering call home shift lever do you see the radio controls end the HVAC controls.
About this time we had a visit from Bob Gurr and a few other WED Imagineering designers in a walk through of our Chevrolet interior one studio. in the spring of 1976 in the midst of finishing the 1978-1979 Monte Carlo and the 1980 Citation interiors
I didn't think much of the meaning of this visit, however they must of liked our visual creative DesignProcess as we assembled the final released 1978 Monte Carlo and 1980 Citation interior instrument seating buck for Bob Lund’s approval because few weeks later I received invitation to come out to WED imagineering and visit and a walk-through. It so happened that I was teaching a fourth year transportation department's students at Art Center, College in Pasadena, an Instrument panel problem. (note in 1976 when I was teaching and presenting the instrument panel design problem to the art center fourth year students I was shocked but also validated my believe that automotive interior design was thought of as a second priority to exterior design curriculum at Art Center and CCS and most US Automotive Design Schools and the American Auto Industry as a whole. I don't know what causes out but that's what's students had any understanding of interior instrument panel design or automotive interior design as a whole.)
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974-10-9-2023
I decided I would go to Art Center to review the final instrument panel problem results and then go over and visit WED Imagineering at their invitation.
I had gone to Disneyland for the first time in 1969 and Disney World and in the 1974 1975 timeframe. I was very excited to have the opportunity to see where and how these parks were created.
When I arrived I was greeted at the lobby of WED Imagineering by Gordon Cooper one of the original seven astronauts who at that time was Vice President of Disney WED
Imagineering. As I waited in the balls what are lobby Open word Imagineering I noticed everyone from the reception is to maintenance to sanitation the mail delivery all were wearing a badge it said imagineering another words everyone have wedding imagineering was an Imagineer making them or the culture tight creative or imaginative team.
I was led into our conference room and on the table in this conference room what is a scale model of the proposed future world and the world showcase pavillions. On the wall surrounding the conference table with the model were storyboards of each of the future world pavilions the scripts for each of their pavilions was done by Ray Bradberry Science Fiction Author the visual storyboards were drawn by Robert McCall World famous and probably one of the worlds greatest Aerospace illustrators. To be frank I was completely blown away by these storyboards visualizing the rides each of the final pavilions that now appear at Epcot some 42 years later. At the moment GM Ford Volkswagen we're all thinking about sponsoring the pavilion for 10 years at $35 million. Then I was taken on a Tour of how they created the rides for Disneyland Disney world and soon to be Epcot. All of them started with a script,a story then turn into a storyboard, then the story board became a small scale model of how the ride would work inside the pavillion . Every Disney park ride started with a story board I would imagine the story board process came from Walt Disney's approach of creating storyboards for each of his animated films. In 1976 they would review the storyboards on 4 x 8 sheets of plywood and they would take that plywood wiith pinned up storyboards and take them into a conference room, attach them to hangers on the wall for the review of the Disney management or in the case of visiting fireman such as myself to review. From that point they took me into where are they deeveloped scale models of the ride and set them at shoulder height as if you would be on the ride whether it be vehicle or whether it would be in of boat like the Pirates of the Caribbean and you would look at each part of the ride as a three-dimensional storyboard. In my mind at the moment I saw how storyboarding would be of great use at General Motors design as customer use storyboards or how you would drive the vehicle how are you will get in and out of the vehicle crashworthiness storyboards and so forth.
In the 1976 there was no Internet no Google the only way to communicate basically and a work environment searches or creative environment searches where did vegetarian who is sus storyboards.
At that moment I was thinking that I would put my résumé together and apply to WED Imagineering as soon as I got back to Detroit. I talk to my wife who is that time I was on a leave of absence from general motors working Anna Masters degree in clinical psychology at Wayne state I'm planning to go the medical school and planning to go medical school and so it look like the perfect time ditch to work at Disney Imagineering so I sent my résumé Jan and got a reply almost immediately saying they're weird we like you we think your approach to design is what we were looking for but at this moment be patient and will be in touch. Little did I know that I was being looked at to be the chief designer for General Motors design working with Disney or WED Imagineering starting in officially January of 1981. I started unofficially working on GM World of motion in1979.
