Tom Gale was an Automobile Designer from USA best known for the works with Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth marques. He was best associated with Chrylser LH series cars which introduced the Cab forward designs into large sedans and the sports cars, the Dodge Stealth and the Dodge Viper

Dodge Viper

The first prototype was tested in January 1989. It debuted in 1991 with two pre-production models as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 when Dodge was forced to substitute it in place of the Japanese-built Stealth because of complaints from the United Auto Workers, and went on sale in January...

. Gale and his design partners Trevor Creed and John Herlitz were instrumental with breakthrough designs that rescued Chrysler twice from the brink of bankurutpcy.

Gale born in 1943 to Tom Gale Senior, who was an engineer in GM

GM

- Business and industry :* General manager* General merchandise* General Mills* General Motors, an automobile manufacturing company* Gold Master, an original recording from which copies may be made* Gross margin, profit as a percentage of sales price...

's 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...

 division. Gale showed keen interested into automobiles as he grew up in Flint, Michigan

Flint, Michigan

Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...

. He later graduated from Michigan State in 1966 with a degree in engineering, along with some Art cources.
Gale joined Chrysler in as an engineer, working in the newly formed advanced body-engineering group. Later he moved into the Design department for Lee Iacocca

Lee Iacocca

Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...

's K-Car

K-car

K-car may refer to:*Chevrolet C/K, Chevrolet and GMC's full-size pickup truck line from 1962 until 1998*Chrysler K platform, an automobile platform...

 project.

Gale later promoted as the head of Chrysler Styling department headed show stopping concept cars such as the 1993 Chrysler Thunderbolt, 1995 Atlantic, 1997 Phaeton-and high-profile, and later the swoopy LH platform models, Plymouth Prowler

Plymouth Prowler

The Plymouth Prowler, later the Chrysler Prowler, is a "retro" styled production car built in 1997 and 1999-2002. The Prowler was based on the 1993 concept car of the same name.- Design :...

 and the 1994 Dodge Ram

Dodge Ram

The Dodge Ram is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by the Chrysler Group LLC. As of late 2010, it has been sold under the Ram Trucks brand. Previously, Ram was part of the Dodge lineup of light trucks...

 pickup series. Gales most notable creation was the 1992 Dodge Viper

Dodge Viper

The first prototype was tested in January 1989. It debuted in 1991 with two pre-production models as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 when Dodge was forced to substitute it in place of the Japanese-built Stealth because of complaints from the United Auto Workers, and went on sale in January...

 which got evolved from the earlier concept without much changes.

Gale retired from Chrysler in 2000, after the merger with Chrylser's merger with Daimler Benz. He built a 1933 Ford highboy roadster with a hemi V8, and formed He now runs a design consultancy that created a line of instruments for Classic Instruments Inc and also indulging in his favorite pastime of building Hot Rod

Hot rod

Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...

cars.

External links

• Tom Gale Chrysler Designer - The Face of Design
• Tom Gale: The man who helped Motown find its mojo
• [Findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3012/is_2_180/ai_59966973/] Executive of the year - Chrysler designer Tom Gale by Marjorie Sorge, Feb. 2000