Welburn was also the lead GM designer on the Chaparral 2X Vision GT, a concept car designed for the video game Gran Turismo 6.[2][3] The car features 4-wheel steer and active aerodynamics, claimed to be similar to a wingsuit, and was made available in December 2014.
Education
Welburn studied design, sculpture, and painting at Howard University’s School of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. He communicated with General Motors during his years at Howard, which led to an internship at GM Design after his junior year in 1971. He earned his bachelor's degree from Howard in 1972 [4] and was invited to return to his alma mater on May 7, 2016 to give a commencement speech to graduates of the College of Fine Arts.
Career
Welburn's first peek behind the curtain of General Motors Design was during his college internship in 1971. One year later, he became the first Black American hired to design GM vehicles. He spent his entire design career at GM, where he worked in a variety of studios on a diverse list of vehicles, and he became the highest-ranking Black American in the automotive industry as the first-ever Vice President, GM Global Design[5]— one of seven to have held the position, including Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell, Irv Rybicki, Chuck Jordan, Wayne Cherry, and Michael Simcoe.
His designs have set records for speed on racetracks and sales in the marketplace. Among many other notable vehicles, he designed multiple pace cars for the Indianapolis 500, and led the design of the presidential limo, commonly known as 'The Beast', for both Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.[6]
As the leader of GM Global Design, Welburn traveled the world attending auto shows and visiting his eleven design studios in seven countries, averaging 140,000 air miles each year.[citation needed]
Throughout his career, Welburn recognized a connection between fashion and automobile design. This kinship brought him to spearhead the creation of three automotive fashion shows; two in Detroit, and a third in Dubai. In these shows, GM's latest concept cars rolled down the runway alongside Hollywood and music industry celebrities wearing the latest fashions.
On April 7, 2016, he announced his retirement from General Motors after 44 years, effective July 1, 2016. He was succeeded by Michael Simcoe from GM Australia Design.[7]
After announcing his retirement, he launched The Welburn Group, a design consultancy.[8]
Welburn continues to advise GM Design on the development of their new design facility in Warren, MI.
Film, Television, and Games
Welburn has enjoyed a long relationship with the film industry, with the goal being to ensure GM products are placed in key roles in feature films. He notes his relationship with director Michael Bay, Paramount Pictures, and The Transformers movies featuring the Bumblebee Camaro as having been the most satisfying. His work on this modern-day film franchise led to a speaking role in Transformers: Age of Extinction.
He has also appeared on several automotive TV programs, including AmeriCarna, Jay Leno's Garage, and the automotive reality series Motor City Masters, where his weekly role was that of the authority on design and brands.
In 2019, Ed founded Welburn Media Productions is currently serving as the executive producer of a major motion picture currently under development.
In 2022, Ed Welburn was featured in the video game Gran Turismo 7 where a virtual avatar representing him provides insights, commentary, and personal Anecdotes relating to GM products featured in the game.
He also serves on the Board of Directors for the College for Creative Studies, America On Wheels, LeMay - America's Car Museum, and Tony Bennett’s Exploring the Arts.
In 2016, Welburn designed the new trophy for the North American Car of the Year award, which is on permanent display in the atrium of TCF Center in Detroit.[9]
Personal life
Welburn comes from a close-knit family with roots in suburban Philadelphia. It was during a visit to the Philadelphia Auto Show as an 8-year-old that he decided he wanted a career in automotive design, and his mission to become an automotive designer for General Motors took on greater meaning when he wrote his first letter to GM at age 11. The company wrote back and recommended the steps he needed to take to achieve his dream.
In a July 7, 2016 interview with John McElroy on the program Autoline, Welburn stated that although officially retired, he has begun the process of writing an autobiography, in addition to having been asked by General Motors CEO Mary Barra to oversee a number of future General Motors products.[10]
Ed has two adult children and two grandchildren.
Awards
In 2014, Welburn's passion for fashion landed him on Hour Detroit’s annual Best Dressed list.[11]
In 2016, General Motors dedicated its Center for African American Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Welburn's honor. The Detroit Free Press also honored him with its first-ever Difference Makers Lifetime Achievement Award,[12] and most recently his body of work was turned over to the Smithsonian Institution museum, making him the first automobile designer to earn that distinction.
