GM Design Team Releases 1964 Pontiac Sketch
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The GM Design team has released a classic concept drawing from 1964 depicting a sleek Pontiac design study. The concept was penned by Dick Ruzzin, and leans heavily on the old-school cool.
For those readers who may not know, Dick Ruzzin worked as a designer at General Motors for four decades, influencing a wide variety of GM products at a time when The General was the world’s automotive leader, including in the field of design.
Ruzzin graduated from Michigan State University in 1959 and joined ranks with Fisher Body, which provided body assemblies for General Motors. There, he served in the Trim and Hardware department before launching his career at General Motors as a junior designer with Oldsmobile.
Ruzzin would go on to work at each of GM’s domestic brands (with the exception of GMC) as well as The General’s overseas brands, including Bitter, GM do Brasil, Opel, Holden, and Vauxhall.
In the late ‘80s, Ruzzin oversaw the design of the tenth-generation Cadillac Eldorado and fourth-generation Cadillac Seville, working to save the luxury division from outright closure.
This Pontiac sketch, however, takes things back a bit further. Dated December 16th, 1964, the sketch does not specify which Pontiac model this is supposed to represent, but the Grand Prix is a pretty good guess. The front end features a low, wide fascia, with a pair of vertically stacked headlights per side and angled wedge up front dividing the two slim air intakes. The Pontiac badge is visible on the upper portion of the front wedge.
The front wedge continues rearwards into the hoodline, while the fender treatment brackets the quad headlights with large C-shaped sheet metal. It’s a bit unclear, but it also looks like the wheels use a mesh wire design, while a prominent side line reaches along the flanks of the machine.
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Per the GM Design post, the sketch was done with charcoal on Canson paper, and was pulled from the automaker’s archives.
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I was under 1 years old.
Wow. It appears very easy to upset five morons.
I don’t think this was for the Grand Prix. This looks more like a Catalina, I think it was still in production at this time. My dad owned one I think it was a 64.
Old school cool is right. I wish that GM didn’t dissolve Pontiac
Back when GM was cool…
Bring Pontiac Back!
My folks had a new 64 Grand Prix it was a nice car.
My dad worked as an engineer at Pontiac for over 30 years starting in the early 1950’s. Growing up I had early exposure to many new designs before they were released, via prototypes and early production cars he would drive home as part of their evaluation process. The design in this particular sketch was realized in their full-size production models (Catalina, Bonneville) with a modified version for the Grand Prix — and I think that was the base for the customized “Batmobile” for the “Batman” TV show of that era. That was right around 1968. I personally thought that design was pretty ugly, especially when contrasted with the elegant styling of essentially the same full size body platform in 1965.
Hey-The sketch is indeed of the Bonneville/Catalina for ’67. The GP had their head lights in the lower grille and were hidden. Their turn signals were placed above the head lights in slots.
60’s Pontiac design along with the beautiful water color advertising of Fitz and Van was a stroke of genius for GM. Pontiac was and always will be my favorite division.
The thought process that went into these designs were genius! No CAD! Pure creativity!
It looks like somebody sold the design to Plymouth for their 1967 full size model.
this looks very much like a 67 Canadian Pontiac Parissenne which I owned. It was a 275 horse 327 cu. in.. Very cool!
Where did all the great designers go? Everything today looks the same. Getting old I guess?
Not old. You just appreciate beautiful design which is in very short supply today and has been for decades. Which helps explain why cars from that era are worth a fortune but most everything from the mid-70s through today holds little value.
Two days ago I was told there was a 1965 grand prix for sale at an old scrap/ used car lot.
And it was a convertible, my reply was, it can’t be a grand prix unless it’s a 1967.
So we drove to the lot and there it was.
Just like the sketch from 1964 only and to my surprise at was a Ventura !
I totally forgot about that model.
So all correct.
Sketch is not of a G.P
But is of a Booneville, Catalina and our forgotten friend the Ventura.
By the way Ventura is in c plus condition blue paint white top white interior and needs much love, gentleman is selling her for $14 500
Not asking price it’s his final price.
Thanks for letting me share
It does resemble a ’67 Catalina or Bonneville. My Dad had a ’67 Catalina with a black vinyl top, and turquoise paint…sweet, huge car…