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1951 Buick LeSabre at Design Dome |
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This 1951 Buick LeSabre concept car was shot on location at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. Designed by Harley J. Earl’s studio with styling cues from jet fighter planes and used by him for years as an everyday driver, the LeSabre offered a preview of the aircraft styling that followed in the 1950s. The 1951 LeSabre contained such technological features as a dual gasoline and alcohol fuel system and a moisture sensor, which would raise the convertible top if it began raining when the owner was away from the car. The GM Technical Center was designed by architect Eero Saarinen and was built in 1950. Occupying 330 acres, its 25 buildings including gatehouses, large laboratories, offices and shop buildings, are arranged along three sides of a 22-acre lake. The one-square-mile complex of engineering facilities is located 12 miles north of Detroit, Michigan. The Technical Center is the workshop for GM engineers, researchers, stylists, designers, mechanics, machinists, and other specialists. At the Center, the research and engineering projects are conducted over an extended length of time. Engineering staff projects generally look ahead at least three to five years while research projects extend even further into the future. In addition, the Technical Center handles programs that would be uneconomical or beyond the resources of individual divisions. All styling and design of products is handled exclusively at the Technical Center in individual brand character groups. Note the Design Dome in the background. The Design Dome’s 188-foot diameter floor can be set up as an auditorium for an audience of more than 1000, or used as an exhibition hall. The outer dome is 65 feet high with a span of 188 feet, and is based on pressure-vessel construction. The aluminum shell is 3/8 of an inch thick-thinner than what an eggshell is to an egg.
Official GM Photograph from the General Motors Media Archives.
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