The tail fin era

General Motors designer Chuck Jordan visits Los Angeles to encourage young car nuts to pursue their dreams. His advice: ‘Start as bold as you can…. If you don’t start out ambitious enough, it will be drained down to nothing.’

Above, Chuck Jordan’s design for the 1959 Eldorado. Below, the 1955 Chevrolet Cameo.

His name was not, as Bill Dredge wrote in The Times in 1958, Chuck
Gordan. He was, in fact, Charles M. "Chuck" Jordan, designer of the
1955 Chevrolet Cameo), the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado and many other autos.

Chuck Jordan’s winning entry in the 1947 Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild contest. Photo by Harry Schoepf

As for the contest, back in 1947, Jordan received a brief writeup in
the weekly auto column after winning the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild
Award. 

We caught up with him again in 1965 when he was in charge of the
automotive design studios at General Motors Styling. By then, the
Fullerton High graduate was visiting the Art Center to monitor
students’ progress on a special design project.

"A man has to have a real sincere interest in cars," Jordan told The
Times’ Bob Thomas. "Otherwise they get awful tired within a year
working with cars. Every designer we have is a car bug. Also he must
have the talent to design new, bold ideas. We’re not after face-lifters
or customizers. It takes a real talent to dig up something new."

As for the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild Award, the contest that was started as philanthropy project during the Depression was eliminated
in 1968 as a cost-saving measure.

Motor Trend has a long interview with Jordan on its website.

The Automotive Chronicles has an article on a reunion of Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild Award winners.