Something exciting is soon to happen within the halls of General Motors. Bryan Nesbitt, famous for his design portfolio which includes the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Chevrolet HHR, will take the lead of GM Global Design this summer. While I’m sure no major shakeups are about to happen in GM design, I’m hoping for just the opposite. Let’s have some fun and make some unique neo-retro cars!
Nesbitt is scheduled to take the reins of GM Global Design on July 1. When he does so, Nesbitt will be filling in the shoes of Michael Simcoe, who will be retiring after an impressive 42-year ascension with General Motors. As we lead up to that handoff date, Simcoe will be winding down his role while also ensuring Nesbitt can have a smooth transition into position.
GM says that under Simcoe’s lead, GM Design was responsible for vehicles including the Cadillac Lyriq, the GMC Hummer EV, and the Chevrolet Equinox EV. As for his own designs, native Australian Simcoe is credited for work on the Holden Monaro (known in the United States as the Pontiac GTO), the 2000 and 2006 Holden Commodores, the Buick Avenir concept, and more.
Those are great cars to have on your resume, but the man taking his position has a very different line of cars under his name. That’s Bryan Nesbitt, the mand whose designs probably got some kids punched in the 2000s.
More Than Just PT Cruisers
The name Bryan Nesbitt has never ascended to such infamy as Adrian van Hooydonk, who loves BMW’s absurd massive grilles, or Chris Bangle, who was obsessed with big automotive butts. He’s neither a legend like Freeman Thomas, who penned the Audi TT, nor Giorgetto Giugiaro, who has his marks on everything from the Volkswagen Golf Mk1 to the DMC DeLorean. Instead, Nesbitt birthed a pair of cars that the collective car Internet loved to beat up. Well, at least that was the case until Elon Musk rolled a Tesla Cybertruck onto a stage.
But Nesbitt is far more than just the designer of the Chrysler PT Cruiser. According to Car Body Design, Nesbitt showed off his artistic talents at a young age, and his father loved that so much that he took a 12-year-old Nesbitt to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Nesbitt had a lot of inspiration growing up. He crisscrossed the country with his mom in an AMC Gremlin. Meanwhile, his dad was so addicted to Corvettes that it was the only kind of car he owned from 18 years of age onward. As Automotive Design and Production writes, Nesbitt’s childhood gave him a good sense of American culture and why things can be different than elsewhere.
Later, Nesbitt would intern at Chrysler’s Pacifica studio in California in the early 1990s. This didn’t translate to a job offer and when Nesbitt tried to go to GM, reportedly, he was told that his ideas were “unrealistic.”
Of course, Nesbitt’s first calling to fame was when he was hired on at Chrysler in 1994. A couple of years later, he was just 27 years old when Chrysler passed down the mission to create a retro ride for the future. Chrysler was properly weird back in those days and enlisted the help of French medical anthropologist and psychiatrist Dr. Clotaire Rapaille to find a car that would activate your “lizard brain.” Yep, Chrysler figured that repackaging the Neon into something retro was going to get all of America excited.
Chrysler let the young Nesbitt have a ton of fun designing the PT Cruiser. Chrysler’s brands kept teasing concepts including the custom Pronto Cruizer Concept, the Euro-style Plymouth Pronto, and the weird mid-engine Pronto Spyder. Nesbitt also got to pen the Citroën 2CV-inspired CCV concept back then. Ultimately, the production Chrysler PT Cruiser was nearly as wild as the concept and it was the perfect vehicle for the hot neo-retro craze. I mean, everyone was doing retro back then from the Volkswagen New Beetle to the Ford Thunderbird and the Chevrolet SSR.
After striking gold at Chrysler, GM took Nesbitt on in 2001 as Chief Designer for Chevrolet. He’d rise through the ranks before ending up as Executive Director for GM Europe Design in 2004.
While Nesbitt is not known for controversial styling elements like Chris Bangle’s love of flame surfacing, Automotive Design and Production notes that he had quite an important duty at GM Europe Design. He more or less had to do what VAG did with the Golf platform but with GM’s platforms. From Nesbitt as quoted by Automotive Design and Production: “No one gets the Audi TT, VW Beetle, and Golf confused as the same car.”
