Found in a barn: A slice of GM's design history
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Left: a sketch of a 1942 Buick by a student named Ed Glowacke, who went on to lead Cadillac design during its trend-setting 1950s tail-fin era. Images: Courtesy of General Motors
A forgotten collection of drawings discovered at a farm estate sale in upstate New York offers a rare glimpse into the history of automotive design.
Why it matters: The cars depicted in the dusty binder never made it into production, but the student artists who drew them went on to become some of the industry's most influential car designers, including:
- Ned Nickles, who designed the groundbreaking 1963 Buick Riviera;
- Ed Glowacke, who led Cadillac design during the tail-fin era of the 1950s;
- Clare MacKichan, who designed Chevrolet's iconic '55, '56 and '57 sedans, and the first generation of Corvettes.
- Joe Oros, designer of the first Ford Mustang.
All were students at the Detroit Institute of Automobile Styling, founded in 1938 by Harley Earl, the first head of design at General Motors.
The backstory, as reported by GM News, is that a "lifelong gearhead" named Josh Quick acquired the binder in a load of tractor parts at a barn sale in 2024 and soon recognized the historical significance of the drawings.
- The images, all dated from the summer of 1940, show visions of what Buick vehicles might look like in 1942.
- The drawings — almost 80 pages preserved in plastic sleeves — are in near-perfect condition, Christo Datini, manager of the GM Design Archive and Special Collections, told senior editor Bob Sorokanich.
- "When we first saw them, I thought they were copies," Datini said. "They're relatively delicate, but they've survived quite a journey over the past 80 years."
- GM acquired the originals, which are now stored at GM Design, along with other archival items from Harley Earl and DIAS.
