William L. Mitchell, America is back

Born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 2, 1912, William L. Mitchell grew up in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Member of the Art Students League of New York, he began his artistic career as an illustrator for the firm Barron Collier. In December 1935, aged only twenty-three, he joined the Art & Color department of General Motors, the first design studio created within an automobile factory. “Bill” Mitchell worked for many years under the authority of the founder of the studio, in this case the exuberant Harley J. Earl.

Bill Mitchell became head of style at Cadillac in 1936, breathing new life into the brand with the 1940 “60 Special” model. In 1949, he left General Motors following a disagreement with Harley J. Earl.

Despite a certain incompatibility of mood, the two strong personalities nevertheless meet again. On May 1, 1954, Bill Mitchell was appointed GM’s “Style Director”. He must live with Harley J. Earl until the day he takes over …

From December 1958, Bill Mitchell took over the management of the creation studios which had been grouped since 1957 under the banner of the “Styling Section”. He must deal with the effects of the Suez crisis and the turnarounds in American society, which results in the birth of more compact and less arrogant cars. It imposes an in-depth questioning, it renounces ostentation, it purifies the style of GM products, gives it humility (Chevrolet Corvair in 1960) and Latinity (Buick Riviera in 1963) or animality (Chevrolet Mako Shark II in 1965). Transformations that result in radically new creations such as the Chevrolet Corvair (1960), the Buick Riviera (1963), the Corvette Sting Ray (1963) or the Oldsmobile Toronado (1965). In 1972, the design department was renamed “GM Design Staff”.

Among the important milestones laid down during his tenure, Bill Mitchell is proud of the C2 generation Corvette. By adding the word “Sting Ray” to its name, the second generation of the Corvette marks its difference from its predecessor. It confirms under its new identity the technical and aesthetic innovations which had been sketched out on the prototypes bearing this name since 1959. Its muscular volumes and taut lines do not come as a surprise. The retractable headlights either. Most of these dominant features were taken from the Corvette Stingray born to race in 1959 and 1960 and transformed into a style study in 1961.

Another major development is the Mako Shark II concept car announcing the C3 generation which will be introduced for the 1968 vintage. Its degraded midnight blue body turns to pearly white under the belly, a reference to the shark that gives it its name. After a first vision in New York, in April 1965, the Mako Shark II will also be the star in Paris in October 1965. The profile adopts a completely new line with very plump wings and the central pinched part which is worth to him to be compared. to a bottle of Coca-Cola. The incisive style ends with an inclined truncation with a retractable spoiler.

We can blame Bill Mitchell for certain blunders. For example, having suppressed the Damsels of Design studio, made up of eight young designers, but it was the architect of an unprecedented revolution within General Motors.

Bill Mitchell left his post in 1977. He devoted his retirement to Michigan to his passions. Collecting memories, riding huge motorcycles …

William L. Mitchell leaves the planet on which he affixed his stamp on September 12, 1988.

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