Gordon Buehrig
Gordon Miller Buehrig (born June 18, 1904 in Mason City , Illinois , † January 22, 1990 in Grosse Point Woods , Michigan ) was an American automobile designer who designed a number of classic vehicles for Errett Lobban Cords automobile brands in the 1930s . His best designs include the Cord 810/812 and the Continental Mark II .
Life and works
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In 1924, Buehrig began an apprenticeship as a coachbuilder at Gotfredson Body Company in Grosse Point Woods, which produced coachwork for Wills Sainte Claire , Peerless , Jewett Motors and other automobile manufacturers. In 1927 Buehrig switched to the body manufacturer Dietrich in Detroit , then to Packard and finally to General Motors . Buehrig first worked as a designer at GM; Here he was involved in the design of the 1929 Buick models. In 1929 Buehrig worked briefly for Stutz ; for the sports car manufacturer from Indianapolis he designed the vehicle with which the company took part in the 1929 Le Mans 24-hour race .
In 1929 Buehrig became chief designer of the luxury car manufacturer Duesenberg , which had belonged to the entrepreneur Errett Lobban Cord for three years. His first work for Duesenberg was the design of factory bodies for the newly introduced Duesenberg Model J , which for marketing reasons was attributed to the fictional body construction company LaGrande .
Five years later, Buehrig moved to Auburn , which was also part of Cord's automobile company. For Auburn, Buehrig designed the Auburn 851 series in 1935 , the Boattail Speedster version of which attracted the most attention.
Buehrig's last work for Errett Lobban Cord was to design the bodies for the Cord 810/812 , a newly designed front-wheel drive car that was the world's first production vehicle to use pop-up headlights. Buehrig's design of the Cord 810 is one of the most innovative and elegant designs of the pre-war period. Regardless, the Cord 810 became an economic failure. Later Hupmobile and Graham-Paige used Buehrig's body design for technically simpler, cheaper to manufacture rear-wheel drive vehicles ( Graham Hollywood and Hupmobile Skylark ); serial production failed in view of the impending Second World War .
After the war, Buehrig initially worked in Raymond Loewy's design office . From 1951 to 1965 he worked for Ford . Here he designed, among other things, the Continental Mark II , which is considered a milestone in automotive design.
After he retired, Buehrig worked for several years as a lecturer in automotive design in California; he also worked as a freelance designer. His last design was a retro-style coupé for the Buehrig Motor Car Company from 1979, which was not mass-produced.
literature
- Michael Bowler, Giuseppe Guzzardi, Luigi Enzo Rizzo: automobiles made history . Karl Müller Verlag 2003. ISBN 3-89893-107-2 .
- Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980. Beekman House, New York 1984, ISBN 0-517-42462-2 .
- Paul R. Woudenberg: Lincoln and Continental 1946-1980 - The classic Postwar Years. New edition. Motorbooks International, Osceola WI (USA) 1993, ISBN 0-87938-730-0 .
Web links
- Buehrig's biography on the website www.conceptcarz.com (accessed on February 21, 2012)
- Interview with Gordon Buehrig from 1984 (accessed February 21, 2012)
- coachbuilt.com: Gordon Buehrig (accessed April 17, 2012)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bowler, Guzzardi, Rizzo: Automobiles that made history. P. 108.
- ^ Langworth, p. 213.
- ↑ Woudenberg, chap. 6th
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Buehrig, Gordon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Buehrig, Gordon Miller |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American automobile designer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 18, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mason City , Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 22, 1990 |
| Place of death | Grosse Point Woods , Michigan |