DICK RUZZIN
By Dick Ruzzin with preface by John Manoogian ll
THE ART OF THE AUTOMOBILE
Throughout the 100 plus year history of the automobile, there have been a select number of examples that have been recognized by designers the world over as true breakthrough designs. The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado has attained the status of a timeless example of automotive art. Designed by General Motors Styling Staff the Toronado is one of the few select automobiles that clearly is an example of the automobile as an art form.
The purpose of the following document, written by Dick Ruzzin who was one of the designers, is to establish the aesthetic origins of that seminal design. Since the car’s inception, there have been several false narratives and misstatements concerning the Toronado’s authorship and development. The design and creation of an automobile is a complex coordinated endeavor that requires the input of creative designers, sculptors and engineers. No one individual can, nor should they, lay claim to the creation of a mass produced automobile. In the case of the 1966 Toronado, Stan Wilen, then Chief Designer of the Oldsmobile Design Studio, was the conductor of the inspired orchestra that created the design that would prove to be a piece of art and one of the historical high points for automotive design.
John Manoogian ll,
General Motors Design, retired
Center For Creative Studies, retired
DESIGN OF THE 1966 OLDSMOBILE TORONADO
The Oldsmobile Toronado was the 1966 Car of the Year and received many engineering and design awards including one from the Industrial Design Society of America. It has the following important historic significance:
- The time that it appeared.
- It’s unique appearance and technological content.
- Front Wheel Drive.
Stan Wilen was appointed by vice president of General Motors William Mitchell to the position of Chief Designer for Oldsmobile Division in 1962. Wilen was responsible for all Oldsmobile Styling and he directed and approved every styling theme and detail of all Oldsmobile cars during the period of time when the 1966.
I was a designer in the Oldsmobile Studio when the Toronado was created. At that time, Stan Wilen was responsible for the design of the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado. It was created under his direction and he also participated in its design as a member of the Oldsmobile Studio design staff.
“I was a creative designer working in the Oldsmobile Studio throughout the entire 1966 Toronado design program. I, along with others, participated in the design of the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado.”
– DICK RUZZIN , GM Design, Retired.
The design of the Toronado was accomplished by the work and input of all designers in Oldsmobile Studio under Stan Wilen’s direction. They were assisted by a number of studio engineers and sculptors who worked there throughout the entire design program. It would be untrue and self serving for anyone to claim total individual design credit of the final Toronado design.
DICK RUZZIN
Don Logerquist, a Senior Designer in Oldsmobile Studio was the creator of the Toronado body design theme under the direction of Wilen. Stan chose to test the design on the passenger side of the 1965 Delta 88 clay model. The Red Rendering, a large flame red side view “sketch”, follow that test on the clay model but Don’s large wheel flares were not included on the Red Rendering. The Red Rendering was created by Dave North and Don Logerquist with help from studio engineers George Gadda and Orville Selders. Later, Bill Mitchell, the vice president of styling, would return the large wheel flares to the body side as they were seen on Don’s original sketch. The Tornado design with the large flares was released for production.
Stan Wilen’s overall strategy was to create design themes and cues on the Toronado that he could execute on future Oldsmobiles. His strategy was that all future Oldsmobiles would include some design features from the Toronado as it was to become the Oldsmobile brand’s image car. Stan also successfully convinced Styling management that the body side theme belonged to Oldsmobile and should not be repeated elsewhere on any other GM car.
DICK RUZZIN
In the mid 1960s it was the policy of GM Styling to create an early production design proposal that was then shown to the GM Board of Directors. Following their approval, the production version of the design would be developed and released for production. That first Toronado was created over a proposed platform from Oldsmobile Engineering that was a variation of the F-Car, the platform used on the Camaro and Firebird. Consequently, it was a smaller, tighter four-passenger car, which is what Oldsmobile wanted. The entire design had been developed at that point in time and was then, after approval by the Board Of Directors, reproduced on the larger E-Car platform. The complete design from the first Toronado fiberglass model was scaled up and reproduced on the new platform that was to be shared by Buick and Cadillac.
Any claim by David North that he “designed” the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado is false and not a complete picture of the process. The design was accomplished under Stan Wilen with the help of all members of the Oldsmobile Studio, including Dave North. It is unfair to all the Oldsmobile Studio employees that helped create the car in many different ways. To reiterate, the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado was not designed by one person.
It is especially unfair to Stan Wilen, the chief designer of the Oldsmobile Studio, who strongly participated in the design of the Toronado as his corporate responsibility was that of director of design as chief designer of Oldsmobile Division of General Motors. He was also responsible for the development under the duties of an executive for General Motors Styling Staff.
For a more in-depth look at the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado’s design aspects please see the videos below
WANT TO LEARN MORE? CHECK OUT THE UPCOMING BOOK
GENERAL MOTORS, HARLEY EARL and the Design of the TORONADO”, to be published in February of 2025. It will be launched and distributed worldwide by Veloce Publishing, UK. The book will contain a much larger and very detailed account of the Toronado design and advanced designs that have never been discussed. It will include a significant number of images and design sketches to support the complete and comprehensive Toronado design story.
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