The Art Center College of Design, located in Pasadena, California (and often referred to as Pasadena Art Center), is one of the most well-known and prestigious learning institutions in the country, and among the most respected when it comes to its industrial and automotive design curriculum (though the other arts are taught there as well).
The graduates from the college who specialize in automotive design usually end up being picked up by auto manufacturers from around the world-that is if they don't first open their own automotive design studio. Chuck Jordan, head of design for General Motors from 1986-1992, Bill Mitchell (who succeeded Harley Earl as GM's design chief), Strother MacMinn (who worked with Earl in the '30s and '40s and was a teacher at the school for almost 50 years), Gordon Buehrig (designer of the coffin-nose Cord, as well as many Stutz, Duesenbergs, and the Lincoln Mark II), and Harry Bentley Bradley (Hot Wheels' first designer), have all taught at the facility over the years, and Larry Shinoda (who penned the Corvette's shark lines in the '60s), Thom Taylor (who designed the first sets of wheels for Boyd Coddington), J Mays (Ford's current Vice President of Design), and Chip Foose (hot rod builder and star of TV's Overhaulin') are all alumni of the school.
So when a place that teaches art alongside automotive design decides to put on a car show, what do you think the cars at that event will look like? For the past four years, the Art Center has organized a 100-car show on the grounds of the school and presents it with a theme. The theme of last year's show was "Supercars, Past and Present," highlighting cars from many eras that fit that profile.
The collection of vehicles represented one of the finest gatherings of both power and sleek lines. You only have to see a partial list of attendee's cars to understand that it is possible to design a car to go fast, handle well, and turn heads when it drives by (we only wish more companies would design cars like that!). Some of the cars in attendance were a '57 Ferrari Testarossa and a '62 GTO, an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Spyder from 1937, a teardrop '38 T-150C Talbot-Lago, a '58 Scarab Mark I, and a '55 Fiat 8V Zagato coupe. Newer cars were represented, too, including a '69 Bizzarrini 5300 Strada GT, a '94 Jaguar XJ220-S, an '04 Lamborghini Gallardo, and a new Porsche Carrera Spyder GT.
And if the superior list of vehicles didn't grab you, then the Center also had speakers giving speeches and involved with a question-and-answer session. And when you have the chance to see a slide presentation given by keynote speaker Dan Gurney, you know it's a special event! This year's show, which coincides with the school's 75th anniversary and feature cars designed by many past alums, will be held July 17, and you can get info on it and past shows at www.artcenter.edu/carclassic.