Bill Mitchell
Encyclopedia
William L. "Bill" Mitchell (July 2, 1912 Cleveland, Ohio
— September 12, 1988 Royal Oak, Michigan
) was an American automobile designer. Mitchell worked briefly as an advertising illustrator and as the official illustrator of the Automobile Racing Club of America
before being recruited by Harley Earl
to join the Art and Colour Section of General Motors
in 1935. Mitchell is responsible for the design of over 72.5 million automobiles produced by GM, including the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special
, the 1963 Buick Riviera
, the 1963 Corvette Stingray and the 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
. Mitchell spent the entirety of his 42 year career in automobile design at General Motors, eventually becoming Vice President of Design, a position he held for 19 years until his retirement in 1977.
dealer and developed a talent for sketching automobiles at an early age. Mitchell attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
and later studied at the Art Students' League
in New York, New York.
where he prepared layouts and advertising illustrations, including U.S. advertisements for MG cars. While working at the agency, Mitchell met brothers Barron Collier, Jr., Miles Collier and Sam Collier, who had founded the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) (a forerunner of the Sports Car Club of America) in 1931. Mitchell became the official illustrator of the club and his sketches for the club eventually came to the attention of Harley Earl
, then head of General Motors Art and Colour Section.
, wanting to eliminate chrome excess, fat fins and similar signature marks.
Mitchell gave GM designers the assignment of combining Rolls Royce
and Ferrari
styling cues to create Buick's classic 1963 Riviera. According to a popular story, Mitchell got the idea for the Riviera in Paris
. He had originally envisaged the design for Cadillac Division, as a new La Salle, "a baby Cadillac". An encounter with a shark, while skin diving in the Bahamas, inspired Mitchell's Corvette Shark show car, his SS racer and the production 1963 Corvette Stingray, largely designed by Larry Shinoda, under Mitchell's direction.
Mitchell's fondness for split rear windows as featured on the 1957 Buick and 1963 Corvette Stingray coupe wasn't shared by his fellow stylists or the buying public and both cars dropped the feature after public resistance.
Bill Mitchell retired from General Motors in July 1977 after 42 years of service.
Bill Mitchell died of heart failure at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, on September 12, 1988.
in 1998.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
— September 12, 1988 Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
) was an American automobile designer. Mitchell worked briefly as an advertising illustrator and as the official illustrator of the Automobile Racing Club of America
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...
before being recruited by Harley Earl
Harley Earl
Harley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...
to join the Art and Colour Section of General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
in 1935. Mitchell is responsible for the design of over 72.5 million automobiles produced by GM, including the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special
Cadillac Sixty Special
The Sixty Special name has been used at Cadillac to denote a special model since the 1938 Bill Mitchell-designed Series 60 derivative. Although the 1938 model began in Cadillac's lowest price range, soon the Sixty Special name would be synonymous for some of Cadillac's most luxurious...
, the 1963 Buick Riviera
Buick Riviera
The Riviera by Buick is an automobile produced by Buick in the United States from the 1963 to 1999 model years, with 1,127,261 produced.A full-size coupé or personal luxury car, the early models of the Riviera in particular have been highly praised by automotive journalists and writers.A common...
, the 1963 Corvette Stingray and the 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...
. Mitchell spent the entirety of his 42 year career in automobile design at General Motors, eventually becoming Vice President of Design, a position he held for 19 years until his retirement in 1977.
Early life and education
Bill Mitchell was the son of a BuickBuick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
dealer and developed a talent for sketching automobiles at an early age. Mitchell attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology
Carnegie Institute of Technology
The Carnegie Institute of Technology , is the name for Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. It was first called the Carnegie Technical Schools, or Carnegie Tech, when it was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie who intended to build a “first class technical school” in Pittsburgh,...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and later studied at the Art Students' League
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
in New York, New York.
At Barron Collier Advertising
After completing art school, Mitchell joined the New York City based Barron Collier AdvertisingBarron Collier
Barron Gift Collier was an American advertising entrepreneur, who became the largest landowner and developer in the U.S. state of Florida, as well as, the owner of a chain of hotels, bus lines, several banks, and newspapers. He also owned a telephone company and a steamship line.Collier was born...
where he prepared layouts and advertising illustrations, including U.S. advertisements for MG cars. While working at the agency, Mitchell met brothers Barron Collier, Jr., Miles Collier and Sam Collier, who had founded the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) (a forerunner of the Sports Car Club of America) in 1931. Mitchell became the official illustrator of the club and his sketches for the club eventually came to the attention of Harley Earl
Harley Earl
Harley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...
, then head of General Motors Art and Colour Section.
Art and Colour Section
Based on sketches Mitchell created as the official illustrator for the ARCA, Harley Earl recruited Mitchell to General Motors' then new Art and Colour Section on 15 December 1935.Chief Designer, Cadillac
In 1936 Earl appointed Mitchell as the Chief Designer in the then newly created Cadillac design studio.Director of Styling
On May 1, 1954 Mitchell became General Motors Director of Styling under Harley Earl.Vice President, Styling Section
When Earl retired in December 1958, Mitchell succeeded Earl as General Motors Vice President, Styling Section. Mitchell set out to break with the styling cues used under Harley EarlHarley Earl
Harley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...
, wanting to eliminate chrome excess, fat fins and similar signature marks.
1960s
In the sixties, Mitchell promoted what he called the "sheer look," a more aerodynamic, "shoulderless" drop off from a car's windows to its sides.Mitchell gave GM designers the assignment of combining Rolls Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
and Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
styling cues to create Buick's classic 1963 Riviera. According to a popular story, Mitchell got the idea for the Riviera in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He had originally envisaged the design for Cadillac Division, as a new La Salle, "a baby Cadillac". An encounter with a shark, while skin diving in the Bahamas, inspired Mitchell's Corvette Shark show car, his SS racer and the production 1963 Corvette Stingray, largely designed by Larry Shinoda, under Mitchell's direction.
Mitchell's fondness for split rear windows as featured on the 1957 Buick and 1963 Corvette Stingray coupe wasn't shared by his fellow stylists or the buying public and both cars dropped the feature after public resistance.
1970s
During the 1973-74 energy crisis, which brought on a greater demand for smaller cars in place of the larger cars that had been GM's bread and butter profit machine for decades, Mitchell oversaw the styling and design efforts of GM's downsized full-sized and intermediate-sized cars which were introduced in 1977 and 1978, respectively, some of the last designs that he would lead. However, when it came to compact and subcompact cars, Mitchell reflected that "Small cars are like vodka. Sure people will try them out but they won't stay with them."Bill Mitchell retired from General Motors in July 1977 after 42 years of service.
1980s
Following his retirement from General Motors, Mitchell ran William L. Mitchell Design, a private, design consulting firm, from 1977 to 1984.Bill Mitchell died of heart failure at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, on September 12, 1988.
Awards and recognition
Bill Mitchell was inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame by the National Corvette MuseumNational Corvette Museum
The National Corvette Museum showcases the Chevrolet Corvette, an American sports car that has been in production since 1953. It is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, off Interstate 65's Exit 28...
in 1998.
External links
- GM Design Timeline The General Motors Quick Reference Site. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13