Gerald Alden "Jerry" Wiegert (July 12, 1944 – January 15, 2021) was an American automotive engineer and businessman, notable as the founder of two companies,

Vector Motors Vector Motors Corporation is an American automobile manufacturer originally based in Wilmington, California. Its history can be traced to Vehicle Design Force, which was founded in 1978 by Gerald Wiegert."Vector Aeromotive Corporation - Corporate ...

and Aquajet, and for designing the products marketed by those companies. Wiegert initially became well known in the late 1970s when he began development of The Vector, a high-performance sports car intended to be America's answer to European cars such as

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

, and

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

. This concept would be further developed into the

Vector W8 The Vector W8 is a sports car produced by American automobile manufacturer Vector Aeromotive Corporation from 1989 to 1993. It was designed by company founder and chief designer Gerald Wiegert while receiving refinements by Vector's head of eng ...

, which was manufactured and sold between 1989 and 1993.

Life and career

During his youth, Wiegert developed an interest in automobiles and

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

. During high school, he won a design contest that provided a full scholarship for university design courses and encouraged him to pursue engineering as a career. In 1970, he began his career in the automotive industry by working as a design consultant at

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, and

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 ...

; in 1971 he formed Vehicle Design Force to develop an American

supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

. The 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 ...

Wankel Wankel may refer to: * Wankel engine, a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design instead of reciprocating pistons * Wankel AG, a German company that produces Wankel engines for ultralight aircraft and racing cars People ...

rotary engine and that it would be priced at $100,000. The concept appeared on the cover of ''

Motor Trend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...

'', and after evolving over a period of several years and preliminary marketing as the

Vector W2 The Vector W2 was a fully functional concept car intended for production constructed by Vector Motors in 1978. It had a Bosch fuel injected twin-turbocharged 350 cid (5.7 L) aluminum Chevrolet V8 engine that produced over 600 hp (450 k ...

, it entered production as the

. In the 1990s, Wiegert entered into dispute with investor

Megatech ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Paul ...

, which initiated a

hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...

of his company and eventually fired him. Wiegert, via the courts, eventually won back the assets, trademarks, and copyrights to Vector Motors, and in 2008, revived the Vector brand name and began development of a new sports car named the WX-8. Wiegert also founded Aquajet, a personal watercraft company, in the 1990s. Company literature markets Aquajet's Jetbike models as handling like "motorcycles for the water"; they also incorporate futuristic styling cues. The Jetbike won ''

Boating Magazine A boating magazine is a publication whose main topic is boating, new boat reviews, boat motors and watersports. They can be aimed at different water sports enthusiasts including: cruisers, fishers, power boaters, skiers, sailors, racers, regional b ...

''s Innovation Award 2000. The Jetbike has been featured on ''

Beyond 2000 ''Beyond Tomorrow'' is an Australian television series produced by Beyond Television Productions. It began airing in 1981 as ''Towards 2000'', then in 1985 was renamed ''Beyond 2000'', a name the show kept until its cancellation in 1999. It the ...

'', ''The Extremists'',

Planet X Following the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, there was considerable speculation that another planet might exist beyond its orbit. The search began in the mid-19th century and continued at the start of the 20th with Percival Lowell's ...

, '' The Next Step'', and on

CNet ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

. Wiegert died on January 15, 2021.

References

External links

Vector Motors

Aquajet
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiegert, Gerald American automobile designers Vector Motors American founders of automobile manufacturers 1945 births 2021 deaths People from Dearborn, Michigan Businesspeople from Michigan Northrop University alumni

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links