C. Mark Jordan is an automotive designer known for his work with

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

division and Mazda North America, including his part in the genesis of the first generation

Mazda MX-5 Miata The Mazda MX-5 is a lightweight two-passenger roadster sports car manufactured and marketed by Mazda with a front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The convertible is marketed as the or in Japan, and as the Mazda Miata () in the United Sta ...

, a car that ultimately became the best-selling two-seat convertible sports car in history.

Background and career

The son of noted former GM vice president of design, Chuck Jordan, Jordan studied at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

before attending

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. ...

(1974-1978). He subsequently worked for

Adam Opel AG Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gro ...

(1978-1982) for four years, working on concept vehicles, as well as the sedan variant of the

Opel Omega The Opel Omega is an executive car engineered and manufactured by German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2004. The first generation, the Omega A (1986–1993), superseded the Opel Rekord. It was voted European Car of the Year for 1987, and was ...

. He later worked with

Mazda North American Operations Mazda North American Operations (MNAO), which includes Mazda Motor of America, Inc., is Mazda Motor Corporation's North American arm, and constitutes the largest component of that company outside Japan. The company has its headquarters in Irvine ...

in various roles (1982-2009). Jordan is widely known for collaborating on the design of the first generation (1989)

, with Bob Hall, Masao Yagi and

Tom Matano Tsutomu "Tom" Matano is an advertising agent, automotive designer, and automotive journalist. Matano was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and continued to live in Japan until after his studies in university. He began an Analysis Engineering Major at Seik ...

. Hall hired Jordan in early 1983 to join the newly formed Mazda design studio in Southern California, where they collaborated on the parameters of the initial image, proportion and visualization of what would become Miata, a "light-weight sports concept". Jordan attended

Birmingham Groves High School Groves High School (Wylie E. Groves High School or Groves) is a public, magnet high school in Beverly Hills, Michigan, United States, in the Birmingham Public School District. Groves' colors are green, white, and yellow and its mascot is Freddy ...

with his friend, Jeff Teague (1956-2016, son of the noted designer

Dick Teague Richard Arthur Teague (December 26, 1923 – May 5, 1991) was an American industrial designer in the North American automotive industry. He held automotive design positions at General Motors, Packard, and Chrysler before becoming Vice President o ...

, 1923–1991). The two formed a design company ''JTDNA,'' before Jordan founded his own firm, CMJ Design Consulting. He directs and manages the ''Charles M. Jordan Scholarship Fund,'' an endowment fund in honor of his late father, with the

College for Creative Studies College for Creative Studies (CCS) is a private art school in Detroit, Michigan. It enrolls more than 1,400 students and focuses on arts education. The college is also active in offering art education to children through its Community Arts Part ...

in Detroit.

References

MAZDA MIATA MX-5 U9 dutch licence registration XB-DT-95

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, C. Mark American automobile designers General Motors designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)