1.9.2003
GM Design Story at the IAA

GM will invite visitors to the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, taking place this month, to participate in an interesting journey through the past, present and future of automotive design.

GM will invite visitors to the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, taking place this month, to participate in an interesting journey through the past, present and future of automotive design. The world's very first concept vehicle, the Buick Y-Job, will be on display in Frankfurt. GM will also show two important concept vehicles from different GM brands and from very different eras. These are the Saab 92001 (1946), Saab's very first car, which attracted enormous attention in those days with its unorthodox contours, and the dynamic Vauxhall VX Lightning (2003), pictured below. The futuristic Opel GT2 with sliding doors (1975), which never actually found its way onto the road, will also be shown in Frankfurt.

Two Live Design Studios on the GM stand will enable visitors to obtain an insight into the working environment of present-day car designers. They will learn about some of the materials and crafting skills that are key to an understanding of modern-day car design. Another major theme at the interactive workshops will be what is known as "packaging." According to GM's definition, packaging is the intelligent dividing up of the space in a compact vehicle body for the engineering, the passengers and the baggage, while ensuring maximum comfort, ergonomics and vision at the same time.

Models from GM's AUTOnomy and Hy-Wire studies will demonstrate how innovative technologies like the groundbreaking fuel cell system are paving the way for a completely new automobile architecture and also providing car designers with enormous scope for design.