Clare MacKichan

Clare M. "Mac" MacKichan (/mækˈkiː.kæn/, 1918–1996) was an automotive designer and executive with General Motors (GM). He is best known for designing or overseeing the design of several significant models for the Chevrolet division in the United States and Opel in Germany.

Clare MacKichan
Born(1918-03-10)March 10, 1918
Applegate, Michigan
DiedFebruary 10, 1996(1996-02-10) (aged 77)
Nokomis, Florida
NationalityAmerican
OccupationAutomobile designer, executive
Years active1943–1979

Early years

MacKichan was born on 10 March 1918 in Applegate, Michigan.[1]:76

He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1937 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.[1]:76

He started as an apprentice designer with the Buick division of GM in 1939.[2]

When World War II (WWII) broke out MacKichan left GM to work on defense projects, and returned to the company in 1943.[1]:76

Career

When MacKichan returned to GM he worked for the Fisher Body division. In 1947 he took a position as a senior designer in the GM Design studio.[1]:76

Chevrolet

By 1951 MacKichan had risen to the position of Chief Designer of the Chevrolet Studio, General Motors Design Staff.[3][1]:76

Although it was primarily the work of Robert McLean, MacKichan contributed to the final design of the original 1953 Corvette.[4][5]:36 He would have a long association with the Corvette, overseeing all Corvette styling from the early 1950s well into the 1960s.[3] He also spoke at Covette-themed events, and kept Corvette parts in his office.[1]:76

MacKichan drew the shape for the Corvette-based 1954 Chevrolet Nomad Motorama concept car.[6] He led development of the four-seat Impala concept car that debuted the same year, incorporating several Corvette styling cues in the car.[7]

MacKichan did the first sketches and led the design effort that resulted in the Motoramic style embodied in the 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, the first of what came to be called the "Tri-Five" Chevrolets.[8] He then revisited the shape for minor redesigns in 1956 and 1957.[1]:87[9] He also adapted his 1954 Nomad concept for the 1955–1957 production Chevrolet Nomad.[10][11][5]:94

MacKichan was responsible for the shape of the 1957 Chevrolet Corvette SS racing car. Design of the Jaguar D-Type influenced body took place in Studio X.[12][13]

MacKichan was team lead for the group that developed the "Sculpturamic" design language used for the 1958 Chevrolet line.[14] The style was applied to the 1958 Impala.[15] It was also seen in the related 1958 Brookwood and Yeoman station wagons.

The compact Chevrolet Corvair was released in 1960, during his tenure as Chief Designer.[16][17] This car's shape influenced several other manufacturers' products, particularly in Europe.[18] Shortly afterwards MacKichan was chief designer of another compact Chevrolet; the 1962 Chevy II.[19][20]

Continuing his involvement with the Corvette, he supervised development of the C2 Corvette design that was released in 1963. This was also a Studio X project.[21]

Opel

In 1962 MacKichan transferred to GM's wholly owned German subsidiary, Opel.[22] At Opel his position was Director of Design.[3] His job in Rüsselheim included establishing the Opel Design studio, building the necessary facilities, and hiring staff.[21]

The design that MacKichan is most closely associated with from his time at Opel is the Opel GT.[23][24] This car's styling appears to have been influenced by the Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT and Monza SS Spyder.[17] While it is believed that MacKichan had left for Germany by the time the Monza GT was being developed, Anatole Lapine, who worked on the Monza GT with Larry Shinoda, joined MacKichan at Opel in 1964.

MacKichan returned to the US in 1967.[2]

Advanced Design Studio

Back in the US MacKichan was made Executive in Charge of Advanced Design and Engineering for Design Staff.[3]

He started work on a new rear-engined concept car called the XP-892 in January 1968.[25] This car used a rear-mounted inline four-cylinder engine rather than the Corvair's air-cooled flat-six. After progressing to a full-scale mockup, the project was cancelled in June of that year.

In 1962 GM's Bill Mitchell commissioned a study to evaluate the feasibility of rationalizing platform development for the company's divisions overseen by General Motors Overseas Operations (GMOO) — Vauxhall, Opel, and Holden.[26] In late 1969 Clare MacKichan and a small group from the Overseas Design Studio initiated a project called "World Car" with a similar purpose.[21] This project grew in scope, eventually being renamed the Total Automotive Systems Concept (TASC) and becoming a joint venture of the Advanced Studios and the Automotive Forward Planning Group. In this form its ambition was to change GM's development process to increase interchangeability of components across platforms, and improve both interior space and fuel efficiency of the cars. Implementation of the program required the restructuring of the development and manufacturing groups and use of new processes. It extended to encouraging outside suppliers to invest in developing new lighter-weight components. As the program expanded the size of the team under MacKichan's direct oversight grew to seventy persons.[21] One product of the TASC project was a sporty 2+2 fastback called the TASC4GT. This car, which was powered by a rear-mounted rotary engine, was designed by a small group led by Dick Ruzzin and progressed to the point of a full-sized fiberglass model.[21]

Among the earliest models influenced by TASC were the 1973 T Car and 1978 V Car.[26] The Chevrolet Small Family Car (SFC) project was aligned with the TASC program and eventually resulted in the 1980 GM X-Bodies.[27] Other car lines resulting from the TASC project included the J, A, B, and C lines.[21] A garageable minivan was also part of the TASC initiative.[21] A full-size model of this concept was presented to GM's management in January 1973, but was not approved for further development.[28]

MacKichan was involved in what would become another Corvette project with the XP-897 concept car, later called the 2-Rotor Corvette.[29][30] This mid-engined prototype was designed in the US, and built by Pininfarina on a Porsche 914 chassis.[5]:632–643 It was first shown at the 1973 Frankfurt Auto Show.

