Clay modeling (or clay model making) for

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

prototypes A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

was first introduced in the 1930s by automobile designer

Harley 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 ...

, head of the

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 ...

styling studio (known initially as the Art and Color Section, and later as the Design and Styling Department). Zagato studio mock up

Industrial plasticine Industrial plasticine is a modeling material which is mainly used by automotive design studios. It was developed as an industrial version of plasticine or hobby clay. Industrial plasticine is based on wax and typically contains sulfur, which ...

, or "clay", which is used for this purpose, is a malleable material that can be easily shaped, thus enabling designers to create models to visualize a product. Clay modeling was soon adopted throughout the industry and remains in use today.

External links

General Motors - Car Design History
Vehicle design {{Automotive-stub