Buick Y-Job
Encyclopedia
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
, produced by Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
(a division of General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
), in 1938. Designed by Harley J. Earl
Harley Earl
Harley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...
, the car had power-operated hidden headlamps
Hidden headlamps
Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps or headlights, are an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not in use...
, a "gunsight" hood ornament
Hood ornament
A hood/bonnet ornament, or radiator cap, or car mascot is a specially crafted model of something which symbolizes a car company like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood...
, wraparound bumpers, flush door handles, and prefigured styling cues used by Buick until the 1950s.
The car itself was actually driven for a number of years by Harley Earl
Harley Earl
Harley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...
, until he replaced it with a 1951 model car. Sometime after that, the car was restored at the Henry Ford Museum, until 1993 when it was returned to the GM Design Center.
The "Y" in the name has several explanations:
- All experimental cars were called "X", so Earl simply went to the next letter in the alphabet.
- The "Y" designation was selected by Earl because it was used extensively in the aviation industry denoting the most advanced prototypes.
In 2001, Buick recreated the Y-job with modern advancements called the Buick Blackhawk
Buick Blackhawk
The Buick Blackhawk is a retro concept 2+2 convertible built by Buick in 2001. Its grille is based on 1939 Buicks and the concept car Buick Y-Job, while its main body is based on the 1948 Buick Roadmaster...
drawing extensively from the Y-job.
External links
- http://www.carofthecentury.com/the_star_buster.htm
- Edmund´s, The World's First Concept Car: 1938 Buick Y-Job
- Why the 'Y-Job' -- Harley Earl and the Buick Dream Car
- World's first concept car
- http://www.gmphotostore.com/1938-Buick-Y-Job-at-GM-Design-Dome/productinfo/53217131