In 2017, Welburn was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by the College for Creative Studies, a leading design school, and he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, a recognition that he holds as his highest professional honor.[13]
In 2018, he received the EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award for his outstanding career in vehicle design.[14]
In 2023, he won the Car Design News Lifetime Achievement Award.[15]
Related Research Articles
General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing its four core automobile brands of Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick. By sales, it was the largest automaker in the United States in 2022, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota in 2008.
Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was a Swiss-American race car driver, mechanic and entrepreneur who co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911.
Harley Jarvis Earl was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever appointed in design of a major corporation in American history. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as automotive design techniques. He subsequently introduced the "concept car" as both a tool for the design process and a clever marketing device.
Robert Anthony Lutz is a Swiss-American automotive executive. He served as a top leader of all of the United States Big Three automobile manufacturers, having been in succession executive vice president of Ford Motor Company, president and then vice chairman of Chrysler Corporation, and vice chairman of General Motors.
Wayne K. Cherry 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.
The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an annual automotive event held on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. It is widely considered the most prestigious car show in the world and it is the pinnacle Concours d'Elegance competition worldwide.
The Vision Gran Turismo program is a series of concept cars for the Gran Turismo video game series, developed by a cross-section of the world's top automobile manufacturers. These cars appeared originally in the video game Gran Turismo 6, and later made an appearance in each subsequent Gran Turismo installment, all developed by Polyphony Digital. For the most part, they apply present-day technology and materials, with a handful of notable exceptions that utilize novel propulsion and aerodynamic technologies. Their appearance as free update content has been staggered since the launch of GT6 in 2013, with each one being available for download upon release.
The Corvette Stingray Racer is a sports racing car and concept car that debuted in 1959. The car was developed in the styling studios at General Motors (GM) at the behest of Bill Mitchell, GM Vice President of styling. The design was based on a sketch by designer Pete Brock, and was further developed by Larry Shinoda. The car strongly influenced the styling of the second generation (C2) Corvette Sting Ray.
The ChevroletCorvair Monza GT (XP-777) was a mid-engined experimental prototype automobile built in 1962 and based on the early model Chevrolet Corvair series. As it was essentially a concept car, the Monza GT did not enter production.
EyesOn Design are a series of events including an annual car show and a fundraiser for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. It has become a national event focused on the emotion and character of automotive design.
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.
Irv Rybicki was an American automotive designer widely known for his successful career as a designer with General Motors and his subsequent tenure as the corporation's Vice President of Design from 1977-1986, succeeding Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell in that role.
Robert Wayne Cumberford is a former automotive designer for General Motors, author and design critic – widely known as Automotive Design Editor and outspoken columnist for Automobile magazine.
Arthur M. Fitzpatrick was an American art director widely known for his automotive art and advertising illustrations. Fitz, as he was often called, was noted for his work was on the Pontiac "wide-track" campaign from 1959-1972, working with Van Kaufman. Fitzpatrick had several careers over eight decades, including automobile designing, art director and stamp designer. Near the end of his career, he designed two series of automobile stamps for the U.S. Postal Service, released in 2005 and 2008.
Ken Eberts is an American painter who has been a major contributor to the automotive art genre. He is a founding member of the Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS), and has been its president since its inception in 1983.
The Plymouth XNR is a concept car developed by Chrysler. It was designed by Virgil Exner, and first shown in 1960. Also called the XNR 500, the car is an open roadster with some asymmetric features, and was proposed as a sporty addition to the Plymouth model lineup, and as competition for the Chevrolet Corvette.
McKeel Hagerty is an American entrepreneur, business personality and the CEO of Hagerty, an automotive lifestyle brand and specialty collectible insurance company headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan.
John Manoogian II is an industrial designer, adjunct faculty member, automotive industry expert and automobile designer — widely known for his nearly 33-year career with General Motors, where he designed for the company's Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac divisions.
Magalie Debellis is an artist and industrial designer who works for General Motors as the manager of Cadillac Advanced Design, where she led the design teams responsible for the Cadillac Lyriq and Celestiq.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