MacKichan retired from GM in 1978 or 1979.[1]:76[2]

Personal life

Clare MacKichan died on 10 February 1996 in Nokomis, Florida. He was survived by wife Edith and four children; Kathleen, Carol, Janis, and Robert.[31]

Legacy

In 2011 MacKichan was posthumously inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame at the National Corvette Museum.[32]

Presentation of the Clare M. MacKichan Memorial Award is a feature of some classic Chevrolet conventions.

References
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  2. Child, Charles (19 February 1996). "Obituaries". Automotive News.
  3. "Clare MacKichan". National Corvette Museum. 1 September 2011.
  4. Edsall, Larry (30 November 2013). Corvette Stingray: The Seventh Generation of America’s Sports Car. Motorbooks. ISBN 978-0760343845.
  5. Ludvigsen, Karl E. (4 July 2014). Corvette - America's Star-Spangled Sports Car 1953-1982. Bentley Publishers. ISBN 978-0837616599.
  6. McCausland, Evan (1 November 2011). "Chevrolet Concept Cars: Ten Of Our Favorites". Automobile.
  7. Burton, Jerry (25 March 2016). "Corvettes Gone Wrong (but Not Into Production)". Hagerty Media.
  8. DeMatio, Joe; Zenlea, David; Blackwell, Rusty; Lorio, Joe; Cumberford, Robert; Lerner, Preston; Ahrens, Ronald (3 November 2011). "The Chevrolet 100". Automobile.
  9. Geoghegan, Simon GP (2 February 2014). "Designer: Clare MacKichan". Simon's Cars.
  10. Geoghegan, Simon GP (2 February 2014). "Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad 1955-57". Simon's Cars.
  11. Wernle, Bradford (31 October 2011). "Offbeat Nomad and El Camino turned into cult classics of the '50s". Automotive News.
  12. Taylor, Rich (October 1988). "Corvette SS — The One And Only!". Special Interest Autos. No. 107. pp. 16–23, 58, 59.
  13. Ludvigsen, Karl (April 6, 2018). "Duntov's Stealth Fighters – Part 1". revsinstitute.org.
  14. Wapling, Greg (10 August 2000). "THE UNIQUE YEAR: THE '58 CHEVROLET". www.gregwapling.com.
  15. Adolphus, David Traver (March 2008). "Groundbreaking — 1958 Chevrolet Impala". Hemmings Classic Car.
  16. geelongvic (6 August 2018). "Automotive History: The Opel GT. 1968-1973 — The Long Road From Inspiration To Production with Many Cooks Adding to the Broth Along The Way". Curbside Classic.
  17. Severson, Aaron (4 May 2012). "Son of Stingray: The 1969-1973 Opel GT". Ate Up With Motor.
  18. Niedermeyer, Paul (17 April 2007). "In Defense of: The Chevrolet Corvair". The Truth About Cars.
  19. Gunnell, John (9 January 2012). "Remember the Class of '62?". Old Cars.
  20. Lacki, Allan (December 2017). "Corvair's Kid Brother-The Chevy II" (PDF). the fifth wheel. Lehigh Valley Corvair Club Inc.
  21. Ruzzin, Dick (16 October 2017). "TASC4GT". Dean's Garage.
  22. Crippen, David R. (8 April 1987). "AUTOMOTIVE ORAL HISTORIES — The Reminiscences of William L. Mitchell". Automobile in American Life and Society.
  23. "International Flavors: Opel GT". OldMotors. 10 August 2019.
  24. English, Bob (31 March 2010). "The Opel influence". The Globe And Mail.
  25. Severson, Aaron (23 July 2010). "Contrary Compact: The Life and Death of the Chevrolet Corvair". Ate Up With Motor.
  26. Burrell, David, ed. (March 2018). "Radical 1963 Plan: Vauxhall, Opel & Holden Interchangeability !!". Retroautos. pp. 8–31.
  27. Kimes, Beverly Rae; Ackerson, Robert C. (1 May 1987). Chevrolet: A History from 1911. Automobile Quarterly. ISBN 978-0915038626.
  28. Guin, Olivier (2 August 2016). "1973 Chevrolet Family Van proposal". Car Design Archives on Facebook.
  29. Ludvigsen, Karl (November 1973). "2-Rotor Corvette". Motor Trend. pp. 56–58.
  30. "STORIA DEI PROTOTIPI CORVETTE (1953-2009)" [HISTORY OF CORVETTE PROTOTYPES (1953-2009)]. www.archivioprototipi.it (in Italian). 2018.
  31. "SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 1996 Obituaries". Detroit Free Press. 3 March 1996. p. 12.
  32. "National Corvette Museum Announces Three New Hall of Fame Inductees - Vette Magazine". Super Chevy. 1 July 2011.
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