Refining November 12, 2023
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974
I remained as Cadillacs interior chief designer through November of 1974 when I became chief designer of Chevrolet one interior. I was transferred at that time to work on the downsize 1977 Chevrolet impala caprice. probably the most important vehicle redesign GM design in the 1970s. George Moon told me the reason for my Chevrolet assignment, he saw the Bob Lund John Shettler successful team approach on the interior of the 1976 Seville and wanted the same success for the downsize 1977 Chevrolet Caprice that was to become one of the most important and successful, exterior-interior designs and financially successful in General Motors history. At the time Bob Lund was made Vice president of Chevrolet in November of 1974 Pete Estes became General Motors.’s President and Tom Murphy became Chairman of General Motors.
Again my chief job what is to take and already approve concept basically a paper concept sketch and make it work production wise and cost wise. I know now my future mission at General Motors design was to use my idea making ability and visual creative problem-solving ability to turn concepts into production reality working within the constraints of engineering, manufacturing, finance, and marketing. Again my AMP / MBA helped make me an integral part of the Chevrolet-Fisher Body cross-body engineering, manufacturing, financial and marketing team developing the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice. My lessons learned in Cadillac attention to detail to continue to make it the standard the world and bring that culture and approach to the Chevrolet caprice. I injected a visual creative problem solving process culture into our Chevrolet interior studio design team, the Chevrolet and Fisher body team, creating a culture no constraint, design, engineering, cost, and manufacturing wise we couldn’t solve.
As the studio was finishing 1977 Caprice for production we started and the interior of the 1978 Monte Carlo which have basically same platform as the 1978 Malibu. We applied our creative design process to a concepts that have never been done before MGM interiors and instrument panel pod sitting across on top of the steering wheel with the right side or passenger side push forward to the legal limit of safety crush ability it was a hard concept .to sell, but we stuck with it. The pushed forward passenger side gave the driver passenger compartment a visually open interior environment and gave a completely new look change to instrument panel design in 1978. The Chevrolet engineering project team manager was very concerned about the center air-conditioning outlets being able to move air to the driver without the pod interfering with airflow.
However single-occupant vehicles accounted for 42 percent of all person trips,80% of the time only one person, the driver was in the car. Particular in the US south west for example drivers spend as much as an hour to two hours a day going back-and-forth from their job to their home that made great A-C flow a number 1 priority. The average number of vehicle trips made by a household in a year's time was 1,865 in 2017, which translates to an average of 5 household trips per day (one-way). ( Again illustrating the Interior designers stationed at GM Design Center did not recognize or realize the GM Southeast and Southwest customer number one need was Great A-C flow.)
However, the team stuck with it and we went to Arizona Mesa GM Proving Grounds and ran air conditioning flow tests on the1978 Malibu and 1979 Monte Carlo. the daytime temperatures in the region was about 111 degrees and inside the vehicle it would be heat soaked up to 142° and then the vehicle was started to find out the flow and how long it would take to reduce the temperature do you say 68 degrees farenheit and did it flow around the right edge of the pod to the driver. It worked and that was a great victory for our new Creative design process, and Visual creative problem-solving process and after that we immediatelylaunched into the 1980 Chevrolet Citation interior the first BFI body frame integral, transverse front wheel drive General Motors product.
The 1980 Chevrolet Citation instrument panel concept came from the GM Design Advanced area where the exterior and interior were being created. The car was smaller and had less interior space than the downsize Chevrolet Caprice and Monte Carlo but needed to accommodate a SAE 95th percentile male, front and rear headroom wise and as in 4 door sedan package size like the rest of the Chevrolet downsized product line. Yes from an instrumental design panel concept the right side push forward as far as crash worthiness standards (MVSS) would allow.
similar to the Monte Carlo right side but it was not the pod concept that we used in the Monte Carlo it had the appearance of a pod but it was basically cluster with the right side pushed forward. It was difficult from a design and human factors point of view. the radio and HVAC unit was designed vertical dial face with a it a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial face in a vertical manner. I thought this would be a problem human factors problem for the customer and in later versions of the citation management came to the same conclusion and made the radio horizontal, however but the first one that was released in 1980 was a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial. The verticalHVAC control what made this even more complex from ergonomically and safety standpoint was the standard shift was on the steering column so.that you had look to the steering call home shift lever do you see the radio controls end the HVAC controls.
