| Buick Y-Job | |
|---|---|
 Harley Earl in the Buick Y-Job, 1939 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Buick (General Motors) |
| Model years | 1938 |
| Designer | Harley J. Earl |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Concept car |
| Body style | 2-door convertible coupe |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 5.2-liter (320 ci) Buick straight-8 |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 126 in (3,200 mm) [1] |
| Length | 208.7 in (5,301 mm) [2] |
The Buick Y-Job, produced by Buick in 1938, was the auto industry's first concept car[3] (a model intended to show new technology or designs but not be mass-produced for sale to consumers).[4] Designed by Harley J. Earl, the car had power-operated hidden headlamps, a "gunsight" hood ornament, electric windows,[5] wraparound bumpers, flush door handles, and prefigured styling cues used by Buick until the 1950s and the vertical waterfall grille design still used by Buick today.[until when?] It used a Buick Super chassis, indicated by the word "Super" located above the rear license plate.
The car was driven for a number of years by Harley Earl, until he replaced it with a 1951 model car. Sometime after that, the car was restored at the Henry Ford Museum, until 1993 when it was returned to the GM Design Center.[6]
The "Y" in the name has two explanations:
- All experimental cars were called "X", so Earl simply went to the next letter in the alphabet.[7]
- The "Y" designation was selected by Earl because it was used extensively in the aviation industry denoting the most advanced prototypes.[5]
In 2001, Buick recreated the Y-Job with modern advancements called the Buick Blackhawk drawing extensively from the Y-Job.
- ^ "1938 Buick Y-Job Concept Images, Information and History (YJob, Dream Car, First Concept Car)". Conceptcarz.com. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- ^ "Buick Y-Job Concept". Supercars.net. 2004-03-01. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- ^ Smith2019-03-01T15:26:00+00:00, Karl. "Concept Car of the Week: Buick 'Y' Job (1938)". Car Design News. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Inside Line: News, Road Tests, Auto Shows, Car Photos and Videos". Edmunds.com. 2009-01-22. Archived from the original on 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ^ a b Concept Cars by Larry Edsall pp19 Edizione White Star ISBN 978-88-8095-956-4
- ^ "1938 Buick Y-Job Concept Images, Information and History (YJob, Dream Car, First Concept Car)". Conceptcarz.com. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ^ "1938 Buick Y-Job and Harley Earl-GM PhotoStore". Gmphotostore.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-03-21.