Creating reality together

In the creation of concept cars, as in the creation of production vehicles, GM designers and engineers work together.

Concept vehicles should create a visual vocabulary that requires no dictionary. A person merely has to look at a show car to be drawn emotionally to the presentation. And while designers strive to elicit passion with vehicle art and engineers endeavor to give it substance, one of the greatest feats is the melding of creative thinkers with logic-focused minds.

“In the tension between engineering and design, you've got this classic right brain, left brain scenario,” said Bryan Nesbitt, Executive Director, Design for Body-on-Frame Architectures at General Motors Corp. The disparity between the strategic plotters and the idealistic dreamers gives basic insight into the daily activities of concept vehicle teams. “It just comes down to really, really trying to think about what you need to achieve on both objectives, and working out those compromises,” Nesbitt said.