Introduced in 1938, the Buick Y-Job is considered to be the world’s first concept car. Created by Harley Earl and his design team, the Y-Job embodied the future of the automobile according to General Motors’ head designer, who even used the car for a while as his daily driver.
Now, the current GM Design team just released sketches from one of its artists, named Namwoo, which paid tribute to Earl’s groundbreaking concept car with a modern-day rendition of the Buick Y-Job. Although the most elaborate drawing shows a hardtop-roofed coupe, the artist also toyed with the idea of settling on a convertible design, just like the 1938 Buick concept. The new Y-Job does share a similar aerodynamic, streamlined body, stretching to a massive overall length, enhancing its elegance and imposing presence.
The original Y-Job boasting hidden headlights and flush door handles, which were all innovative features at the time. The new sketch celebrates those traits with blue LED circular rings acting as headlights, while the body is uncluttered and sleek. The car’s greenhouse boasts a slim, split windscreen and very small side windows, squeezed together by a high beltline and a low roofline. Huge wheels are positioned at the very edges of the coupe, supported by wide fenders at the rear, though not as detached from the fuselage as on the 1938 concept.
Since this is purely a design exercise, we have no details to share about what type of powertrain this possible future Y-Job would feature, but we figure GM’s Ultium batteries and Ultium Drive components would fit nicely and give the coupe an even more futuristic demeanor.
As good as this modern-day Buick Y-Job looks, it’s highly unlikely that the brand is mulling the idea of producing such a massive flagship car. Although passenger cars are still offered in the Chinese market and are still pretty popular, Buick’s North American lineup now solely consists of utility vehicles. The new-generation 2021 Buick Envision is the latest addition, the first units having just arrived in the U.S. and which should soon hit dealerships across the country.
GM also recently announced that two Buick EV crossovers would launch by 2025, including a smaller, more dynamic shaped model and a bigger, more utilitarian vehicle. Both will be based on the GM BEV3 electric platform and use Ultium powertrains and batteries.
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Comments
Would it be fair to say this would be the latest idea that GM has shared (following several concept cars) of what a contemporary Buick Riviera might look like? Or Is it simply an homage to the Buick Y-Job by a designer who had time to spare?
so he stuck big fat wheels on a 80 year old design. impressive.
Pointless article on napkin sketches that’ll never amount to anything. All buyers are ever going to actually get a chance to buy are silver-hued Chinese and Korean CUVs riding on the same utilitarian EV platform and looking about as exciting as a box of cereal.
I wish this was a possibility. I wish there could be an actual American-made Riviera again with the beautiful proportions of the fourth sketch on the left but we all know that’s not in the cards. GM just teases.
I always enjoyed Ford Design 49 forty niner
Concept. I wish they had made a limited edition run for that car. The buick Y job
Sketches or images lacled that passionate
Gotta have it feeling. Maybe GM can give the more seasoned designers a crack at the process. Just saying
If they do produce it I’d bet it’ll be assembled in China just like most or all buicks that are now sold in the US. I know a lot of auto parts are made in other countries but if Americans don’t start drawing the line somewhere we won’t have any decent jobs left. Wake up people.
IMHO…Looks like something you’d find in a CCS entrance application / portfolio 15 years ago.
Loaded with over-used design cliches and perspectives.
Unfortunately, the CT6 was the last of the wonderful “long dash-to-axle” platforms.
Didn’t former GM Designer Steve Pastiener design and build “The Black Hawk” a few years ago. Much better than any of these designs as a continuation of the “Y” job.
Impressive-NOT.
Not sure what to say, we have seen good crowd pulling 2door BUICK Concept that was going to put the brand to the limelight, however they just took some grille design and put it on some of their boring design. For now all I can say is that, “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”
Nothing new with gm. Waiting for a company buy-out. Stale and mundane ideas. Fiat will buy Vette. Ford will be subsidized to buy the truck division. Just s prolonged lingering death for a once great company.
I agree with you, you’re just a shadow of their former self, kind of wonder what Ross Perot took to his grave with him that they paid him millions of dollars to keep quiet.
Didn’t Chrysler do this with the Prowler/ PT cruiser? GM already did this with that convertible pickup I can’t remember the name of?
Buick came close to Harley Earl’s 1938 concept car with the 1971 Buick Riviera. But, it was a design too far out of the normal, boring vehicles of that era, and sales failed miserably.
Sorry but the 71 to 73 Riviera was a good seller and hailed as a styling masterpiece.
I beg to partly differ. My family ran a Buick dealership during the timeframe these were offered for sale. They were a dud. I agree with you that they were a styling masterpiece, but the dealers in the Washington Zone (which we were a part of) could hardly give them away.
Saw tons of them in the Detroit area.
Please just keep doing what you are doing. Start making car designs for the future! Those cars was ugly then and ugly now!
Is this person being paid to do this? Is this all GM has to talk about or maybe they’re worried about the two billion dollars that they lost in the Nicola fraud electric deal, Barra and her other numb non-car predecessors if they’re allowed to will bury this company. How do you invest $2 billion in a company that doesn’t even have a working prototype?
GM didn’t put any money into Nikola.
I would love to see a modern day version of
a 1971 BUICK GS, 1970 Olds 442, a 69 Chevelle SS and a 65 Impala SS .
Absolutely gorgeous That is a must
I’m still waiting for a large body remake of the 63-65 Buick Riviera.
Curious what it would look like.
Let me guess, whatever is it or looks like, everyone hates it???
What do I win?
Great, wash rinse, repeat.