Buick Y-Job
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The Buick Y-Job, produced by Buick in 1938, was the auto industry's first concept car[3] (a model intended to show new technology or designs but not be mass-produced for sale to consumers).[4] Designed by Harley J. Earl, the car had power-operated hidden headlamps, a "gunsight" hood ornament, electric windows,[5] wraparound bumpers, flush door handles, and prefigured styling cues used by Buick until the 1950s and the vertical waterfall grille design still used by Buick today.[until when?] It used a Buick Super chassis, indicated by the word "Super" located above the rear license plate.
Buick Y-Job | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Buick (General Motors) |
Model years | 1938 |
Designer | Harley J. Earl |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Concept car |
Body style | 2-door convertible coupe |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 5.2-liter (320 ci) Buick straight-8 |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 126 in (3,200 mm) [1] |
Length | 208.7 in (5,301 mm) [2] |
The car was driven for a number of years by Harley Earl, until he replaced it with a 1951 model car. Sometime after that, the car was restored at the Henry Ford Museum, until 1993 when it was returned to the GM Design Center.[6]
The "Y" in the name has two explanations:
- All experimental cars were called "X", so Earl simply went to the next letter in the alphabet.[7]
- The "Y" designation was selected by Earl because it was used extensively in the aviation industry denoting the most advanced prototypes.[5]
In 2001, Buick recreated the Y-Job with modern advancements called the Buick Blackhawk drawing extensively from the Y-Job.