About this time we had a visit from Bob Gurr and a few other WED Imagineering designers in a walk through of our Chevrolet interior one studio. in the spring of 1976 in the midst of finishing the 1978-1979 Monte Carlo and the 1980 Citation interiors
I didn't think much of the meaning of this visit, however they must of liked our visual creative DesignProcess as we assembled the final released 1978 Monte Carlo and 1980 Citation interior instrument seating buck for Bob Lund’s approval because few weeks later I received invitation to come out to WED imagineering and visit and a walk-through. It so happened that I was teaching a fourth year transportation department's students at Art Center, College in Pasadena, an Instrument panel problem. (note in 1976 when I was teaching and presenting the instrument panel design problem to the art center fourth year students I was shocked but also validated my believe that automotive interior design was thought of as a second priority to exterior design curriculum at Art Center and CCS and most US Automotive Design Schools and the American Auto Industry as a whole. I don't know what causes out but that's what's students had any understanding of interior instrument panel design or automotive interior design as a whole.)
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974-10-9-2023
I decided I would go to Art Center to review the final instrument panel problem results and then go over and visit WED Imagineering at their invitation.
I had gone to Disneyland for the first time in 1969 and Disney World and in the 1974 1975 timeframe. I was very excited to have the opportunity to see where and how these parks were created.
When I arrived I was greeted at the lobby of WED Imagineering by Gordon Cooper one of the original seven astronauts who at that time was Vice President of Disney WED
Imagineering. As I waited in the balls what are lobby Open word Imagineering I noticed everyone from the reception is to maintenance to sanitation the mail delivery all were wearing a badge it said imagineering another words everyone have wedding imagineering was an Imagineer making them or the culture tight creative or imaginative team.
I was led into our conference room and on the table in this conference room what is a scale model of the proposed future world and the world showcase pavillions. On the wall surrounding the conference table with the model were storyboards of each of the future world pavilions the scripts for each of their pavilions was done by Ray Bradberry Science Fiction Author the visual storyboards were drawn by Robert McCall World famous and probably one of the worlds greatest Aerospace illustrators. To be frank I was completely blown away by these storyboards visualizing the rides each of the final pavilions that now appear at Epcot some 42 years later. At the moment GM Ford Volkswagen we're all thinking about sponsoring the pavilion for 10 years at $35 million. Then I was taken on a Tour of how they created the rides for Disneyland Disney world and soon to be Epcot. All of them started with a script,a story then turn into a storyboard, then the story board became a small scale model of how the ride would work inside the pavillion . Every Disney park ride started with a story board I would imagine the story board process came from Walt Disney's approach of creating storyboards for each of his animated films. In 1976 they would review the storyboards on 4 x 8 sheets of plywood and they would take that plywood wiith pinned up storyboards and take them into a conference room, attach them to hangers on the wall for the review of the Disney management or in the case of visiting fireman such as myself to review. From that point they took me into where are they deeveloped scale models of the ride and set them at shoulder height as if you would be on the ride whether it be vehicle or whether it would be in of boat like the Pirates of the Caribbean and you would look at each part of the ride as a three-dimensional storyboard. In my mind at the moment I saw how storyboarding would be of great use at General Motors design as customer use storyboards or how you would drive the vehicle how are you will get in and out of the vehicle crashworthiness storyboards and so forth.
In the 1976 there was no Internet no Google the only way to communicate basically and a work environment searches or creative environment searches where did vegetarian who is sus storyboards.
At that moment I was thinking that I would put my résumé together and apply to WED Imagineering as soon as I got back to Detroit. I talk to my wife who is that time I was on a leave of absence from general motors working Anna Masters degree in clinical psychology at Wayne state I'm planning to go the medical school and planning to go medical school and so it look like the perfect time ditch to work at Disney Imagineering so I sent my résumé Jan and got a reply almost immediately saying they're weird we like you we think your approach to design is what we were looking for but at this moment be patient and will be in touch. Little did I know that I was being looked at to be the chief designer for General Motors design working with Disney or WED Imagineering starting in officially January of 1981. I started unofficially working on GM World of motion in1979.
