Strother MacMinn
| Strother MacMinn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Strother MacMinn |
| Died | January , 1998 Pasadena, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Car designer, educator and motoring journalist |
| Employer | General Motors, Henry Dreyfuss, Toyota's Calty Design Research |
| Known for | Instructor at Art Center College of Design |
Strother MacMinn (1919–1998) was an American car designer, author and educator. While noted for his contributions to Road & Track, Motor Trend and Automobile Quarterly and for helping found Toyota's California studio, Calty Design Research, MacMinn was widely known for an automotive-design teaching career at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design that spanned fifty years — with noted students including J Mays, Chris Bangle and Wayne Cherry.
Former Vice President of Design for General Motors Chuck Jordan, said "if you are in a car today, Mac probably influenced its design," saying also "no one influenced car design more" than MacMinn.
Growing up in Pasadena, MacMinn became friends with Frank Hershey who worked for Murphy Body Company. When Frank moved on to GM, he help MacMinn get his first job in the Buick studio at General Motors Art and Color Section at the age of 17.
In 1937 Harley Earl assigned MacMinn to a new studio to develop the Opel Kapitän. MacMinn left GM before World War II, then returned for a short time after the war. He also worked for Frank Springs at Hudson.
After the war, MacMinn worked for the industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss. In 1948 he began teaching at Art Center College of Design and remained there for 50 years.
In 1973 he helped found Toyota's Calty Design Research and remained with them until 1983.
MacMinn wrote for publications such as Road & Track, Motor Trend, Automobile Quarterly and Sports Car International, and for museum catalogs. He was chief honorary judge for several years at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
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