vettefinderjim
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Keith Martin sent this :
Chuck Jordan, the 4th chief designer for General Motors, died on Thursday, December 9.
He was 83.
Charles M. Jordan was born in California in 1927. He graduated from MIT Engineering School and won the Fisher Body National Design Contest as an undergraduate. He started at GM in 1949, after graduating from MIT.
GM legend Harley Earl saw his work and asked him to join the GM design staff. In 1957, Jordan was part of the team that dreamed up the iconic towering tailfins for the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado.
During the 1960s, Jordan met Enzo Ferrari, who gave him a ride in the Ferrari 250 GTE prototype. Jordan became a noted collector and driver of Ferrari cars.
"There is something about Ferrari that has its own mystique," Jordan said during a 2006 Motor Trend interview.
Jordan owned a lot of Ferraris, including a 250 GTL Lusso, a Daytona, a Testarossa, an F40 and a 456 GT.
As design director for Opel, he developed new designs and revamped the organization. The elegant Manta coupe was his project.
Jordan's career at GM saw him work with many famous designers, including Earl, Bill Mitchell and Irv Rybicki. He became design director at Cadillac and Opel. He worked on many famous cars, such as the 1958 XP 700 Corvette concept.
Jordan took over GM Design in 1986 and retired, at age 65, in 1992. Jordan was a longtime friend of SCM and spoke frequently with Publisher Martin at various concours about how styling trends from the past can be seen in the cars of today.
After retirement, Jordan volunteered as an art instructor at Vahalla High School in El Cajon, CA.
Jordan made a popular appearance this past summer at the Concours d' Elegance of America at Meadow Brook, where many of his restored GM Motorama cars were on display.
There are plans to create a scholarship in Jordan's name at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI.
Chuck Jordan, the 4th chief designer for General Motors, died on Thursday, December 9.
He was 83.
Charles M. Jordan was born in California in 1927. He graduated from MIT Engineering School and won the Fisher Body National Design Contest as an undergraduate. He started at GM in 1949, after graduating from MIT.
GM legend Harley Earl saw his work and asked him to join the GM design staff. In 1957, Jordan was part of the team that dreamed up the iconic towering tailfins for the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado.
During the 1960s, Jordan met Enzo Ferrari, who gave him a ride in the Ferrari 250 GTE prototype. Jordan became a noted collector and driver of Ferrari cars.
"There is something about Ferrari that has its own mystique," Jordan said during a 2006 Motor Trend interview.
Jordan owned a lot of Ferraris, including a 250 GTL Lusso, a Daytona, a Testarossa, an F40 and a 456 GT.
As design director for Opel, he developed new designs and revamped the organization. The elegant Manta coupe was his project.
Jordan's career at GM saw him work with many famous designers, including Earl, Bill Mitchell and Irv Rybicki. He became design director at Cadillac and Opel. He worked on many famous cars, such as the 1958 XP 700 Corvette concept.
Jordan took over GM Design in 1986 and retired, at age 65, in 1992. Jordan was a longtime friend of SCM and spoke frequently with Publisher Martin at various concours about how styling trends from the past can be seen in the cars of today.
After retirement, Jordan volunteered as an art instructor at Vahalla High School in El Cajon, CA.
Jordan made a popular appearance this past summer at the Concours d' Elegance of America at Meadow Brook, where many of his restored GM Motorama cars were on display.
There are plans to create a scholarship in Jordan's name at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI.
