Wayne K. Cherry (born 1937) is an American car designer educated at Art Center College of Design and employed by General Motors from 1962 through 2004, retiring as Vice President of Design. Cherry worked for General Motors in the United States from 1962 until 1965, when he moved to the United Kingdom to take a position with General Motors'

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...

subsidiary, becoming Design Director at Vauxhall in 1975. In 1983 General Motors consolidated all European passenger car design under Cherry and made him Design Director at General Motors'

Adam Opel AG 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 G ...

subsidiary. Cherry returned to the United States in 1991 and in 1992 became General Motors Vice President of Design. Cherry retired from General Motors in 2004. Cherry was one of twenty-five nominees for the 1999 Car Designer of the Century.

Education

In the 1950s, Cherry read an article about the Art Center College of Design and wrote to the college, asking how to become a car designer. The college replied, telling Cherry to submit a portfolio. Cherry submitted a portfolio that included sketches of cars and engines, and was accepted to the college. Cherry graduated with a bachelor's degree in industrial and transportation design in early 1962.

Career

Cherry joined General Motors in 1962 after graduating from the Art Center College of Design, initially working at General Motors in the US as an Associate Creative Designer. Cherry was a member of the team that designed the original

Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...

Pontiac Firebird The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...

and the team that designed the 1966

Oldsmobile Toronado The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1966 to 1992 over four generations. The Toronado was noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic transmission ...

. In 1965, Cherry transferred to General Motors' United Kingdom-based

subsidiary. His first project was in 1965 under Assistant Director of Design Leo Pruneau working on the Vauxhall XVR concept car. became Assistant Design Director at Vauxhall in 1970. In that same year, the Vauxhall SRV

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 ...

was shown. Under Cherry, General Motors released the redesigned 1973

Vauxhall Firenza The Firenza is a model of car offered by Vauxhall from May 1971 until 1975. It was a development of the Viva, but had a distinctive coupé body style (fastback) and only two doors. In South Africa, it was sold as the Chevrolet Firenza until it ...

with its aerodynamic "droopsnoot". Cherry became the Design Director for Vauxhall in 1975. In 1983, General Motors consolidated the design activities of its Vauxhall and Opel subsidiaries. As part of the consolidation plan, Cherry became Design Director at General Motors' Rüsselsheim, Germany-based Adam Opel AG subsidiary and became responsible for overall design of passenger cars in Europe. During his time at Opel, Cherry supervised the design of the Astra, Corsa, Calibra,

Tigra Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Introduced as the superpowered and gadget-wielding crime fighter the Cat in ''The Claws of the Cat'' #1 (November 1972). The ...

, among many others. Cherry returned to the United States in 1991 to direct the design studios of General Motors'

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

and

Geo Geo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”. GEO or Geo may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazine ...

divisions. In 1992 Cherry became Vice President of Design for General Motors worldwide, the fifth head of design in General Motors' history. While Cherry was Vice President of Design, he oversaw the designs of the

Pontiac Solstice The Pontiac Solstice is a sports car that was produced by Pontiac. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. It ...

Cadillac Sixteen The Cadillac Sixteen is a concept car first developed and presented by Cadillac in 2003. The vehicle is equipped with a Cadillac proprietary-developed aluminum 32-valve V16 engine displacing 13.6 liters (829 cu. in; 13,584 cc), which was exclus ...

concept car,

Hummer H2 The Hummer H2 is a large SUV that was marketed by Hummer and built in the AM General facility under contract from General Motors from 2002 to 2009. It is based on a modified GMT820 GM three-quarter-ton pickup truck in the front and a half-ton 15 ...

Chevrolet SSR The Chevrolet SSR (Super Sport Roadster) is a retro-styled retractable hardtop convertible pickup truck manufactured by Chevrolet between 2003 and 2006. The 2003 and 2004 model years used General Motors' 5.3 L 300 hp '' Vortec 530 ...

and many other vehicles, including the

Cadillac CTS The Cadillac CTS is an executive car that was manufactured and marketed by General Motors from 2003 until 2019 across three generations. Historically, it was priced similarly to cars on the compact luxury spectrum; but it has always been size ...

introduced in 2002. Cherry retired from General Motors on January 1, 2004.

