The Buick Y-Job, produced by

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

in 1938, was the auto industry's first

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

(a model intended to show new technology or designs but not be mass-produced for sale to consumers). Designed by

Harley J. Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...

, the car had power-operated

hidden headlamps Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps, pop-up headlights, flip-eye headlamps, or hideaway headlights, are a form of automotive lighting and an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not ...

, a "gunsight"

hood ornament A hood ornament (or bonnet ornament in Commonwealth English), also called, motor mascot, or car mascot is a specially crafted model which symbolizes a car company like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood. It has been used ...

, electric windows,''Concept Cars'' by Larry Edsall pp19 Edizione White Star 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. It used a

Buick Super The Buick Super is a full-sized automobile produced by Buick from 1940 through the 1958 model years, with a brief hiatus from 1943 through 1945. The first generation shared the longer wheelbase with the top level Roadmaster while offering the sma ...

chassis, indicated by the word "Super" located above the rear license plate. 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 The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contains ...

, until 1993 when it was returned to the GM Design Center. 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. * The "Y" designation was selected by Earl because it was used extensively in the aviation industry denoting the most advanced prototypes. In 2001, Buick recreated the Y-job with modern advancements called the

Buick Blackhawk The Buick Blackhawk is a retro concept 2+2 convertible built by Buick in 2003. Its grille is based on 1939 Buick automobiles and the Buick Y-Job concept car, while its main body is based on the 1948 Buick Roadmaster. It features a retractable h ...

drawing extensively from the Y-job.

References

External links

Why the 'Y-Job' — Harley Earl and the Buick Dream Car

{{Buick Vehicles Y-Job Cars introduced in 1940 Sports cars Convertibles