Ed Welburn - GM's new styling boss.

[Tom D.]

On this site, someone recently indicated they did not know of Ed Welburn. Perhaps this will help.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/19/au...9CARS.html?8dt

Tom D.
4889




MichiganNCRS.org

[Tom D.]

Guess you might need a free ID for NYT

I neglected to add: This link might not work unless you have signed up for free access to the NY Times - on line version. I have such, and they do not push (very often) for you to buy the paper. There are no indications that they have given my address to anyone else.

If you don't want to sign up, here is the caption from a photo of Ed in NYC, shown standing in front of a yellow Hummer.

"Ed Welburn, the vice president for North American design for General Motors, recently spent a day trend-watching in New York City."

[Chuck S.]

We'uhl...Yuk, Yuk...I Rekon Thet Wud Be Me...

Tom, I am that ignorant redneck that had never HEARD of Ed Welburn (GASP ). For me, that knowledge simply put a name with what I considered less than excellent design at GM currently. But, what do I know? I am just a paisano that doesn't know a Mona Lisa from a Lamborghini.

"...Standing in front of a yellow Hummer"..."Recently spent a day trend-watching in New York City." Er...Is this from the Sunday "Home and Gardens" section or the "Weekend Entertainment" section? And, what the heck, exactly, is "trend-watching"?...Was he watching the Easter Parade to get ideas for a new GM product (Frilly, yellow things are in this year! )? Checking out the DJIA chart to see what shapes GM automotive profiles should have? (Yep, check out the new C6 designed several years ago...declining chart from tail lights to door, unchanged across the door, with a little rally and then declining further across the front fenders! The time line had to be expanded to smooth things out a little. )

Unfortunately for GM, all the paisanos (like me) that never heard of Ed Welburn (or read the NY Times), will vote for our favorite car design guy at the dealers' showroom floors. But, he must cut quite an image; half the women in NYC probably wondered if he was single. Perhaps, he's somewhat reminiscent of Delorean. I bet that prospect might even bring a smile to his face. On the other hand, he could be a quiet, hardworking, humble guy outside of the corporate photo ops...I might really like him if I got to know him. Celebrity is hell.

Anyway, thanks for your efforts to help me see the guy, but I could never sign up for access to a New York Times website...it might get back to the...er..."Vast Right Wing Conspiracy".

[Chris H.]

Re: We'uhl...Yuk, Yuk...I Rekon Thet Wud Be Me...

"a quiet, hardworking, humble guy"

That is exactly what Ed Welburn is like. He has a great eye for design but is almost the opposite of Chuck Jordan, Wayne Cherry and Palmer (ex chiefs/assistants) as far as management style. Ed lets the guys/gals design and gives help/direction. The others tended to give lots of direction.

[John H.]

Re: We'uhl...Yuk, Yuk...I Rekon Thet Wud Be Me...

You should have been downstairs in the Fab Shop when Chuck Jordan returned from his 3-year tour at Opel; he stored his personal Ferrari Daytona down there while he was gone, and just before he returned, the guys made up (very professional-looking) fake tailfins, rear wing, fender flares, curb feelers, door edge guards, and a bunch of other J.C. Whitney-type stuff and applied them (carefully) to the Daytona. The first thing Chuck did on his first day back was to go downstairs to look at the beloved Ferrari he hadn't seen in three years, and when he unlocked the door to the storage room and turned the light on, he nearly had a heart attack - he gave LOTS of direction that morning! It was a bad day for Ken Pickering, Jerry Palmer, and the others who rigged the "surprise"

[Duke W.]

Re: We'uhl...Yuk, Yuk...I Rekon Thet Wud Be Me...

I can't say I blame Chuck for not being amused by the prank. How would most of us feel if anyone pulled a similar shenangian with our beloved Corvettes or other toy cars.

Having spent the better part of a couple of days with Chuck researching material for a book, I can say from my own personal experience that he is not the "chrome cobra" descibed in "All Corvettes are Red". He is very passionate about cars, his own Ferraris in particular, so I can imagine his lack of amusement with the prank.

The other thing I learned in my professional career - don't F with the boss!

Duke

[Chuck L.]

Re: We'uhl...Yuk, Yuk...I Rekon Thet Wud Be Me...

Hi Guys, a little more background on Ed. When I worked for GM-NAO (North American Operations)in 1994, he received the "Engineer of the Year" award from a minority engineering publication. One of his major traits was to allow employee participation and creativity, unlike some predecesors. Everything I've ever heard about Ed has been extremely positive, including the C6!

[Clem Z.]

goto "google" and type in ed welburn

all you want to know and then some

[Doug Flaten]

Re: We'uhl...Yuk, Yuk...I Rekon Thet Wud Be Me...

Fifteen years ago I had ordered a new interior from Al Knoch. It took several months for the pieces to arrive. After about 9 months the infamous stainless steel trimmed door panels arrived. They were shipped to my office when I was out of town. In my office I found a box that looked like UPS had run over them several times, and they were bleeding popcorn packing all over the floor. My heart sank. I was relieved to find out that the guys had hid the panels behind the door, and were paying me back for a previous practical joke that I had pulled on them.