Automobiles Designed

As Design Director at Vauxhall & Opel: *1975-1981 Vauxhall Cavalier Mark I (front end only) *1978

Vauxhall Equus The Vauxhall Equus was a two-door concept car first presented by Vauxhall in spring, 1978. The word equus is Latin for horse. It was the last concept car from Vauxhall for 25 years until August 2003, when the ''VX Lightning'' was unveiled at the ...

concept *1988-1995 Vauxhall Cavalier Mark III/ Opel Vectra A *1989-1997

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

Opel Calibra The Opel Calibra is a coupé, engineered and produced by the Germany, German automaker Opel between 1989 and 1997. In the United Kingdom, where it remained on sale until 1999, it was marketed under the Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall brand as the Vaux ...

(with Erhard Schnell) *1994-1999

Opel Omega B1 The Opel Omega is an executive car engineered and manufactured by German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2004. The first generation, the Omega A (1986–1993), superseded the Opel Rekord. It was voted European Car of the Year for 1987, and wa ...

(with Herbert Kilmer) As Vice President of Design for GM: *1995-1999

Chevrolet Tahoe The Chevrolet Tahoe, and its badge engineered GMC Yukon counterpart, are full-size SUVs from General Motors, offered since 1994 and 1991, respectively. Since 1982, Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their 'Blazer' and 'Jimmy ...

*1995-1999

GMC Yukon GMC may refer to: Government India * Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat * Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu * Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh * Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam * Gwalior ...

*1999-2007

Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from th ...

*1999-2007

GMC Sierra GMC Sierra (Classic) may refer to GMC counterparts, either as model names or as trim lines, to the following Chevrolet vehicles: *Chevrolet C/K *Chevrolet Silverado *Chevrolet Suburban The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles bui ...

*2000-2005

Chevrolet Monte Carlo The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car of the Chevr ...

*2000-2006

Chevrolet Suburban The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The name started in 1934 for the 1935 U.S. model year, making it the longest continuously used automobile nameplate in production. It has tra ...

*2000-2006

GMC Yukon XL GMC may refer to: Government India * Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat * Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu * Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh * Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam * Gwalior ...

*2000-2006

*2003-2006

*2007-2014

*2002-2009

(oversaw design) *1996-1999

Pontiac Bonneville The Pontiac Bonneville is an automobile built by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from 1957 until 2005. Bonnevilles were full-size car, full-sized, with the exception of a brief period of mid-size car, mid-size between 1982 and 1986. The brand was in ...

(Note: Cherry designed the facelifted Bonneville for the 1996-1999 model years.) *2000-2005

*2006-2010

*1997-2004

Buick Regal The Buick Regal is a line of mid-size cars marketed by Buick since 1973. For nearly its entire production, the Regal has served as the premium mid-size/intermediate offering of the Buick product range. Introduced as a submodel of the Buick Cent ...

*1997-2005

Buick Century Buick Century is the model name that was used by Buick for a line of upscale full-size cars from 1936 to 1942 and 1954 to 1958, as well as from 1973 to 2005 for mid-size cars. The first Buick Century debuted as the Series 60 then renamed in 19 ...

*1999-2000

Cadillac Escalade The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV engineered and manufactured by General Motors. It was Cadillac's first major entry into the SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year in response to competition from the Merced ...

*2000-2005

Cadillac DeVille The Cadillac DeVille is the nameplate used by Cadillac over eight generations, originally used to designate a trim level of the 1949 Cadillac Series 62 and later to designate a standalone model in the brand range. The last model marketed specif ...

*2002-2006

*2003-2007

*2003

concept car

Awards

The 1993 Opel Corsa received 20 international design awards. In 1999, the Global Automotive Elections Foundation nominated Cherry to a group of twenty-five designers competing for Car Designer of the Century. In June, 2013, Cherry received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology.

References

External links

W. K. Cherry Design LLC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherry, Wayne General Motors designers Opel designers Living people 1937 births Artists from Indianapolis