- Posted on Monday, August 28th, 2006 at 10:54 am
GM Renaissance in Design — On Four Continents
By Julie Huston-Rough
Design and Performance Communications
General Motors Product Development, led by Bob Lutz and orchestrated by design leaders like Ed Welburn, Frank Saucedo and Richard Ferlazzo (more on his design in a second), has renewed its passion for exciting design. And the results have been amazing.
Customers are signing up on waiting lists for the Saturn Sky and the Pontiac Solstice. Cadillac’s art and science design has been praised for renewing the brand’s luster. On the concept car front, Saab’s Aero-X has won numerous awards for best in show. The Camaro concept — which won Best in Show at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show and Best Concept Implementation by a panel of the world’s leading designers — also gained the attention of thousands of enthusiasts, a prod from 60 Minutes to build the car and a commitment from GM to build it.
Somewhat less known, but equally exciting, is a concept vehicle called the EFIJY, which was unveiled at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney last October. The EFIJY was designed in GM’s Holden Design Center Australia, which is part of GM’s Global Design. It’s a retro hot rod on the outside with state-of-the-art technology on the inside.
This stylish hot rod, “shows what a bunch of clever and talented design people can do when they are let loose to create something really wild,” said Denny Mooney, General Motors Holden Chairman. “EFIJY is all about fun, emotion and imagination.”
That is exactly the sweet spot where all of GM Design is aiming and, I believe, hitting.
Take a look at more EFIJY photos over at Flickr.
6 Comments
Edward Hayes
Now, there is no sedan, nor coupe, not one rendered on paper or conceived in metal or clay, no concept or production vehicle, neither a vehicle real or imagined that comes close to the Efijy.
Australia’s architects will be known for two great works now. The Sydney Opera House, and the Holden FJ Efijy. Okay now you said it’s on its way to the States, now bring it. Now here is the test. We will see if GM is serious about being the #1 automaker for design and every other measure with a car like this, or we will see if in fact, it is scared to drive.
Imagine GM in the fastlane, scared to drive, holding up traffic, holding up the Holden just like it did with the Velite. Prettiest thing at the autoshow, designers did their job, then they started asking all these questions, too many questions, then the oil crisis this, that and the other. I think they just got scared to drive. Lucky Austalia aint scared to drive yet.
Help Wanted: Yeah we need a group of folks not scared to drive. Iacocca wasn’t scared to drive, he may have dropped the baton, but no one could say he was scared to drive.
The only thing GM has to fear is - being scared to drive.
Okay I will be the first to ask.
GM, can you pimp my ride?
Rick Lupori
I hope that GM introduces the Efijy as a 2009 Buick at next years cruise.
Buick needs something like the Efijy to really get the publics attention and draw them into the dealer.
Buick will have the Enclave, Lucerne and redesigned LaCrosse along with a new RWD Electra (Statesman) by then to take advantage of the increased traffic.
The Efijy is based on the Corvette so it would not be overly expensive to do and should prove profitable.
A three person bench could be put in as an option to the buckets allowing a couple on a date to sit next each other like the old days. What better car to have for a cruise night – it would be reliable, safe and have the rumble of a high performance V8 all wrapped in an awesome looking package. Keep it around the price of a Corvette and it will sell out. It is hard to make a rod yourself for the cost of a ‘Vette as many rodders can tell you and it will not include airbags, ABS and other features of the Efijy.
A folding rear seat maybe able fit into the Efijy making it a 2+2 or 2+3 to broaden the market base or a sedan delivery version could be developed. Put 6 12-way heated/cooled leather buckets and a DVD entertainment system to make the best vehicle to start a car pool with.
I wonder who the first rodder will be to put the twin mode hybrid driveline in one or add AWD.
pdbw
Ummm… Who’s Richard Ferlazzo? Did he design the Holden? Because it’s not terribly clear in the posting. Quality controls, folks…
By the way, it’s probably worth noting that the EFIJY, like the Camaro, reflects heritage rather than mimics, an approach I think is more successful than what I’ve seen at Ford.
Bill Donaruma
In the late 50′ to early 70′ Buick was the car of the “just above middle class” It was sleek, coloful and had a great following. I had young friends who bought the Buick convertible….I always thought “their the ones!!!” I have owned 2 buicks and love the ride…..but its lost its zip. Most owners drive below the speed limit. I love the new Lucerne - Make it a convertible!!!! get the zip back, and hire a designer like Ralph Lauren for color and design modifications. His name will give you the thurst and zip back to the upper mid class earners and get rid of those german cars.
Julie Huston-Rough
pdbw: Sorry about that…this is one of those times the fingers move faster across the keyboard than they should.
Richard Ferlazzo is Holden’s Chief Designer and EFIJY project leader. He is also a self-professed fan of custom cars, and he created the first EFIJY sketches way back in 1989.
Here is a link to a 7 minute video from Australian TV where Richard talks about the EFIJY and takes it for a spin. I hope you think it’s as cool as I do!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo7qBW_N-QU
Gordon
Design is the key,
Design in itself is not enough.
I think the world is warming up again to beautiful coupes. The new Jaguar and BMW 6 sell well despite the price. Fiskar has a business of making them more beautiful. New beautiful coupes are popping up all around.
The Lincoln Mark VIII shows how a quality car with poor design doesn’t sell and the Buick Reatta shows how a beautiful car with mediocre perfomance and ride can also fail.
I understand the new 9-5 is almost finished and it is another 4-door sedan. That’s great for Swedish police cars. What I would like to buy is a 9-5 GT: 2 doors, 250 turbocharged 4-cylinder horsepower, 3200 pounds, front wheel drive, and a beautiful design with a hatch opening in the back. This would be the perfect 30mpg+ car to drive from Sweden to the South of France and if you happened to run across a beautiful bureau, it might still fit in the back. In my case, maybe it is a drive from Denver to LA and if we get carried away at IKEA, we can still make it home. The car should be quiet, safe, smooth, handle at high speed like a SAAB, have a great radio, and be beautiful in a distintive Scandinavian way. I expect that your next 9-5 will be all that except perhaps the last item.
You may think that a 9-5 based couple cannot work because the motor press will trash it. Well, the motor press never raves about the Audi TT, but it is as competent as a Golf if not sublime like a Z4 and it sells well because of its design. I see my SAAB 9-5 GT like this. Roomier and more comfortable on long trips than most cars, more than adequate in perfomance, but losing to a BMW 650 or Audi S on the track, it could still sell well. I don’t know what you have in mind, maybe there is a V-6 AWD 9-5 variant that will give challenge Volvo S60R at the track. I will still get the lighter 4 cylinder FWD version with the sport suspension and the limited slip axle for the snow.
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