The Designers, Pt.12 – Ed Welburn, General Motors

Car Design News launched its first-ever Car Design Review yearbook at the Geneva Motor Show, featuring the award-winning Production Car and Concept Car Designs of 2013.

If you're interested in buying a copy of the 160-page yearbook this interview appears in, alongside trend reports, bespoke car design infographics and a special feature on Marcello Gandini, our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Car Design Review can be purchased here.

Name Ed Welburn
Role General Motors VP global design
Age, nationality 63, US
Location Michigan, USA
Education Howard University

"From a car-design-industry perspective, 2013 was good but not great. We started to see signs of some new energy though, especially in the latter part of 2013 going into 2014. I think it's always a reflection of the economy. At the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show for example, with the European brands, the cars were just sitting there on the carpet, there was hardly any display at all.

"The 2013 LA Auto Show for me seemed to have more energy than the year before. For some brands there's been a lag between the economic slowdown and now the introduction of new vehicles, but I would say, this year and next year you'll see a lot more new production vehicles. I don't know if it's the same with other companies, but we are flat-out right now.

"There were a couple of new concepts I really liked last year, especially the BMW Pininfarina Gran Coupé. Maybe it wasn't the most adventurous concept but it was really, really good on a number of levels. I like the fact Pininfarina has done a really good job here and I think it's interesting BMW let them take it on.

"We have so many ‘design houses' within GM that at times I'll have competitions with a couple of them, but it could be interesting for Pininfarina to take a look at something. Citroën's concepts are very well done. There's always something to learn from their concepts. The Cactus was not as dramatic as others, but it's a very clean, simple design. Generally I like the very long dramatic concepts they've done, but this one I thought was cool.

"As to GM's various brands, I'm very excited about Chevrolet for 2014 - I mean a new car and truck in a year - you've got to be kinda excited about that. Cadillac's got a very complete portfolio of vehicles but there's more to do of course. There's always more to do. The Elmiraj concept is a very production-feasible design but is it the right thing to do financially? It's kind of funny to say, but we have so much going on, it's difficult to do an Elmiraj right now. As cool as it is, there's a lot of other work we are doing, just at Cadillac alone, the Cadillac studio is jammed with work. But I sincerely hope we can get that car into production.

"I think one of the most important things that I can do is to create an environment in which people feel free to create. They need to have fun, it's more than the physical environment, it's the culture. If someone has an idea, they can feel free to bring it to me. Then we'll see what we can do. That environment has changed significantly. There are designers who have come from other car companies and they tell me that GM just seems to be a much happier, more free kind of place to work.

"In North America we have the big ‘Ground Zero' in Warren, Michigan, and we also have advanced design studios in Warren and California, a studio in Brazil, a couple in Shanghai, plus we are working with partners in Southern China, Northern China, India, Korea and Australia. Come join GM design and see the world!"

Concept

1. BMW Pininfarina Gran Coupé
2. Citroën Cactus
3. Renault Twin'Z

"The BMW is down to proportions. It was good to see that quality and effort from Pininfarina, a design house that has done wonderful things. This is one of the best things I've seen from them in years"

Production

1. Ferrari LaFerrari
2. Jaguar F-Type Coupé
3. McLaren P1

"The Ferrari is a sexy car right? I guess I like that kind of car, I can't help it. And if you look at my whole judging list, there are no angry cars there really. I think we've gone past that"

By Guy Bird