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African American Automotive Influencers – Pt.2

As we detailed in part one of our two-part blog on significant contributions African Americans have made to American automotive history, part two, “African American Automotive Influencers” highlights a few of the designers that continue to play an important role in the evolution of the cars, trucks, and SUVs we drive.

This list of automotive designers over the last half of the 20th century to today highlights the achievements of those who have played a role in some of the most iconic vehicles ever created for the American road.

McKinley Thompson Jr., Ed Welburn, Earl Lucas Jr., and Ralph Giles are the designers we’re highlighting in part two of our blog on African American Automotive Influencers.

The first African American car designer

With the return of an all-new Ford Bronco for 2021, it’s very timely to take a look back at a Ford designer who helped pen the first-generation Bronco. McKinley Thompson Jr. (1922 – 2006), was the first African American designer hired at Ford Motor Company after graduating from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California with a degree in transportation design in 1956.

Born in New York City, he graduated from Murray Hill High School before entering World War II in 1941 and eventually began working on engineering design layouts for the United States Army Signal Corps.

Motor Trend Magazine reported in 1956 that McKinley Thompson “attended Art Center College as the winner of a four-year scholarship granted by Ford Motor Company through a sports car design contest conducted by Motor Trend. He will soon join the Styling Division of Ford in Detroit.”

Thompson made automotive history by becoming the first African American car designer, having received his Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, he was hired by automotive designer Alex Tremulis, who was known for designing the innovative Tucker Automobile.

His career at Ford placed him in the advanced studios’ design department, where Thompson helped to design a concept vehicle called the Ford Gyron, a unique three-wheeled, two-passenger car with an aircraft-inspired design.

In 1962, Thompson received “The Citizen of the Year Award,” Ford’s highest award for community service. He was also involved with several popular automotive and truck designs, including the 1961 Ford H-series tractors, the Ford Thunderbirds of the mid and late nineteen-sixties, several Ford Mustang concepts, the 1963 Ford Allegro concept, the Cougar II, and what would become the Bronco sports-utility vehicle. His “Package Proposal #5 for Bronco,” influenced the design for the open-air 4×4 featuring a square, short body and high ground clearance with minimal front and rear overhangs for optimum off-road performance.

As the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco prepares to launch, just remember that it all started nearly sixty years ago on the design table of McKinley Thompson Jr.

1967 Ford Bronco, inspired from designs contributed in 1963 by McKinley Thompson Jr.

The first African American automobile designer to become General Motors’ Vice-President of Global Design

The Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette are American automotive icons, so when it’s time to do a redesign on a ‘Vette, or in the case of the 2010 Camaro, the resurrection of a legendary American pony car, you need a designer at the top of their game and in the case of Ed Welburn, he was definitely the person for the job.

Edward Welburn (1950 – ), another African American automotive influencer on our list from Philadelphia, fell in love with the automobile when his parents took him to the 1958 Philadelphia International Auto Show. It was then and there that Welburn decided he wanted to become a designer of cars.

Welburn graduated from the College of Fine Arts at Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in sculpture and product design in 1972. In that same year, Welburn’s design dream became a reality as GM hired him as an associate designer at their Design Center in the Advanced Design Studios. From then on, Welburn began his rise through the company, collaborating with other designers to help create new models for Buick, Oldsmobile, and other GM brands.

He was named Vice President of GM Design North America on October 1, 2003, becoming just the sixth design leader in GM history. Then, just two years later, Welburn took on the newly created position of GM Vice President, Global Design, and the first to lead all of the company’s global design centers. Under his leadership, he created a network of ten design centers in seven countries around the world, responsible for the design development of every GM concept and production car and truck on a global scale.

Welburn received the Distinguished Service Citation from the Automotive Hall of Fame in January 2009, which recognizes an individual’s significant contribution to the auto industry. A few of Ed Welburn’s most recognizable automotive eye candy proliferating our American roads are the Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac Escalade, and the 2010 World Car Design of the Year, Chevrolet Camaro, each one of which was designed under his oversight at General Motors. Welburn retired from GM in 2016, capping off an illustrious 44-year career in beautiful automotive design.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro Super Sport, created under the leadership of GM design chief, Ed Welburn.

Chief Exterior Designer at The Lincoln Motor Company

It’s pretty obvious to those who’ve worked alongside Earl Lucas Jr. (1970 – ), Chief Exterior Designer for The Lincoln Motor Company, that he is a huge fan of the automobile. In fact, in the 20+ years, he’s worked in the automotive industry, he’s acquired over 150 automotive design patents, and he either lived in or traveled extensively in Europe and China because of his love for cars. Lucas’s story began in Dallas, Texas where he would go on to graduate from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in 1988.

Lucas chose an automotive design career because of his love for drawing and creating shapes within the process of design. After graduating from the College for Creative Studies with a degree in industrial design, he began his career at Ford Motor Company in 1999 as the Senior Designer of the Ford Expedition. He would later go on to play a part in the design of the 2010 Ford Taurus exterior, a car that his parents would later purchase, making for a proud moment for the young Ford designer.

Over his career at Ford, Lucas has had a hand in the design of several popular nameplates like the 2000 Lincoln Navigator, 2003 Ford F150, the 2007 Lincoln MKX, 2013 Lincoln MKS, and the 2016 Lincoln Navigator Concept that would eventually go into production as the luxurious 2018 Lincoln Navigator. You can see this super-luxe SUV in action when you watch it featured in an episode of “Traffic Jamz” by K97.5 FM and LeithCars.com.

The stunning Lincoln Navigator, the 2018 North America International Auto Show Truck of the Year.

Designer of the 2005 North American Car of the Year

The final influencer on our list actually has the most eclectic background so far and technically, isn’t African American but we’re including him because he has made significant contributions to American automotive design that cannot be ignored and has a family story that is truly the definition of a “nation of immigrants.”

Haitian-Canadian-American Ralph Victor Giles (1970 – ), was born in New York City to parents who immigrated from Haiti and then later, raised in Montreal, Quebec. He began drawing cars at the age of 8, and by the time he was 14, his aunt took notice of his talent for sketching cars, so she wrote to former Chrysler Chairman, the late Lee Iacocca, letting him know of her nephew’s creative talent. Shockingly, she received a reply from Chrysler’s design chief at the time, who suggested one of three design schools for Giles to attend. He eventually entered the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and in 2002, received an Executive MBA from Michigan State University.

Giles joined Chrysler Corporation in 1992 and helped style the 2005 North American Car of the Year, the Chrysler 300, a design that is still on sale today, no doubt, due to its impact on American automotive culture for its retro-meets-Hip hop luxury design style.

2008 saw Giles replace the retiring Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler and just over a year later, he was promoted to President and CEO of the Dodge Brand where he had some influence on the return of the iconic Dodge Challenger. How did Giles top those achievements? He became President and CEO of Chrysler’s SRT (Street and Racing Technology) division where he led the team that designed the 2014 Dodge SRT Viper and then, was promoted to Head of Design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2015.

2005 North American Car of the Year – Chrysler 300

We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at a few of the top automotive designers of the modern era, or in this case, our list of African American automotive influencers.

Part one of our two-part blog features the numerous accomplishments, industry firsts, and innovations made by African American entrepreneurs, engineers, inventors, and motorsports pioneers during the history of the automobile, focusing on the first half of the 20th century. If you missed it, we encourage you to read it here.

Written by Mark Arsen for LeithCars.com.