The Buick Y-Job, which holds the status of the automotive industry’s first-ever concept car, has been added to the National Historic Vehicle Register.
The National Historic Vehicle Register was created in 2014 by the Historic Vehicle Association in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Library of Congress. Its intent is to recognize and document the most significant vehicles in America’s history.
The Y-Job was built in 1938 under the guidance of General Motors’ first-ever head of design, Harley J. Earl. With the concept, Earl and his team hoped to explore new design ideas that could eventually find their way to other vehicles throughout GM’s product portfolio.
“Harley Earl and the Buick Y-Job expanded the boundaries of car design and drew the blueprint for concept vehicle design and execution,” vice president of GM global design, Michael Simcoe, said in a statement. “We thank the HVA for ensuring the world’s first concept car is documented and preserved for future generations.”
The addition of the Y-Job to the National Historic Vehicle Register comes just as the organization opens its National Laboratory in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Laboratory, which will help the growth and advancement of the program, houses a 3D scanner, a 40 x 40-foot white room with a vehicle turntable for photography and videography and physical and digital archives. The Y-Job is the first vehicle to be photographed and documented at the facility.
The Y-Job joins the General Motors Futurliner and 1948 Cadillac U.S. 1257X on the list of GM vehicles currently included in the National Historic Vehicle Register. Other inductees include the 1947 Tucker 48 Prototype, 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL.
View the full list of National Historic Vehicle Register cars here.
Comments
Buick Y Job= 20th century Buick Avista
I would not go that far.
If you study the history of this car it was much more advanced at the time it came out than anything on the road.
This was a car built in the late thirties that looked right at home in 1948.
Just to think GM was going to crush it in 1972 and it was hidden away till the feeling passed.
The Avista while a great looking car is for one is not a predictor of the future and two it is a pure show car noting more. Have you seen anyone drive it on a public road at speed? You won’t because it is just enough to roll on the show floor and off.