Refining November 12, 2023
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974
I remained as Cadillacs interior chief designer through November of 1974 when I became chief designer of Chevrolet one interior. I was transferred at that time to work on the downsize 1977 Chevrolet impala caprice. probably the most important vehicle redesign GM design in the 1970s. George Moon told me the reason for my Chevrolet assignment, he saw the Bob Lund John Shettler successful team approach on the interior of the 1976 Seville and wanted the same success for the downsize 1977 Chevrolet Caprice that was to become one of the most important and successful, exterior-interior designs and financially successful in General Motors history. At the time Bob Lund was made Vice president of Chevrolet in November of 1974 Pete Estes became General Motors.’s President and Tom Murphy became Chairman of General Motors.
Again my chief job what is to take and already approve concept basically a paper concept sketch and make it work production wise and cost wise. I know now my future mission at General Motors design was to use my idea making ability and visual creative problem-solving ability to turn concepts into production reality working within the constraints of engineering, manufacturing, finance, and marketing. Again my AMP / MBA helped make me an integral part of the Chevrolet-Fisher Body cross-body engineering, manufacturing, financial and marketing team developing the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice. My lessons learned in Cadillac attention to detail to continue to make it the standard the world and bring that culture and approach to the Chevrolet caprice. I injected a visual creative problem solving process culture into our Chevrolet interior studio design team, the Chevrolet and Fisher body team, creating a culture no constraint, design, engineering, cost, and manufacturing wise we couldn’t solve.
As the studio was finishing 1977 Caprice for production we started and the interior of the 1978 Monte Carlo which have basically same platform as the 1978 Malibu. We applied our creative design process to a concepts that have never been done before MGM interiors and instrument panel pod sitting across on top of the steering wheel with the right side or passenger side push forward to the legal limit of safety crush ability it was a hard concept .to sell, but we stuck with it. The pushed forward passenger side gave the driver passenger compartment a visually open interior environment and gave a completely new look change to instrument panel design in 1978. The Chevrolet engineering project team manager was very concerned about the center air-conditioning outlets being able to move air to the driver without the pod interfering with airflow.
However single-occupant vehicles accounted for 42 percent of all person trips,80% of the time only one person, the driver was in the car. Particular in the US south west for example drivers spend as much as an hour to two hours a day going back-and-forth from their job to their home that made great A-C flow a number 1 priority. The average number of vehicle trips made by a household in a year's time was 1,865 in 2017, which translates to an average of 5 household trips per day (one-way). ( Again illustrating the Interior designers stationed at GM Design Center did not recognize or realize the GM Southeast and Southwest customer number one need was Great A-C flow.)
However, the team stuck with it and we went to Arizona Mesa GM Proving Grounds and ran air conditioning flow tests on the1978 Malibu and 1979 Monte Carlo. the daytime temperatures in the region was about 111 degrees and inside the vehicle it would be heat soaked up to 142° and then the vehicle was started to find out the flow and how long it would take to reduce the temperature do you say 68 degrees farenheit and did it flow around the right edge of the pod to the driver. It worked and that was a great victory for our new Creative design process, and Visual creative problem-solving process and after that we immediatelylaunched into the 1980 Chevrolet Citation interior the first BFI body frame integral, transverse front wheel drive General Motors product.
The 1980 Chevrolet Citation instrument panel concept came from the GM Design Advanced area where the exterior and interior were being created. The car was smaller and had less interior space than the downsize Chevrolet Caprice and Monte Carlo but needed to accommodate a SAE 95th percentile male, front and rear headroom wise and as in 4 door sedan package size like the rest of the Chevrolet downsized product line. Yes from an instrumental design panel concept the right side push forward as far as crash worthiness standards (MVSS) would allow.
similar to the Monte Carlo right side but it was not the pod concept that we used in the Monte Carlo it had the appearance of a pod but it was basically cluster with the right side pushed forward. It was difficult from a design and human factors point of view. the radio and HVAC unit was designed vertical dial face with a it a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial face in a vertical manner. I thought this would be a problem human factors problem for the customer and in later versions of the citation management came to the same conclusion and made the radio horizontal, however but the first one that was released in 1980 was a horizontal radio chassis with a vertical dial. The verticalHVAC control what made this even more complex from ergonomically and safety standpoint was the standard shift was on the steering column so.that you had look to the steering call home shift lever do you see the radio controls end the HVAC controls.