By 2007, Nesbitt’s name was on so many different cars. His portfolio of projects included the Buick Enclave, the Buick Lucerne, the Cadillac DTS and BLS, the Chevy Impala, the Chevy Cobalt coupe, the Pontiac Solstice, the Pontiac G6 coupe, the Saturn Aura, the Saturn Outlook, and the Saturn Sky.
Now, I will note that Nesbitt didn’t completely design all of these cars. Current Tesla design head Franz von Holzhausen usually gets the main credit for the Saturn Sky. Likewise, Nesbitt’s other polarizing design, the PT Cruiser-like Chevy HHR, was at least somewhat finished before he put on the finishing touches. Still, Nesbitt can take a little credit for some incredible cars. Nesbitt’s design stint for GM took him as far as China before returning to America in 2022 to head Global Cadillac Design.
Under his direction, GM says, Cadillac created its latest concept cars, the Opulent Velocity and the Sollei.
We don’t really know what Nesbitt will change as the senior vice president of GM Global Design. However, both GM and Nesbitt seem to imply the future is going to be bold. From GM:
[W]e’re thrilled to have Bryan step up to lead GM Design, where he will use his considerable talent and formidable leadership skills to take us into the future,” Reuss added. “He has a long history with all our brands, and a deep understanding of our customers. As seen in his recent work at Cadillac, his design statements are only getting better and bolder.”
For his part, Nesbitt says:
“I am honored to lead GM Design, which is home to some of the industry’s most talented and creative people. Our company, along with GM Design, has built momentum, and I’m committed to building on that ethos of vision, execution, and collaboration. Design will continue to be at the leading edge of identifying and adopting new technologies to improve speed to market and help meet the needs of customers into the future. Great design will always be the cornerstone of every vehicle we create.”
Time For A Rebirth
Now, to be clear, Nesbitt has not said anything about what’s going to happen. But, I’m a little crazy, so I’m going to suggest something absurd. Car enthusiasts constantly talk about how cars all look the same nowadays. Do you know what looked different and what stood out? The Chrysler PT Cruiser. Whether you shower their designs with praise or disdain, everyone has an opinion on the PT Cruiser and the Chevy HHR.
Yes, I know that kids invented a version of the Punch Buggy game for the PT Cruiser and yes, I know Doug DeMuro loved crushing a PT Cruiser with a Hummer. Lots of people hated the PT Cruiser. Yet, built 1.35 million PT Cruisers over ten years, so I’d wager that more people actually liked them than hated them.
At the same time, the Chrysler PT Cruiser also wasn’t just a shameless cash grab. In my experience, they were pretty roomy, relatively fuel-efficient, and were more or less just normal cars given weird bodies. Sometimes that’s just the perfect kind of car.
I think the HHR was even better. That car might have copied the PT Cruiser, but did so with a flat roof and seats that folded flat and level with the cargo floor. My wife and I turned her old HHR into a great micro camper. That thing regularly got over 30 mpg and was shockingly reliable. I’d love to take a spin in an HHR SS, which has the same hilarious 260 HP and 260 lb-ft of torque turbo engine my Saturn Sky Red Line has.
Sadly, both the PT Cruiser and the HHR were plagued with horrifying interiors. The HHR’s interior was especially bad, featuring Fisher Price-quality plastics and blind spots you could hide a semi-truck in. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
I’d love to see modern interpretations of both of these cars. Imagine a PT Cruiser or an HHR with modern interior materials, today’s safety, and today’s engines. Or, heck, maybe even make it a stupid quick EV or a thrifty extended-range EV. Dare I say, I would actually consider a new PT Cruiser if one existed like that. The retro craze isn’t over yet, either, but now the retro vehicles are SUVs, motorcycles, and VW vans.
Or maybe we don’t give those cars a rebirth, but perhaps we should have some cars in the same spirit. I’d love to see some cars with designs that take some risks, but they’re otherwise just normal practical vehicles underneath.
Again, I’m sure not a whole lot is going to change here, but I’m curious to see what direction we’ll see from GM in the coming months and years. But hey, a woman can dream, so give me that fresh take on the HHR. I swear there will probably be dozens of buyers!
(Images: Automakers, unless otherwise noted.)
“Punch Buggy? Is that the same as “Slug Bug” we played while riding in the back seat as a kid?
