{"id":494,"date":"2020-03-07T01:57:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-07T01:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/?p=494"},"modified":"2020-03-29T00:08:05","modified_gmt":"2020-03-29T00:08:05","slug":"designing-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/designing-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing Women"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Harvey Earle and the General Motors ‘Damsels in Design’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the past month, two articles of particular interest appeared on my automotive feed. Both were focused on a subject matter rarely covered in the automotive press \u2013 the female automotive designer. The first in Autoblog<\/a><\/em> \u2013 while featuring multiple photos of Jay Leno \u2013 announced the 2020 Automotive Hall of Fame inductees. Included in this year\u2019s class is Helene Rother Ackernecht, believed to be the first woman to work in automotive design. The second article \u2013 which appeared in Automobile<\/a><\/em> magazine – noted the unexpected discovery of what is considered the first car designed by a woman, on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum<\/a>. Perhaps not coincidently, these stories follow the 2018 publication of Constance Smith\u2019s Damsels in Design: Women Pioneers in the Automotive Industry<\/a><\/em>. Although women have been active in the auto industry \u2013 albeit in small numbers \u2013 for over 75 years, the stories of women who influenced car design have just begun to surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after the release of Smith\u2019s book, I attended a small panel in downtown Detroit that featured Smith, Liz Wetzel – Director of Design at GM Global Design, and Mary Ellen Green, a designer for General Motors during the early 1950s. It was a fascinating, enlightening, and sobering discussion. While Greer spent most of the time describing her duties and projects while working for the notorious Harvey Earle, she also subtlety referred to the daily harassment she faced while working as a female in a male dominated profession. Like most of the women in automotive design, Green was relegated to interior design, sculpting, color and trim, or graphic design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helene Rother \u2013 featured in Smith\u2019s book as well as the Autoblog article – worked at GM during the same period as Green. A former fashion designer, she fled wartime Europe to take advantage of the \u201cshockingly radical\u201d GM female design team (6). She left General Motors after a few years to work with the famed Italian designer Battista Pinin Farina on groundbreaking post-war vehicles for Nash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Wetzel notes in the introduction to Smith\u2019s book, \u201cdesigning an automobile is extremely challenging and exciting \u2013 it is perhaps the most complex consumer product.\u201d She adds, \u201cnot many women know about automotive design as a career.\u201d (7). Perhaps it is because, as Wetzel remarks, women like Green left the industry as suddenly as they entered it, for reasons alluded to but not mentioned. There appears to have been a considerable gap before the automotive industry once again welcomed the female designer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the early 1980s, Marilena Corvasce was hired by Ghia, the European design studio purchased by Ford in 1970. She was assigned with the task of developing a concept car in the style of the Ford Probe. While Corvasce designed the automobile from start to finish, her name was left out of all the press releases. It was only after the car was selected for display at the Peterson Automotive Museum that she was recognized as the 1982 Ghia Brezza chief designer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Corvasce, only a few women have made their marks as automotive designers. Mimi Vandermolen is responsible for the Ford Probe, Diane Allen for the Nissan 350Z, the first BMW Z4 is credited to Juliane Blasi, and Michelle Christensen was the designer of the second-generation Acura NSX. As Wetzel explains, although the careers of these designers suggest that women have made considerable advances, the number of women in the design studio is still relatively low compared to men. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the induction of Rother into the Automotive Hall of Fame spurred this sudden journalistic interest in female automotive designers. Or perhaps it was the publication of Smith\u2019s impressive book that brought newfound attention to women in the automotive industry. Whatever the reason, scholars, journalists, and students of automotive history have embarked upon the important yet painstaking task of recovering the work, lives, and histories of female designers. As Wetzel hopes, perhaps this recognition will not only bring attention to those who have heretofore been lost in the automotive archives, but will inspire young women to consider a future in automotive. As Wetzel writes, \u201cif you are a creative woman who loves solving problems and want to be on the journey to create the greatest advances in mobility of our time, I encourage you to consider a career in the auto industry\u201d (7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gustafson, Sven. \u201cPioneering Designer Helene Rother Ackernect joins Jay Leno among Automotive Hall of Fame Inductees.\u201d Autoblog.com<\/em> 6 Feb 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehbock, Billy. \u201cThe 1982 Ghia Brezza is the First Car Designed by a Woman.\u201d Automobilemag.com<\/em> 27 Feb 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith, Constance. Damsels of Design: Women Pioneers in the Automotive Industry<\/em> 1939-1959. Atglen PA: Schiffer, 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever considered working in the auto industry?<\/strong> What qualities do you think are important for success in a male-dominated industry? Any and all comments are welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the past month, two articles of particular interest appeared on my automotive feed. Both were focused on a subject matter rarely covered in the automotive press \u2013 the female automotive designer. The first in Autoblog \u2013 while featuring multiple photos of Jay Leno \u2013 announced the 2020 Automotive Hall of Fame inductees. Included in this year\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-auto-industry","tag-automotive-history"],"yoast_head":"\nDesigning Women - Women & Cars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/designing-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Designing Women - Women & Cars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the past month, two articles of particular interest appeared on my automotive feed. 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