Wayne Cherry | |
---|---|
Born | 1937 (age 86–87) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Education | Art Center College of Design |
Occupation | Car designer |
Years active | 1962-2004 |
Employer | General Motors |
Known for | General Motors Vice President of Design (1992-2004) |
Predecessor | Chuck Jordan |
Successor | Ed Welburn |
Wayne Kent Cherry [1] (born 1937) is an American car designer educated at Art Center College of Design and employed by General Motors from 1962 through 2004, retiring as Vice President of Design. Cherry worked for General Motors in the United States from 1962 until 1965, when he moved to the United Kingdom to take a position with General Motors' Vauxhall Motors subsidiary, becoming Design Director at Vauxhall in 1975. In 1983, General Motors consolidated all European passenger car design under Cherry and made him Design Director at General Motors' Adam Opel AG subsidiary. Cherry returned to the United States in 1991 and in 1992 became General Motors Vice President of Design. Cherry retired from General Motors in 2004.
Cherry was one of twenty-five nominees for the 1999 Car Designer of the Century.
In the 1950s, Cherry read an article about the Art Center College of Design and wrote to the college, asking how to become a car designer. The college replied, telling Cherry to submit a portfolio. Cherry submitted a portfolio that included sketches of cars and engines and was accepted to the college. [2] Cherry graduated with a bachelor's degree in industrial and transportation design in early 1962. [3]
Cherry joined General Motors in 1962 after graduating from the Art Center College of Design, initially working at General Motors in the US as an Associate Creative Designer. [2] [3] [4] Cherry was a member of the team that designed the original Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird and the team that designed the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado.
In 1965, Cherry transferred to General Motors' United Kingdom-based Vauxhall Motors subsidiary. His first project was in 1965 under Assistant Director of Design Leo Pruneau working on the Vauxhall XVR concept car. [5] became Assistant Design Director at Vauxhall in 1970. [3] In that same year, the Vauxhall SRV concept car was shown. Under Cherry, General Motors released the redesigned 1973 Vauxhall Firenza with its aerodynamic "droopsnoot". [3] Cherry became the Design Director for Vauxhall in 1975.[ citation needed ]
In 1983, General Motors consolidated the design activities of its Vauxhall and Opel subsidiaries. As part of the consolidation plan, Cherry became Design Director at General Motors' Rüsselsheim, Germany-based Adam Opel AG subsidiary and became responsible for overall design of passenger cars in Europe. [3] During his time at Opel, Cherry supervised the design of the Astra, Corsa, Calibra, Tigra, among many others.
Cherry returned to the United States in 1991 to direct the design studios of General Motors' Chevrolet and Geo divisions. [3] In 1992, Cherry became Vice President of Design for General Motors worldwide, [6] [7] one of seven to have held the position, including Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell, Irv Rybicki, Chuck Jordan, Ed Welburn and Michael Simcoe.
While Cherry Vice President of Design, he oversaw the designs of the Pontiac Solstice, Cadillac Sixteen concept car, Hummer H2, Chevrolet SSR, and many other vehicles, including the Cadillac CTS introduced in 2002.
Cherry retired from General Motors on January 1, 2004. [3]
As Design Director at Vauxhall & Opel:
Opel Kadett E(1980s-1990s)
As Vice President of Design for GM:
The 1993 Opel Corsa received 20 international design awards. [3] In 1999, the Global Automotive Elections Foundation nominated Cherry to a group of twenty-five designers competing for Car Designer of the Century. [8] In June 2013, Cherry received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. [9]
GMC is a division of American automotive manufacturer General Motors (GM) for trucks and utility vehicles. GMC currently makes SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and light-duty trucks. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, motorhomes, transit buses, and medium duty trucks.
GM Korea Company is the South Korean subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors and the third largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea. GM Korea's roots go back to the former Daewoo Motors vehicle brand, which was split from its parent company, Daewoo, in 2002. In addition to importing vehicles for sale into South Korea, the company also operates three manufacturing facilities producing vehicles for the domestic market and for export. The company also operates GM Technical Center Korea, a design, engineering, research & development facility for various GM products, primarily small-size cars.
The Opel Omega is an executive car engineered and manufactured by German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2004. The first generation, the Omega A (1986–1994), superseded the Opel Rekord. It was voted European Car of the Year for 1987, and was available as a saloon or estate. The second generation, the Omega B, was manufactured from 1994 to 2004.
Captive import is a marketing term and a strategy for a vehicle that is foreign-built and sold under the name of an importer or by a domestic automaker through its own dealer distribution system.
The General MotorsJ platform, or J-body, is an automobile platform that was used by General Motors for compact cars from the 1982 to 2005 model years. The third generation of compact cars designed by GM, the J-body marked the introduction of front-wheel drive for its compact model lines, simultaneously replacing the rear-wheel drive H-body and the European U-body platforms, the latter being a stretched version of the original rear-wheel drive T-body. The J-body was marketed as a world car, with GM brands selling versions of the platform in North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan; in markets outside of North America, the model line was packaged as a mid-size car.