About this time we had a visit from Bob Gurr and a few other WED Imagineering designers in a walk through of our Chevrolet interior one studio. in the spring of 1976 in the midst of finishing the 1978-1979 Monte Carlo and the 1980 Citation interiors
I didn't think much of the meaning of this visit, however they must of liked our visual creative DesignProcess as we assembled the final released 1978 Monte Carlo and 1980 Citation interior instrument seating buck for Bob Lund’s approval because few weeks later I received invitation to come out to WED imagineering and visit and a walk-through. It so happened that I was teaching a fourth year transportation department's students at Art Center, College in Pasadena, an Instrument panel problem. (note in 1976 when I was teaching and presenting the instrument panel design problem to the art center fourth year students I was shocked but also validated my believe that automotive interior design was thought of as a second priority to exterior design curriculum at Art Center and CCS and most US Automotive Design Schools and the American Auto Industry as a whole. I don't know what causes out but that's what's students had any understanding of interior instrument panel design or automotive interior design as a whole.)
Assignment 6 Chief Designer Chevrolet Interior-1-11/1974-10-9-2023
I decided I would go to Art Center to review the final instrument panel problem results and then go over and visit WED Imagineering at their invitation.
I had gone to Disneyland for the first time in 1969 and Disney World and in the 1974 1975 timeframe. I was very excited to have the opportunity to see where and how these parks were created.
When I arrived I was greeted at the lobby of WED Imagineering by Gordon Cooper one of the original seven astronauts who at that time was Vice President of Disney WED
Imagineering. As I waited in the balls what are lobby Open word Imagineering I noticed everyone from the reception is to maintenance to sanitation the mail delivery all were wearing a badge it said imagineering another words everyone have wedding imagineering was an Imagineer making them or the culture tight creative or imaginative team.
I was led into our conference room and on the table in this conference room what is a scale model of the proposed future world and the world showcase pavillions. On the wall surrounding the conference table with the model were storyboards of each of the future world pavilions the scripts for each of their pavilions was done by Ray Bradberry Science Fiction Author the visual storyboards were drawn by Robert McCall World famous and probably one of the worlds greatest Aerospace illustrators. To be frank I was completely blown away by these storyboards visualizing the rides each of the final pavilions that now appear at Epcot some 42 years later. At the moment GM Ford Volkswagen we're all thinking about sponsoring the pavilion for 10 years at $35 million. Then I was taken on a Tour of how they created the rides for Disneyland Disney world and soon to be Epcot. All of them started with a script,a story then turn into a storyboard, then the story board became a small scale model of how the ride would work inside the pavillion . Every Disney park ride started with a story board I would imagine the story board process came from Walt Disney's approach of creating storyboards for each of his animated films. In 1976 they would review the storyboards on 4 x 8 sheets of plywood and they would take that plywood wiith pinned up storyboards and take them into a conference room, attach them to hangers on the wall for the review of the Disney management or in the case of visiting fireman such as myself to review. From that point they took me into where are they deeveloped scale models of the ride and set them at shoulder height as if you would be on the ride whether it be vehicle or whether it would be in of boat like the Pirates of the Caribbean and you would look at each part of the ride as a three-dimensional storyboard. In my mind at the moment I saw how storyboarding would be of great use at General Motors design as customer use storyboards or how you would drive the vehicle how are you will get in and out of the vehicle crashworthiness storyboards and so forth.
In the 1976 there was no Internet no Google the only way to communicate basically and a work environment searches or creative environment searches where did vegetarian who is sus storyboards.
At that moment I was thinking that I would put my résumé together and apply to WED Imagineering as soon as I got back to Detroit. I talk to my wife who is that time I was on a leave of absence from general motors working Anna Masters degree in clinical psychology at Wayne state I'm planning to go the medical school and planning to go medical school and so it look like the perfect time ditch to work at Disney Imagineering so I sent my résumé Jan and got a reply almost immediately saying they're weird we like you we think your approach to design is what we were looking for but at this moment be patient and will be in touch. Little did I know that I was being looked at to be the chief designer for General Motors design working with Disney or WED Imagineering starting in officially January of 1981. I started unofficially working on GM World of motion in1979.
Refining November 12, 2023