Anyway, I am not a fan of the PT Cruiser or the HHR, but there are some nice designs in the extensive list you provided. I thought the Chevy Impala and Buick Lucerne were nice looking in their day. And the Equinox EV is pretty cool. A friend bought one and it looks great, inside and out.
they were very popular at the time of release. the PT more so to be honest….like all things GM they usually wait for a competitor to innovate and then Benchmark and slightly improve what they belch out. I would say maybe the SSR and the Aztek were notable exceptions. If I were him, I would be looking to make a K5 out of a Yukon with more rugged features to basically do to the bronco what the original K5 did to it in the 70’s. this is a limited window though as I feel like the mall crawlers in lifted retro offroad styled things may be winding down a bit. Probably the move away from powerful sedans will return the more the amorphous blob of the raised roof station wagon phase ends. I feel like the big SUV craze was preceded byt he mini van phase, and then prior to that the station wagon phase…so it will be interesting to see when the ZA’s, Zees and Alphas start driving what will they hate more the remaining big SUV’s or the Crossovers. I have a hunch it will be the crossovers.
That’s an awful lot of meh.
If he greenlights production versions of their gorgeous concepts like the Ciel and Avenir I’m onboard though.
Yup, I looked at the vehicle photos in this article, and only the last Caddy caught my attention. The rest are better left dead.
The PT/HHR were rightfully compact on the outside. Sadly I don’t think GM has a small enough platform to re-skin anymore.
The VSS-F platform is more or less the platform that would cover something the size of an HHR. Both the Trailblazer and Trax are on that platform and the HHR is kind of right in between them in size.
Why does half the time I’m posting the site disappears?
I am leery of a design chief whose 2 top designs were flops.
Hell yeah! PT Cruisers are embarassing, but in the real world, pretty great cars. Small on the outside, bigger on the inside, and with the SRT4 drivetrain it was a total sleeper. I get that they aren’t ‘cool’, but I think that could change. Just make them RWD.
I always liked the PT Cruiser.
Often though back in the day that a diesel version with a big Webasto fabric sunroof would have made for a great taxi.
Does that mean GM is going to make a second HHR?
Those bumper stickers and the license plate frame say one thing, and the Yankees magnet says quite another, lol.
Every so often, GM gets the organization right. Definitely a good move here.
Are you a Buy-Kappa-Alpha really, if you don’t mention the 2004 Chevy Nomad Concept?
https://mycarquest.com/2021/03/design-history-2004-chevrolet-nomad-concept.html
If he did something “retro”, like bringing back actual COLORS on cars, I’d be happy.
I thought GM’s design department was nothing but monkeys with computers churning out the same overpriced electric trucks and SUVs.
Hey – enough monkeys at enough keyboards can make Shakespeare (or so I’m told).
You have described social media. It appears to be a fallacious hypothesis.
You have to look at it on a longer timeline. We haven’t had social media that long.
It just feels that way…
A Corvair-inspired EV would be nice. Either generation would do, but it makes sense to start with the original so you have a natural place to go with the second-gen EV.
This. The architecture with an EV platform could easily be developed to do the full original Corvair lineup with the coupe, sedan, wagon, pickup, and van. But it will never happen.
Seems like his portfolio is made up of clean designs free of the busy lines, cuts, and fake vents that plague modern designs, so I am here for it!
I may not agree with the design, but it is unfussy and clean. Agree
With the exception of Buick, shockingly, GM’s design department really has nowhere to go but up. I’m glad they finally realized a change was needed.
It’s 2 decades later now, following the trend of 2000s ripping off 50s/60s cars we should be properly ripping off 80s/90s style like Hyundai’s trying with the N Vision 74. I want to see a small S10 style Maverick competitor, a T-Top’d Trans Am looking electric Charger competitor, a Dustbuster PHEV Pacifica competitor, let’s get RAD!!
Everything with Lisa Frank inspired paint jobs.
I (mostly) loved my ’05 PT GT Convertible. Comfortable for four people and the removable rear seats (a holdover from the 5-door) actually translated to a lot of trunk space, even if access was awkward. The top was a triple-layer fabric top that never once went wrong in the eight years I had the car. The interior wasn’t the worst… the ’06 “refresh” ushered in truly abysmally cheap and nasty materials. Downsides were mileage (I was lucky to see 25mpg) and that it ate motor mounts and tires like you wouldn’t believe. Otherwise it was surprisingly reliable. It was quick but not fast and the torque steer was entertaining.
