Autoblog

Click above for more high-spy shots of the production 2009 Chevy Camaro

During an interview at the recent Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, GM VP of Global Design Ed Welburn claims the the production 2009 Chevy Camaro will feature an interior that's even better than the one featured in the Camaro concept. The interviewer gets Welburn talking about the interior by mentioning the gamut of spy shots taken that show the interior of a Camaro mule. Welburn claims those interiors are just thrown together with tape and gauges and don't represent the production interior at all. Well, we've all the seen the interior spy shots, and they show a dash design that looks much farther along than what Welburn suggests. The latest interior spy shots show a dash, center console, gauges and steering wheel that all appear to be unique elements destined for the production Camaro, not items pilfered from the corporate parts bin just to get the car running. Unfortunately, whether or not the spy shots do reveal the production interior can't be answered until we see the final product at a future auto show, but Mr. Welburn seems to claim that the 2009 Chevy Camaro will still be packing a surprise or two when it finally does arrive.

Check out both interviews given by Ed Welburn at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance after the jump.



[Source: Jacksonville.com]

UPDATE: Click here to watch video of live reveal!

click above for more high-res live shots of the Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept

The grand finale of GM's Cadillac press conference was the moment everyone had been waiting for. After a brief introduction from Bob Lutz, who ziplined in from his secret lair in the RenCen, the hotly anticipated Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept rolled onstage, with design head Ed Welburn riding 'gun. The Coupe blends the CTS sedan's face with a new, wedge-shaped 2-door body that finishes off with what Ed described as a "hint of Cadillac fin" in the arrangement of the taillamps. The concept's rear had a single central exhaust outlet whose shape is a nod to the chevrons used to dress up the current CTS interior. Speaking of the interior, the CTS was dressed in black with maize-colored sueded accents and contrast stitching. In another departure from the sedan, the 2-door CTS has sportier, deeper seats. Welburn was intentionally vague abour powertrains, saying it could be powered by a number of existing ones (i.e. the ones in the CTS sedan) as well as a diesel. The car, according to him, was born out of the extra efforts of his design team, who penned the Coupe for fun after the sedan was finished and never stopped refining it. It got to a point where the a concept was approved, and though no mention of a production version was made, this looks like a sure thing in our opinion. Video of the live reveal is available after the jump, as well as Cadillac's official press release.

Last week, we told you about Bob Lutz's Fastlane Blog post in which he stated that the production Camaro is as awesome as the concept. If you clicked through to read it in its entirety, you'll recall that one of the Aussie anecdotes that Maximum Bob recounted involved GM Design honcho Ed Welburn going up to the camo-clad Camaro prototype and hugging it. Well, as Lutz stated, someone in the group had a camera with them and captured the moment for posterity. Today, Fastlane posted it online, and if we're not mistaken, this is the first official shot of the production Camaro, camouflaged or otherwise. We'd prefer otherwise, of course, but we'll take what we can get, so camo it is. If you stare at the pattern long enough, we think it turns into a Calvin-style sticker of Bob Lutz whizzing on the Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang.

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

Yesterday, we sat down for a few minutes with Ed Welburn, GM's Vice President, Global Design, to get his thoughts on the current design direction at GM. He's overseeing a wholesale change in the General's approach to vehicular design inside and out, and for the first time in years, people -- journalists and regular folks alike -- are pointing at General Motors' new cars and trucks not to deride them for how they look, mind you, but as examples of how to do it right.

Cars like the Saturn Aura, the upcoming Saturn Vue, the upcoming Malibu, the Camaro, and the GMT900 family of trucks and SUVS demonstrate that General Motors has thrown its old approach out and is playing the game on an entirely different level. The man leading the way is Ed Welburn, whose team of talented designers has produced a string of highly compelling vehicles that GM hopes will lead them through a product-based turnaround.

We asked Ed to share the story of his first contact with General Motors with us, and then we spoke at length about the current state of design at the automaker. The anecdote Ed shared with us is below, and you'll find the remainder of the interview after the jump.

Ed Welburn - GM Vice President, Global Design
North American International Auto Show
January 7, 2007

Autoblog: I remember an interview you did with Tavis Smiley a while back where you recounted the story about when you were 11 years old and you sent a letter to GM. Can you share that with our readers? It's a good story and I think our readers would be interested in hearing it.

Ed Welburn: You know, my interest in automobile design and cars goes back to early childhood -- age 2½, 3. I was drawing cars. Very primitive cars, but I was drawing, that's what I drew. By age 11 I'd decided that car design is what I wanted. I wrote General Motors at age 11, told them I wanted to be a car designer, and that I wanted to know what kind of courses to take in school, what kind of schools I should go to, and they sent me great information -- I mean terrific information. I just really followed their lead and today when young people write me asking about careers in design I do the same. I make sure they get great information about schools of design and how to pursue a career.

Yesterday we showed you videos of the continuation 2E Chaparrals being built and raced by James Musser and the gang. The Chaparral racecars were so groundbreaking and awe-inspiring that a whole slew of automotive designers and engineers were drawn to the field after laying eyes on them for the first time.

GM Design Director Ed Welburn is one of them. As this Winding Road piece tells us, Welburn is a huge fan of these Jim Hall racers from the1960s. While helping with that continuation car story, Welburn mentioned to the WR team that he wasn't the only Chaparral fan on the GM design staff either. He said that several others could frequently be found sketching what they thought modern Chaparrals might look like.

Click through to Winding Road to see what Jose Gonzalez dreamed up in the form of a full size version of the teaser pic at right. His creation emulates the earlier 2C rather than a 2E, and it is oh so sexy. You'll also see another design featured in this month's magazine and WR promises a third in the near future. So click over and check it out. For anybody who remembers these Texas chargers fondly, or who just appreciates wonderful racing design they are a must see.

[Source: Winding Road]