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Rear view
Interior
License plate
| Buick Y-Job | |
|---|---|
 Harley Earl in the Buick Y-Job, 1939 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Buick (General Motors) |
| Model years | 1938 |
| Designer | Harley J. Earl |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Concept car |
| Body style | 2-door convertible coupe |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 5.2-liter (320 ci) Buick straight-8 |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 126 in (3,200 mm) [1] |
| Length | 208.7 in (5,301 mm) [2] |
The Buick Y-Job was a convertible car developed by American manufacturer Buick in 1938. It was the auto industry's first concept car, [3] a model intended to show new technology or designs but not be mass-produced for sale to consumers. [4] Designed by Harley J. Earl, the car had power-operated hidden headlamps, a "gunsight" hood ornament, electric windows, [5] wraparound bumpers, flush door handles, and prefigured styling cues used by Buick until the 1950s and the vertical waterfall grille design still used by Buick today.[ until when? ] It used a Buick Super chassis, indicated by the word "Super" located above the rear license plate.
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The car was driven for a number of years by Harley Earl, 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. [6]
The "Y" in the name has two explanations:
- All experimental cars were called "X", so Earl simply went to the next letter in the alphabet. [7]
- The "Y" designation was selected by Earl because it was used extensively in the aviation industry denoting the most advanced prototypes. [5]
In 2001, Buick recreated the Y-Job with modern advancements called the Buick Blackhawk drawing extensively from the Y-Job.
