Bill Mitchell (automobile designer)

Bill Mitchell
Born(1912-07-02)July 2, 1912
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedSeptember 12, 1988(1988-09-12) (aged 76)
Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation(s)Automotive designer and executive
Known forHead of design at General Motors 1958–1977; innovations in automotive design

William Leroy Mitchell[1] (July 2, 1912 – September 12, 1988) was an American automobile designer. Mitchell worked briefly as an advertising illustrator and as the official illustrator of the Automobile Racing Club of America before being recruited by Harley Earl to join the Art and Color Section of General Motors in 1935.[2][3]

Mitchell is responsible for creating or influencing the design of over 72.5 million automobiles produced by GM, including such landmark vehicles as the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special, the 1949 Cadillac Coupe deVille, the 1955–1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, the 1959–1984 Cadillac DeVille, the 1963–1965 and 1966–1967 Buick Riviera, the 1961–1976 Corvette Stingray, the 1970–1981 Chevrolet Camaro, the 1976–1979 Cadillac Seville, and the 1980–1985 Cadillac Seville.[2][4] Mitchell spent the entirety of his 42-year career in automobile design at General Motors, eventually becoming Vice President of Design, a position he held for 19 years until his retirement in 1977.[2][3][4] His design stewardship at General Motors became known as the 'Bill Mitchell era'.

  1. ^ The Henry Ford. "Digital Collections". www.thehenryford.org. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c General Motors Design Impact 1977, p. 1.
  3. ^ a b New York Times 1988.
  4. ^ a b Washington Post 1988.