Michael Simcoe, the man who oversaw the design of numerous GM products as part of his 42-year career at the automaker – ranging from the Chevy Camaro and Buick LaCrosse in the early 2000s to the GMC Hummer EV, Chevy Equinox EV, and Cadillac Lyriq – will retire this summer, the company announced.
Simcoe, an Australian by birth, got his start at GM Holden in Australia in 1983, achieving the post of senior designer within a few years at the time when the best-selling Holden Commodore received a major redesign that generated renewed sales success after a late-70s stumble.
Michael Simcoe
Simcoe started supervising the design of GM models in North America starting in 2004 after moving up the ranks. He was promoted to his current position of Senior Vice President of Global Design on July 1st, 2016. Simcoe is one of five GM executives to make the list of 2024 Automotive News All-Star Awards, which quoted the designer as saying “we are continuing to step forward, and the design and the technology gets better and better and better.”
Simcoe’s successor is Bryan Nesbitt, the executive director of Global Cadillac Design. Nesbitt has overseen design of two recent Cadillac concept vehicles. These include the hyper-luxurious two-door Cadillac Sollei convertible and the cutting-edge Cadillac Opulent Velocity with its sci-fi looks and butterfly doors.
Bryan Nesbitt
Bryan Nesbitt said “great design will always be the cornerstone of every vehicle we create,” stating that “design will continue to be at the leading edge of identifying and adopting new technologies to improve speed to market and help meet the needs of customers.” Michael Simcoe will continue working in his current role until July 1st, exactly nine years after starting work at the position, to make the transition to Nesbitt’s leadership as smooth as possible.
GM President Mark Reuss praised the contributions of both men. He remarked that Simcoe brought a “focus on the customer, keen eye for detail, and an emphasis on the future” to the position. At the same time, he said Nesbitt “will use his considerable talent and formidable leadership skills to take us into the future.”
Nesbitt’s Cadillac Sollei Concept Car
Simcoe also gave Nesbitt his vote of confidence, stating that “under Bryan’s leadership, I know GM Design will continue to drive the company forward.” He added that Nesbitt “shares my belief in our team’s creative talent and their potential” and said he is eager to see “how the next generation of GM Design influences the automotive landscape.”
Comments
Just reading about the outgoing and incoming design chiefs, i really dont understand how Talented and professional these gentlemen are, and yet nothing is produced from the company but ugly shoe box Sports Utility Vans. SUVs. I mean, years gone by designers used to sculpture gorgeous designs from clay models, now designers draw pictures of head lights and tail lights on paper, cut them out and stick them on shoe boxes. What talent do you really need for that.
The perception of beauty is subjective I guess. While I wouldn’t chose to drive every vehicle that GM produces, I can’t honestly sit back and say “that is ugly” about any vehicle in the current GM lineup. This opinion includes the “ugly shoebox design” of the Equinox, Traverse, Terrain. etc that you are probably speaking about.
Some people just come on here to complain.
Well, if Buick’s slogan is “Exceptional by design,” Bryan Nesbitt better work overtime on Buick North America to make it so!
Simcoe is a Invincible man in GM Design. Hope he’s life will be full of happiness.
Wish the guy well in retirement. I’m, unfortunately, old enough to remember when the driver and passenger sill plates announced ” Body by Fisher ” .The Fisher Brothers were Midwest coach and carriage builders who got in early on automotive design. GM bought them out a century ago and we then had the World Class” Fisher Design Studios”. Styling/ Design chiefs Harley” Hollering” Earl led the studio in the 30s, 40s and 50s. The 1953 Corvette , Buicks and Cadillacs had his signature which among other things, included fins during the rocket age. Bill Mitchell, another maverick, led the studio in the 60s and 70s. He gave us the Mako Shark, which later became the template for the Corvette Sting Ray. Those decades were truly the Golden Age of automotive design and styling .Sales were through the roof. GM was the undisputed “flagship”of the Big Three. When I was a kid, GM advertised heavily on TV. I distinctly remember the Sunday Night commercials run during” Bonanza”. GM Division muscle cars , Corvettes , Camaros and Firebirds along with all SS models, GTO, 442 cast in the limelight. The jingle went something like this ” GMs got the look, GMs got the style, the look that sets the look and the style that sets the style-GM, GM Mark of Excellence “.
By comparison, today’s design language isn’t nearly as breath taking.
Simcoe did a good job in my opinion at lower case gm given the Management’s direction and policies. With a more bold and expansive CEO we would have seen more vehicle types and attractive designs from him. I wish him all the very best.
Thank god. I don’t know of anything truly good-looking to come out of his tenure at the helm of GM Design Staff. Instead there’s plenty of stuff like the Celestiq that are simply terrible. The bad news is there are at least four years worth of vehicles still in the pipeline designed under his tutelage.
Simcoe did good at Holden, but hasn’t done anything since. Mark Reuss wouldn’t know a good design if it hit him over the head. He’s a zero when compared to his father.
Agree 100%.
I was in meetings early in my career with Lloyd Reuss and he was sharp as a tack and a true gentleman. We had a huge amount of respect for him.
Never met Mark but under his leadership gm’s record of correctly reading the market and responding with “gotta have it products” with excellent execution has been mostly non-existent. Strategically and executionally he’s been a huge disappointment. In retrospect, promoting the one-time Chief Engineer of the Pontiac Aztek to President of the company wasn’t a great move. But that kind of stuff happens a lot at gm though.
Wow, what an embarrassing design legacy. Not one good-looking vehicle in the list.
Honestly, what was the last truly well-designed GM vehicle? Solstice?
Well i was born in 1951 and was lucky enough to see the cars of the 1950s, 60s, 70s 80s, i could hardly wait for November each year to see how Detroit would bend the metal for the upcoming year of cars. Those days every car had a refresh every year, grilles, head lights, tail light changes were mandatory, some times the big three would give their cars a major refresh every year, all new panels from the windscreen forward, reskin the door panel designs, plus all new rear end clip every car, every year. Then it dropped to a refresh every five years, the a refresh every ten year, and then may be a badge change every ten years, and wait, there is more, a COLOR change. WOW, how exciting. Now every manufacturer makes a station wagon, raise it one foot above the tires, put black fender plastic on it, and wham o , you are all set for the Dakar Rally. I was in Africa recently, i was a passenger in a SUV and drove down to an elephant safari. I was amazed how identical they both were, both were slow and rough riding, both you sat too high up, both handled like a bucket of S—-, but i must give a plus to the elephant, at least it had aero-dynamic styling, founded head and rear. Come on DONALD, make detroit great again.
“Simcoe’s successor is Bryan Nesbitt, the executive director of Global Cadillac Design.”
So does that mean we have Bryan Nesbit to thank for the Celestiq? If so, it’s game over folks.