Ed Welburn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edward T. Welburn
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| Born | December 14, 1950 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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| Occupation | Automotive designer and executive |
| Known for | Head of design at General Motors |
| Predecessor | Wayne Cherry |
| Successor | Michael Simcoe |
Edward Thomas Welburn Jr. (born December 14, 1950) is a super talented car designer. He used to be in charge of all car designs at General Motors (GM). This was a very important job, held by famous designers like Harley Earl before him. Edward Welburn was the first Black American to reach such a high position in the car world.
He helped create many cool GM cars. These include the Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac Escalade, and Chevrolet Camaro. He also worked on amazing concept cars. These are cars made to show off new ideas, like the Oldsmobile Aerotech, Cadillac Ciel, and Buick Avista.
Welburn also led the design of the Chaparral 2X Vision GT. This was a special concept car for the video game Gran Turismo 6. It had cool features like 4-wheel steering. It also had active aerodynamics, which means parts of the car could move to help it fly, like a wingsuit.
Contents
Learning to Design Cars
Edward Welburn studied design, sculpture, and painting. He went to Howard University’s School of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C.. While he was still in college, he talked with General Motors. This led to an internship at GM Design in 1971.
He finished his bachelor's degree in 1972. Later, in 2016, he gave a speech to new graduates at Howard University.
His Amazing Career at GM
Welburn first worked at General Motors Design as a college intern in 1971. Just one year later, he made history. He became the first Black American hired to design cars for GM. He spent his entire career designing cars for GM. He worked on many different types of vehicles.
He became the highest-ranking Black American in the car industry. He was the first-ever Vice President of GM Global Design. Only a few people have held this important job. These include famous designers like Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell.
His car designs were very successful. Some of his cars set speed records on racetracks. Others sold very well in stores. He designed several pace cars for the Indianapolis 500 race. He also led the design of the presidential limo. This special car is known as 'The Beast'. He designed it for Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
As the head of GM Global Design, Welburn traveled a lot. He visited GM's eleven design studios in seven countries. He flew about 140,000 miles every year!
Welburn saw a link between fashion and car design. He even created three car fashion shows. Two were in Detroit, and one was in Dubai. In these shows, new concept cars drove down a runway. Celebrities from Hollywood and the music world wore the latest clothes.
On April 7, 2016, he announced his retirement. He left General Motors after 44 years on July 1, 2016. Michael Simcoe from GM Australia Design took over his role.
After retiring, he started his own company, The Welburn Group. It helps other companies with design. He also still advises GM Design on their new design center.
Cars in Movies and Games
Edward Welburn has a long history with the film industry. He helped make sure GM cars appeared in important movie roles. He especially enjoyed working with director Michael Bay. They worked together on the Transformers movies. The Bumblebee Camaro was a big star in these films. His work on Transformers even led to him having a small speaking role in Transformers: Age of Extinction.
He has also appeared on several car TV shows. These include AmeriCarna and Jay Leno's Garage. He was also a judge on the TV show Motor City Masters. On this show, he shared his knowledge about car design.
In 2019, Ed started Welburn Media Productions. He is now working as a producer on a big movie.
In 2022, Ed Welburn was part of the video game Gran Turismo 7. A virtual version of him in the game shares cool facts and stories about GM cars.
Helping Others and Car History
Welburn helps judge classic cars at big events. These include the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.
He also serves on the boards of several organizations. These include the College for Creative Studies and America's Car Museum. He also helps with Tony Bennett’s Exploring the Arts program.
In 2016, Welburn designed a new trophy. It was for the North American Car of the Year award. You can see this trophy in Detroit.
His Life Story
Welburn grew up in a close family near Philadelphia. When he was just 8 years old, he visited the Philadelphia Auto Show. That's when he decided he wanted to design cars. His dream to design for General Motors became even stronger. When he was 11, he wrote his first letter to GM. The company wrote back! They told him what steps he needed to take to achieve his dream.
Even though he is officially retired, he is writing a book about his life. The CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra, has also asked him to help with future GM products.
Ed has two grown-up children and two grandchildren.
Awards and Honors
Edward Welburn has received many awards for his amazing work.
- In 2014, he was named to Hour Detroit’s Best Dressed list. This showed his passion for fashion.
- In 2016, General Motors honored him. They named their Center for African American Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts after him.
- The Detroit Free Press gave him a special Lifetime Achievement Award.
- His work was also added to the Smithsonian Institution museum. He was the first car designer to get this honor.
- In 2017, he received an honorary degree from the College for Creative Studies. He was also inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. He considers this his highest professional honor.
- In 2018, he won the EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award.
- In 2023, he received the Car Design News Lifetime Achievement Award.
Images for kids
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Oldsmobile Aerotech, a concept car overseen by Welburn.
