Posted on 01/23/2015 7:21:39 PM PST by smokingfrog
George Gibson Jr., a former chief engineer for Dodge, died Wednesday in Rochester, Minn. He was 92.
As chief engineer, Gibson’s biggest pride of his work was the Dodge Dart.
According to his daughter, Lisa Gibson, the Dart was the most hands-on work he did at the company.
He admired the functionality of the compact car and was even featured in Dart ads.
Given his 6-foot, 190-pound frame, critics couldn’t believe that a man of his size could fit in the car. He proved them wrong with the ad showing him getting in and out of the car. It read, “Over six feet tall? So is our chief engineer.”
He also had influence in naming the models. His daughter mentioned that the Dodge Lancer was named after the family’s yellow parakeet, “Lancer.”
Born and raised on the east side of Detroit, Gibson graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.
He also went to the Chrysler Institute of Engineering in Highland Park, Mich. where he got his foot in the door at Dodge.
Gibson also served in the U.S. Army as an atomic engineer on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
But Dodge is where he spent the bulk of his career.
(Excerpt) Read more at autonews.com ...
Great car.
They were good cars with the 232 slant 6 in them.
RIP.
I guess he's the guy who designed the '73 Dart I bought to rust away in just 6 years. By the time the frame rotted, the body was more Bondo than metal.
But I have to say, the engine and transmission were really great. There was just not much left to carry them around. ;~))
In the 1950s our preacher at a little country church had a PHD from Yale. Dr. Lett was retired as President of the Florida Baptist Seminary although back then it was just called Baptist Bible Institute.
His Son, Dr. Phillip Lett was an Engineer at Chrysler. He was responsible for the turbine car along with other things. He led the team which designed the Abrams tank.
They had a program on the “History Channel” about the tank and they interviewed him quite a lot. He said when they won the competition over GM, he stood on top of a drafting table and yelled the news to everyone.
I always thought GM cars were the best.
Then Ford.
Last Chrysler.
That is until the later 70’s when they all started to go downhill.
Would anyone buy an American brand today?
Dodge Dart GTS documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=556cyHpG_Hs
Perhaps no one has summed up the existential essence of the Dodge Dart better than French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Writing about his Dart in 1961, Sartre said,
“In my journey to the end of night, I must rely not only on dialectical paths of reason. I must have a good solid automobile, one that eschews the futile trappings of worldly ennui and asks only for basic maintenance. My Dodge Dart offers me this elemental solace, and as interior parts fall off I am struck by the realization of their pointlessness. I might not know if the window is up or down. It is of no consequence.”
http://www.cartalk.com/content/1963-dodge-dart-convertible
I had one with a hot little 273 V8 and four speed in it. Only problem was the wimpy limited slip rear end.
That's not that big.
Dodge fever!
What a horrible commercial. That child was shooting a gun, those kids weren’t strapped in the car, and that bridge had No guard rails! How did anyone ever survive back then.
My very first car, was a used police vehicle. RIP.
I love the image of that. People don't realize how personal engineering is. Sounds corny, but there's so much passion poured into even the everyday objects around us. Every little thing has a story behind it. Some engineer proving himself through his designs.
///////////Thank you George Gibson Jr...Long live the Dart.///////////
Does anyone remember the “Dodge Girl”? Also the “Kodak Girl”.
I had a ‘72 Dart - ugliest car on the road, and it went through a set of brakes every 6 months, but the slant-6 engine just couldn’t be stopped. Chrysler has gone down hill ever since.
The running joke was that the motor would keep running even when the rest of the car fell apart. That slant 6 was one of the best motors ever made.
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