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Birth of World's First Concept Car

Concept cars have been exhilarating attraction in auto shows for nearly 70 years since Harley J. Earl designed the world’s first concept car, the Buick Y-Job. Buick Y-Job was built by Buick under the guidance and direction of Harley Earl in 1938. The year marks a significant milestone in the golden heritage of global car industry when the first concept car was introduced purely for testing reactions of car enthusiasts.

Harley Earl was the first chief car designer of General Motors who pushed the boundaries of technological innovations and design by introducing the Buick Y-Job. The car made its first international debut in 1938 at the Chicago Auto Show. It attracted attention at auto shows in the late 1930s and was then used by Earl as personal transportation. After enlightening the show the world’s first concept car was stored in a warehouse and further it was placed in the Sloan Museum in Flint, Michigan. After about several years, it was reserved in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Later in 1993, the Buick Y-Job was brought to the General Motor Design Centre in Warren, Michigan and since then it is preserved there as one of the GM’s priced possession.

About Harley Earl

Harley Earl was popularly known as the father of American automotive design. He was born in 1893 in Los Angeles, California. Earl joined his father’s business in 1920s where he designed custom auto bodies for famous Hollywood stars. He designed his first auto body for Fatty Arbuckle.

The designer cars in Hollywood movies were noticed by General Motors and in late 1920s the great car designer was offered an opportunity to design GM’s car models. Thereafter, Earl started putting his heart and mind in designing cars for General Motors. He has invented many innovations and pioneered many design trends in the automobile history.

Need To Build Y-Job

Earl created the Buick Y-Job in response to the General Motor’s desire to test car buyer’s reaction to new designs, style, and technologies. It was designed with a vision to creating an expressive automobile that would explore new worlds of automotive design and technology and also define future trends in the same areas.

Earl and his team required some sort of testing grounds to fulfill GM’s desire and so he pushed the styling conventions beyond the horizon. He then defined a new sphere where innovations met technology and on the same horizon built the world’s first concept car.

Naming the Car

When the car was finally crafted the designer was confused as what should be the name of the car. Earl wanted a unique and aspiring name to match the distinctive character of the car. He then decided to name the car ‘Y-Job’.

The colourful and charismatic car was named ‘Y’ to move one step ahead of the ‘X’ that was the name given to most of the experimental cars. Even today, many of the experimental cars are named ‘X’. The Y-Job then became a signpost for future design trends.

Visionary Y Concept

The visionary Y-Job was a collaborative effort of Earl, George Snyder, and Buick. The inspiration of the car came from the wild imaginations of Earl, George placed design lines and cues on paper, and finally Buick put the car into production using his excellent engineering skills. The joint efforts of three skilled professionals from General Motor’s design team finally made the foundation of the company’s groundbreaking concept car.

Putting the Buick Y-Job in Style

The Buick Y-Job is simply beautiful and elegant to observe. Every detail of the car starting from the bumpers, hood, fenders, door handles, to the interior ambience was designed with creativity and passion.

It was a two-seat convertible designed with a 126-inch wheelbase and 17-feet long body. The designers and engineers filled the car with loads of excitement to make it energetic. The streamlined steetmetal structure, electrically operated windows, concealed headlamps, and flush door handles highlighted the beauty and elegance of the car. In addition, a power-operated convertible top fully concealed by a steel boot when retracted was something that made the car more expressive and imposing.

Role of Y-Job in Present Day Cars

The Y-Job's design, styling, and technological excellence has influenced generations of automotive design. Infact some of the Buick car models still reflect the elegance and beauty of the traditional design features found in the Buick Y-Job. The new Buick Enclave's grille is a clear reflection of the traditional design trends the GM’s team placed on its first concept.

In addition, the rear fenders, concealed headlamps, uniquely shaped taillight lenses, perfectly integrated compartments, and power convertible soft top are some of the striking features of the Y-Job that are still radiating their elegance on the modern cars designed by Buick.

Innovation has brought in many new design trends but the Buick Y-Job will retain its significance, worth, and credibility in the car market till decades. This is because it discovers the world’s first concept car, a tag that can never be pushed apart from the car even if the design trends become outdated.

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