As far as the “retro craze” goes, I’m in too cranky a mood today to elaborate much on why we shouldn’t bathe the past in some sort of rosy glow and try to go back there, seeing as how I now live three miles inland from the “Gulf of America”. Yeah.
Nostalgia is a word coined to describe a mental illness.
Check it out
“Access was awkward” is an understatement. I had to get on my knees to put things in there.
Hey. Let’s keep this site family friendly. Or at least safe for work.
The HHR was a horrendously bad interior. Beyond abysmal build quality and components: pervasive design issues with poor sightlines from not only pillar size/position, but frustratingly bad headspace coupled with poor visibility upwards through the front windscreen meant you couldn’t see traffic lights if you were too tall (and, if over a certain height, you’re not driving it at all).
The PT Cruiser, however, inherited all the dynamics of the Neon along with all the other mechanical bits (for good/bad). What it was, however, a very nice handling small car with IRS that could handle better than it’s boxy shape would suggest. GM missed that memo, and the HHR’s handling wasn’t even close enough.
I can accept cheap quality when it’s built to a price on the PT, but the shame of all the other sins of the HHR? No, It’s just the nostalgia making people think it’s better than it was.
I can see why people would’ve been interested in the HHR when it was new, but I cannot figure out how anyone could’ve bought one after sitting inside for more than 5 seconds. Probably the worst interior of the modern era.
Yeah, the nasty interior and hilariously awful sightlines were very low points in our HHR ownership. It was somehow about on the level as a Chevy Aveo with the plastics inside, which was impressive(ly bad).
That’s why I’d love to see a revival with today’s interiors and hopefully, lessons learned about visibility. But who am I kidding, a new HHR would just be an Equinox with retro garb.
Else, the size of the HummerEV.
My opinion definitely softened on the PT, similar to the Aztek but to a lesser degree. At least it did something different, and when you step out of the comfort zone you’re bound to be polarizing.
That G6 Coupe is unfortunate looking, at least at that angle.
There was a GTP version with an angular spoiler that was even worse from that angle.
Yes! Good looking coupes carry the visual weight rearward, windswept if you will. I think the biggest sin is the front focus. There is a MASSIVE gap between the door and rear wheel. It all seems squashed to the front. The 4 door avoids this pitfall.
I mean, it’s a large FWD two door that shares the same footprint and wheelbase as the midsize sedan it’s based on; it was never going to look good regardless of who you threw at it.
If he makes cars less angry I’ll be happy.
How far we’ve come from the Dodge Neon “Hi.” ads…
The previous retro trend was 30’s-40’s.
Let’s see a retro tri-five Chevy! But not as an SUV!
I was rather impressed by a friend’s manual PT. Drove and handled quite well for a mass-consumption car. And the HVAC rocked.
PITA to work on, though : definitely need small hands
My mechanic HATED working on mine. You also had to remove a fairly impressive amount of the intake to swap out the battery.
I think it was a shift cable I did in her work parking lot. Lost some skin & cussed a bit.
I like the PT Cruiser and I’m not afraid to say it. Especially before they tweaked the headlights.
Honestly agree, I was just out of college when these were still new and gave serious consideration to buying one. I liked the blend of utility and looks, I was doing a lot of biking at that time and building a life one Ikea box at a time. I think the more futuristic Vibe stole its thunder.
The facelifted models are terrible.
I’d like to imagine a future where the manufacturers decided to pursue a market of tall hatchbacks instead of lifted hatchbacks (CUVs).
Daughter has a Gen2 Vibe and it is like a Tardis. I think Toyota still makes a similar version of the Corolla, as well as Hyundai/Kia.
Definitely, and some other changes in the refresh, like the seats were somehow much worse. I had a 2001 I thoroughly enjoyed, then got a 2006 years later and definitely felt the ‘cheapening’. The stereo pulled from the Caliber, the seating position was higher too so not as good for taller folks, also the grille update seemed cheaper too, just a big bumper down below without a lower grill. But for space/utility they were pretty good, the manuals were the ones to get as the automatics were terrible for mpg.