Buick has not been in the truck building business since 1923. But in 2001, the Rendezvous will be Buick’s first truck in nearly eighty years, and it was designed by General Motors’ first female Vehicle Chief Designer, Elizabeth Wetzel.
Elizabeth is second generation GM, sharing her employer with her father. She was born and raised in Detroit, where she cultivated her passion for art and automobiles. Wetzel graduated from the University of Michigan’s School of Art and Design with a B.A. in fine arts, and an emphasis on industrial design. She also attended the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit and Parson’s School of Design in New York.
As a summer intern in 1983, Wetzel did technical illustrations for GM’s Truck and Bus Group. Then in 1986, as an associate engineer with their Advanced Engineering Group, she worked as both engineer and designer on a small car for Chevrolet. She transferred to GM’s Design Center in 1988, where she designed the interior of the Cadillac Aurora and Olds Silhouette concept vehicles, and interiors for production versions of the Lumina, Monte Carlo and Cavalier.
Elizabeth joined the Cadillac studio in 1990 as senior creative designer, and developed interiors for the 1996 Seville/STS and Eldorado/ETC. She was appointed assistant chief designer in 1993, responsible for all Cadillac interior designs. There, she led the design development and execution of the 1997 Deville Concours and 1998 Seville/STS interiors. She was named lead designer for Cadillac Deville in 1996, and added exterior design to her other responsibilities.
By June of 1997, Liz was named chief designer for an all-new vehicle, the Rendezvous. Her involvement is fitting, as Buick expects their car-like SUV to attract more women than men, and is anxious to lower the average age of that Buick customer from 68 to 45 years old.
The Rendezvous is an attempt to combine what people like best about luxury cars, minivans and SUVs, without wandering too far from Buick tradition. It employs a host of ideas from the recent Buick Signia concept car. Other details, like an oval grille and a subtle dip in the beltline are borrowed from Buick’s rich design heritage.
The seven-passenger SUV offers three-row seating, a low, flat load floor, all-wheel drive and an independent rear suspension. A column-mounted shifter allows the center console to function as a contemporary office, with connections and storage for your laptop computer and cell phone.
Wetzel’s eye for interior detail was inspired by Luis Vuitton luggage and fine jewelry. She describes her SUV as a fine leather shoe with a rugged sole, its two-tone paint scheme dividing the refined upper from the rugged lower portion. Buick is banking on this theme. They believe in her, and why not? Apparently, Elizabeth herself is both elegant and capable.
By Adam Icenogle