Every unit of the range-topping Cadillac Celestiq ultra-luxury halo sedan is assembled by hand at the GM Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, with customers provided the opportunity to customize theirs in-person at the Cadillac House at Vanderbilt. Which begs the question – who is this Vanderbilt character? As it turns out, the Cadillac House was named after Suzanne E. Vanderbilt, who was instrumental in General Motors’ early design work, and is often associated with Harley Earl as one of the highly acclaimed “Damsels of Design.”
Photos courtesy of GM
Suzanne Vanderbilt was born in Mount Vernon, New York in August of 1933, and very early on showed an interest in mechanical things. That interest led her to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design in 1955, as well as Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit, where she earned a Master’s of Fine Arts.
Suzanne was inspired by an instructor at Pratt Institute to pursue automotive design, and in July of 1955, she joined the GM Styling Department at the GM Design Center in Warren. It was at this time that she became one of the so-called Damsels of Design, working alongside several other women to create a variety of iconic pieces of GM design work. Suzanne initially focused on designing instrument panels for the Chevy brand, and later worked on Cadillac vehicles. Some of her early work also includes contributions to the Firebird III concept.
Suzanne would later showcase some of her work at the 1958 Spring Fashion Festival of Women Designed Cars, highlighting the Cadillac Eldorado Seville coupe (dubbed the Baroness), as well as the Cadillac Saxony convertible. Vanderbilt continued her contributions in the following decades, eventually signing on as assistant chief designer for Chevrolet I and II studios, creating the interiors for the Chevy Vega and the Chevy Monza. Other successes include collaboration with the Advanced Interior and Research Studios in the area of vehicle safety, securing two patents in the process. Vanderbilt secured three other patents as well, one for seat design, another for automotive instrument panels, and another for motorcycle helmet design.
Vanderbilt retired from GM in 1977 due to health reasons, and passed away in 1988 at the age of 55. Now, her contributions are recognized with the Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, where the ultimate in Cadillac luxury and design takes shape. Her legacy continues to inspire new generations of designers at GM.
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Comment
That’s a cool story, sad about how young she was when she passed. I’ve owned a Monza and my parents owned a Vega.