Charles Morrell "Chuck" Jordan (October 21, 1927 AutoWeek Magazine – December 9, 2010 Los Angeles Times http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/19/local/la-me-chuck-jordan-20101219) was an American

automotive designer Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The functional design and development of a modern motor ...

who was born in Whittier, California. Jordan is widely known for his work on the 1959-1960 Cadillac Eldorado and the 1992 Cadillac Seville STS — and his role as vice president of design for General Motors from 1986 to 1992.

Background

Noted for sketching during school classes, as young as age eight, Jordan graduated with honors from Fullerton Union High School in 1945, studying at MIT before joining GM in 1949. Jordan died in December 2010 in Rancho Santa Fe, California of lymphoma, survived by his wife Sally, two daughters, and son, Mark Jordan, a designer for GM and Mazda.

Career

While a junior at MIT, Chuck entered the first post war Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild competition, winning first prize and a $4000 scholarship. At the award ceremony, Chuck later accepted an invitation from Harley Earl's assistant Howard O'Leary, who invited him to come to GM when he completed his studies. The acceptance of the invitation led to Chuck beginning his career at GM in 1949. One of his first projects was the Aerotrain, completed when he was 28 years old. He rose to director of design for

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

in 1957, being chief designer of the 1959

, an epitome of fin design (although it was well underway when he arrived.) He also spent time with GM Europe as head of design for

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 ...

He was vice president of design for General Motors from 1986 to 1992. Only six people, including Harley Earl and Ed Welburn, have held the position in GM's history. USA Today. "Retired GM Design Boss Chuck Jordan Dies After Decades of Stunners" http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/12/retired-gm-design-boss-chuck-jordan-dies-after-decades-of-stunners/1 Jordan's design work includes: * 1959-1960

* 1968-1973 Opel GT * 1971-1975 Opel Manta A * 1971-1975 Opel Ascona A * 1973-1977 Opel Commodore B * 1991-1996 Oldsmobile 98 * 1992-1994 Chevrolet K1500 Blazer/GMC K1500 Jimmy * 1992-1997 Cadillac Seville STS * 1992-1999 Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Suburban * 1993-1996 Cadillac Fleetwood * 1994-1999 Cadillac DeVille * 1995-2001 Chevrolet Lumina * 1995-2005 Chevrolet Cavalier

References

External links

* 1927 births 2010 deaths People from Whittier, California American automobile designers General Motors designers Opel designers Deaths from lymphoma 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub