THE UNTOLD STORY BEHIND GM’S CONCEPT CARS
Front Cover
Back Cover
ABOUT THE BOOK
William Leroy Mitchell
The story of William Leroy Mitchell, and the world of automotive design is a subset of the larger story of how General Motors became the world’s largest corporation during the great depression. The radical notion was to establish the world’s first design department with the objective to create cars that the customer wanted to buy. Harley Earl was hired in 1927 to establish the Art & Colour Section. Thirty years later, Bill Mitchell as the second VP Styling/ Design (1958-1977) elevated it into the essential corporate profession emulated worldwide today.
WLM was responsible for the design of over 136 million automobiles produced by GM, including the Corvette, Camaro, Riviera, and Toronado. He was to become the foremost American automobile designer of his time and responsible for the Iconic cars of GM Styling during the 1960s and 1970s.
“He created exciting cars that people wanted to buy.”
Roy Lonberger
Capturing A Legacy
As Head of Bill Mitchell’s secret Studio-X during the mid-1960s, I had an up-close and personal look of Bill Mitchell and his design passion.
My story explores the journey of a kid from the streets of Compton who studied engineering at the University of California, graduated with Honors from Art Center in industrial design at the age of twenty-two, and went to work as a designer first for Ford followed two years later at General Motors. It also explores the forty year period after I left GM and created Magna Design into a major international product design and marketing communications firm, during which time I had a working relationship with the CEOs of over 250 companies. I know what makes great design and successful business leaders.
WLM managed his creative team like the conductor of an orchestra, waving his arms like a baton, demanding excellence, and achieving the results of his vision. He was a Maestro.
And of course the proof of his leadership: The Iconic Cars of GM
Authenticity: My celebration of Bill Mitchell
Bill Mitchell was the most authentic man I ever met. The secret to his success was that his focus never changed, his design vision was laser clear, and he always communicated what he thought. He demanded excellence. He championed innovation. He encouraged good work. He charged young designers with complete responsibility to design a car. He delegated responsibility, but never abdicated his own. You always knew where you stood with Mitchell, because he would tell you.
The inside truth has not been written, until now. During the almost fifty years since I worked for him up close and personal during the 1960s in his famous Studio-X, Warehouse Studio, and Chevy-2 studios, I have been amazed that the real story of the man has not been told. For the last three years, I have made it my mission to seek out the facts, tell the unvarnished truth, and to celebrate Bill Mitchell as the man, corporate design manager, a skilled leader of creative types, and perhaps the greatest American automobile designer.
My passion for writing the book is to tell the story of my interaction with Mitchell (and my part in designing a number of cars for him), in my own words (as if I were directly talking with you over a dinner table). I have tried my best to achieve the highest design quality to portray the designer illustrations. I have also endeavored to design the book in the Swiss Style of graphic design which characterized the Mitchell Era during the 1960s. My objective was to design the definitive book about Bill Mitchell and GM Styling that would appeal to a handful of automobile enthusiasts, designers, students, and historians. It is an important story that needs to be told.