WOW! A "must read".
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From: Chicagoland IL
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From: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Poignant, for sure. A sad reminder that GM's best days may well be in the past. I don't think GM, as a corporation can ever move from where they now are to where they should be - which is where they were four decades ago. I do hope that the new product - promised to be in the pipe - moves GM closer to the spirit of the now distant past than just more of the same.
The faithful wait, and wait.....
The faithful wait, and wait.....
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Newhall, CA USA
Amazing, simply amazing. It captures the passion and the magic of the time period and helps explain why things today are the way they are.
It comes down to the same thing in every business. If you don't truly LOVE what you do, if you don't believe in it enough to FIGHT for it, if you don't think you're doing the absolute BEST that you can, it's over. Throw in the towel. Send in the rubber-stamp yes-men who only care about collecting a paycheck, that think it's "only a job," interchangable with any one of a hundred other jobs. Send in the corporate zombies to push and tweak the bottom line and suck every bit of life out of your company. And abandon all hope of hitting the next "home run."
GM needs to wallpaper their halls with this article.
It comes down to the same thing in every business. If you don't truly LOVE what you do, if you don't believe in it enough to FIGHT for it, if you don't think you're doing the absolute BEST that you can, it's over. Throw in the towel. Send in the rubber-stamp yes-men who only care about collecting a paycheck, that think it's "only a job," interchangable with any one of a hundred other jobs. Send in the corporate zombies to push and tweak the bottom line and suck every bit of life out of your company. And abandon all hope of hitting the next "home run."
GM needs to wallpaper their halls with this article.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 13,713
From: The Golden State
That IS a really good read.
I think as far as designers having power in a company, Ford's J. Mays is probally the modern version of Bill Mitchell in that regard.
Before the "nasti-grams" start, note I said power within a company. J. Mays is an integral part of Ford's upper management, and has as much pull within Ford as Mitchell did at GM. The difference is that while Mitchell was willing to explore, take risks, and gain inspiration from unlikely sources. J. Mays, on the other hand, seems to lean towards ultra-modern renditions of familiar items & designs. Mays designs seemed inspired by Ikea (he's an almost unbeatable interior designer), Mitchell could have designed Transformers (he had imagination like no body's business).
Before you start accusing J.Mays of being too "retro" oriented, Thunderbird was done before he arrived, and the Mustang styling direction was agreed on by Ford upper management.
I think Ed Welburn is gaining alot of the power GM chief designers once had (compared with Wayne Cherry), mainly because GM is up against the ropes next to it's 2 competitors (as well as Welburn's amazing design talent & energy (the SSR, & the angry appliance look of GM's Trucks is his creation).
It's going to be very intresting to see what GM cars look like in 2008 when the 1st designs under his influence hit the showrooms.
I think as far as designers having power in a company, Ford's J. Mays is probally the modern version of Bill Mitchell in that regard.
Before the "nasti-grams" start, note I said power within a company. J. Mays is an integral part of Ford's upper management, and has as much pull within Ford as Mitchell did at GM. The difference is that while Mitchell was willing to explore, take risks, and gain inspiration from unlikely sources. J. Mays, on the other hand, seems to lean towards ultra-modern renditions of familiar items & designs. Mays designs seemed inspired by Ikea (he's an almost unbeatable interior designer), Mitchell could have designed Transformers (he had imagination like no body's business).
Before you start accusing J.Mays of being too "retro" oriented, Thunderbird was done before he arrived, and the Mustang styling direction was agreed on by Ford upper management.
I think Ed Welburn is gaining alot of the power GM chief designers once had (compared with Wayne Cherry), mainly because GM is up against the ropes next to it's 2 competitors (as well as Welburn's amazing design talent & energy (the SSR, & the angry appliance look of GM's Trucks is his creation).
It's going to be very intresting to see what GM cars look like in 2008 when the 1st designs under his influence hit the showrooms.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Jersey Shore
Ed Welburn's design work on the Velite sealed the deal for me as one of the best designers GM has seen. He is no Harley Earl, but thoes are big shoes.
Harley Earl always looked twards the future, as did Mitchell. Without Earl, GM would not be the powerhouse it was in the first part of the century, and probably wouldnt be as big as it is today. Some of the finest designes came from his mind.
The Velite deffinatly has the flavor of the likes of the LeSaber concept.
I think that GM is in good hands with Welburn and Nesbit. GM is making a lot more attractive cars, IMO anyway, then anyone else right now. Solstice, G6, C6, SSR, Equinox, XLR, SRX, CTS, STS, Cobalt, and LaCrosse. These cars are overshadowed by the GMT360's and the CSV's so called "lack" of originality. Because, once again, GM is the only one that rebadges.
Harley Earl always looked twards the future, as did Mitchell. Without Earl, GM would not be the powerhouse it was in the first part of the century, and probably wouldnt be as big as it is today. Some of the finest designes came from his mind.
The Velite deffinatly has the flavor of the likes of the LeSaber concept.
I think that GM is in good hands with Welburn and Nesbit. GM is making a lot more attractive cars, IMO anyway, then anyone else right now. Solstice, G6, C6, SSR, Equinox, XLR, SRX, CTS, STS, Cobalt, and LaCrosse. These cars are overshadowed by the GMT360's and the CSV's so called "lack" of originality. Because, once again, GM is the only one that rebadges.
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