John Eric Herlitz (December 30, 1942 – March 24, 2008) was an American industrialist most commonly known for his styling of cars 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 ...

Corporation, particularly the

Plymouth Barracuda The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door pony car that was manufactured by Plymouth (automobile), Plymouth from 1964 to 1974. The first-generation Barracuda was based on the Chrysler A platform, Chrysler A-body and was offered from 1964 to 1966. A ...

production car and

Dodge Copperhead The Dodge Copperhead, (later unofficially renamed as Dodge Concept Car or Dodge Concept Vehicle), was a concept car created by Dodge as a slimmed-down version of the Dodge Viper for buyers who couldn't afford the Viper's $75,000 cost. Overview ...

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 ...

Early life

John Herlitz was born to Swedish immigrants in Pine Plains, New York. At 13, he started sending sketches of cars to Chrysler; company officials told him what education they would seek for stylists, and he proceeded to get a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

Career

Immediately upon graduation in 1964, Herlitz started working for Plymouth, where he created the Barracuda SX show car. The Barracuda SX show car greatly influenced the 1967

. Herlitz was then called to the National Guard before returning to Plymouth, where he led the styling of the completely new 1970 Barracuda and 'Cuda. Following the 1970 Barracuda, Herlitz led the styling for the 1971

Plymouth GTX Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth' ...

and

Plymouth Road Runner The Plymouth Road Runner is a mid-size car with a focus on performance built by Plymouth (automobile), Plymouth in the United States between 1968 and 1980. By 1968, some of the original muscle cars were moving away from their roots as relativel ...

. He assumed progressive responsibility in the design studios, working on the styling of progressive generations of vehicles including the K-cars,

minivans Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe is ...

, and cab forward cars as well as various concept cars. In 1994, Herlitz was named vice president for product design, working directly under former engineer Tom Gale; he was later promoted to senior vice-president for product design. In June 2000, John Herlitz announced his intent to retire from Chrysler. In his later years at Chrysler, he helped to establish the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, where his retirement party was held in November 2000. In January 2001, he officially retired from Chrysler.

After Chrysler

Afterwards, he helped to design a visual arts building in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, served on the Interlochen Center for the Arts' corporate advisory council, and was a judge in some car shows.

Personal life

Mr. Herlitz married Joan Elizabeth Neinas on September 20, 1969, and had two sons and two grandchildren. He died in 2008 from complications after a fall in his winter home in Florida.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herlitz, John E. 1942 births 2008 deaths Chrysler executives American automobile designers Chrysler designers People in the automobile industry American people of Swedish descent