Roy Brown Jr. on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Roy Brown Jr. (October 30, 1916 – February 24, 2013) was a Canadian-American car designer and engineer, best known for creating the Edsel.
''Roy Brown dies at 96; designer of Ford's Edsel''
The Los Angeles Times. Following his graduation from Detroit Art Academy in 1937, he was hired by
After a stint in the U.S. Army, he was hired by
Brown gained attention in 1958 for creating the now-infamous "horse-collar" in response to engineers' concerns about engine cooling problems.
Ford transferred Brown to England, where he designed the 1962 Ford Cortina Mk1, which would become the automaker's best-selling car in Great Britain.
After returning to Detroit in 1966, Brown helped design Ford's Econoline van. He later became executive designer in the Lincoln Mercury division.
Brown remained a fan of the Edsel and drove an Edsel convertible into his 90s. "People would ask him, 'What the hell were you thinking when you designed that car?' He was never offended. He was proud of his creation," said Larry Nopper, a past president of the Southlanders Edsel Owners Club.
In 1983 he signed a picture he drew on a friend's cast, "it's better than the Edsel."
Brown retired from Ford in 1974. He died in
Automotive career
Brown was born inHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
; he moved with his family to Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
when he was in his teens. His father was an engineer for 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 ...
.Woo, Elaine. (2013, March 9)''Roy Brown dies at 96; designer of Ford's Edsel''
The Los Angeles Times. Following his graduation from Detroit Art Academy in 1937, he was hired by
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 ...
as a designer in its 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 ...
division, working alongside Bill Mitchell. "The first thing he designed was an instrument panel for the 1939 Cadillac," his son Reg told The Los Angeles Times.
After a stint in the U.S. Army, he was hired by Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
, where he was assigned to oversee design of the 1955 Lincoln Futura
The Lincoln Futura is a concept car promoted by Ford's Lincoln brand, designed by Ford's lead stylists Bill Schmidt and John Najjar, and hand-built by Ghia in Turin, Italy — at a cost of $250,000 (equivalent to $ in ).
Displayed on the a ...
, the model that would be transformed into TV's Batmobile
The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit a ...
a decade later. The Lincoln Futura was designed by William M. Schmidt of Ford Styling, who later became VP Styling at Studebaker-Packard Corp. in May, 1955.
Edsel
Ford next assigned Brown the task of designing a model that would appeal to buyers "with upscale tastes and mid-range budgets." Brown designed a car that "blared individuality." He rejected the tail fins prevalent in that era for rear lights shaped like boomerangs and gave the car a unique vertical front grille. According to Thomas E. Bonsall's book, ''Disaster in Dearborn'' (2002), it was assistant stylist Bob "Robin" Jones who suggested a vertical motif for the front end of the "E-car". The model, named "Edsel" after Henry Ford's only child, rolled into showrooms in 1957, accompanied by a massive publicity campaign. But only 63,000 Edsels were sold in the first year of production, with its distinctive grille being the most criticized feature.Post-Edsel
Brown gained attention in 1958 for creating the now-infamous "horse-collar" in response to engineers' concerns about engine cooling problems.
Ford transferred Brown to England, where he designed the 1962 Ford Cortina Mk1, which would become the automaker's best-selling car in Great Britain.
After returning to Detroit in 1966, Brown helped design Ford's Econoline van. He later became executive designer in the Lincoln Mercury division.
Brown remained a fan of the Edsel and drove an Edsel convertible into his 90s. "People would ask him, 'What the hell were you thinking when you designed that car?' He was never offended. He was proud of his creation," said Larry Nopper, a past president of the Southlanders Edsel Owners Club.
In 1983 he signed a picture he drew on a friend's cast, "it's better than the Edsel."
Brown retired from Ford in 1974. He died in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
, in 2013, from Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
and Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Roy 1916 births 2013 deaths American automobile designers Ford designers People from Hamilton, Ontario United States Army personnel of World War II Canadian emigrants to the United States