Delta was a General Motors compact front-wheel drive automobile and crossover SUV platform, originally developed by Opel Group. Delta was a successor to the Opel T platform; it also replaced J platform and the Z platform used by the Saturn S-Series. The platform debuted in the 2003 Saturn Ion. Vehicles of this platform generally carry the letter "A" in the fourth character of their VINs.
Kappa was General Motors' subcompact rear-wheel drive automobile platform for roadster applications. The architecture debuted in the 2006 Pontiac Solstice and 2007 Saturn Sky, and ended production in 2009. These vehicles generally have a "M" in the fourth digit of their VIN.
Epsilon is General Motors' mid-size front-wheel drive automobile platform. The architecture was a multi-division project of GM North America, Opel and Saab, and debuted in the 2002 Opel Vectra and 2003 Saab 9-3. Since this platform falls squarely in the center of the worldwide automobile market, GM plans to produce a great many Epsilon vehicles with over a dozen variations. As of 2005, it was GM's highest volume worldwide platform. Even after the dissolution of the GM/Fiat partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue developing Epsilon-derived models.
Arlington Assembly is a General Motors automobile factory located in Arlington, Texas. The plant has operated for more than 60 years and today manufactures large SUVs from GM's divisions Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac.
The V platform is a rear-wheel drive automobile platform that underpinned various General Motors (GM) vehicles from 1966 through to its final discontinuation in 2007. The V platform was developed in the 1960s by the German subsidiary of GM, Opel, and underpinned vehicles competing in the European E-segment, with the Opel Rekord and Opel Omega being its two most prolific nameplates.
Bryan Edward Nesbitt is an automobile designer and currently head of General Motors Corporation International Operations Design, based in Shanghai, China. Nesbitt is also brand chairman for Wuling and Baojun, two automakers with which GM has joint ventures.
General Motors New Zealand Limited, formerly Holden New Zealand Limited, is a subsidiary of General Motors that distributes GM' motor vehicles, engines, components and parts in New Zealand.
The history of General Motors (GM), one of the world's largest car and truck manufacturers, dates back more than a century and involves a vast scope of industrial activity around the world, mostly focused on motorized transportation and the engineering and manufacturing that make it possible. Founded in 1908 as a holding company in Flint, Michigan, as of 2012 it employed approximately 209,000 people around the world. With global headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, United States, General Motors manufactures cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2008, 8.35 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under various brands. Current auto brands are Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling. Former GM automotive brands include LaSalle, McLaughlin, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Opel, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall, Daewoo, and Holden.
Charles Morrell Jordan was an American automotive designer, born in Whittier, California.
MyLink a.k.a. Intellilink is a telematics system/infotainment system offered by General Motors in their vehicles. The system was debuted in 2011 in the then-new Chevrolet Volt.
David Lyon is a car designer best known for his work with General Motors where he worked directly from college in 1990 until 2012. He is originally from Naperville, Illinois, United States and has been moved around several General Motors design studios during his career. He is currently working for VinFast, a Vietnamese automobile manufacturer.
Irvin Walter Rybicki was an American automotive designer widely known for his career as a designer with General Motors and his tenure as the corporation's Vice President of Design from 1977–1986, succeeding Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell in that role.
Mark Adams is an English car designer. He is current senior car designer at Opel Automobile and has worked as for brands including Cadillac, Buick and Opel.
Cadillac Europe is the Swiss subsidiary of US-based company General Motors that imports and commercialises Cadillac vehicles for 25 countries across Europe. In the past, it was also active as a manufacturer, producing Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, La Salle, Opel, and Vauxhall vehicles in its Bienne factory. As of 2024, the only two models imported by Cadillac Europe are the Cadillac Lyriq and the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
The last time I met Wayne Kent Cherry, he was looking especially pleased...
I came across an article about Art Center [Pasadena, California's Art Center College of Design], and wrote to them to ask how to become a car designer. They told me to submit a portfolio, so I did some sketches of cars and of engines, and I was accepted.
A portfolio of car sketches helped him gain admission to the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where he soon won a scholarship that led to a bachelor's degree in industrial and transportation design. After graduation, Cherry joined General Motors' advanced design studios in 1962.
[Cherry] joined GM in 1962, straight out of California's Art Center design school...
The General Motors Corporation named Wayne K. Cherry its new vice president of design staff today, filling a key position that oversees how all G.M. cars and trucks look, as well as their comfort and styling characteristics.
When named GM's vice president of design in 1992, Cherry became only the fifth person to head that operation in GM's long history.
Cherry will receive the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology's 2013 Lifetime Design Achievement Award, which will be presented during the EyesOn Design show in June 2013.
Cherry, Indianapolis born and Art Center educated, joined GM in 1962, as Associate Creative Designer.