Michael Simko gets the best GM designer job

Michael Simko wins GM's best designer job

Former Holden designer Michael Simcoe will lead General Motors' global design team in Detroit.

He used to draw cars on the cover of his school notebooks, and now he is responsible for the design of all future General Motors cars.

The Melbourne man who designed the modern Monaro - and every Holden Commodore since the 1980s - has received some of the highest honors in the automotive world.

Former Holden head of design Michael Simcoe has been appointed chief designer of General Motors, becoming the seventh person in the company's 107-year history to take on the role.

In his new role, Mr. Simcoe will be responsible for over 100 vehicle models across all seven iconic General Motors brands, including Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and Holden.

Mr. Simko will lead 2500 designers across 10 design studios in seven countries, including 140 designers at Holden in Port Melbourne, who will continue to work on cars worldwide after the Adelaide car assembly line closes at the end of 2017. .

As the first non-American in the role, Mr. Simcoe said he would bring a "global perspective".

“But to be honest, the team at all design studios is doing the best job they have ever done,” he said.

When asked if he had ever dreamed of becoming a top designer, Mr. Simcoe replied: “No, I didn't. Did I think a year ago that I would get this role? No. This is a dream job and I'm humbled by it all. I just found out on Tuesday that I got the job, and to be honest, I still don’t realize.”

In the early 2000s, Mr. Simko is said to have stepped down from a top design job to stay at Holden to finish the next generation Commodore.

Mr. Simcoe will return to Detroit by the end of this month to begin work on May 1st. He will be joined later this year by his wife Margaret.

“Obviously it affected the family, it will be the third time for her (in Detroit). Luckily, we have a network of friends when we were last in America."

Mr. Simko, who worked at General Motors for 33 years, is said to have turned down a top design job in the early 2000s because he wanted to stay in Holden to finish the next generation Commodore.

Little did he know at the time that this Commodore would turn out to be the last homegrown model, and Holden's Elizabeth plant was due to close for good at the end of 2017.

In 2003, Mr. Simko was promoted to Head of General Motors Design Studio in South Korea, in charge of Asia Pacific, and was promoted back to Senior Designer in Detroit the following year.

After seven years abroad, Mr. Simcoe returned to Australia in 2011 after he was appointed Head of Design at General Motors for all international markets outside North America, working from Holden's headquarters in the Port of Melbourne.

Mr. Simko has been with Holden since 1983 and has been involved in the development of all Commodores models since 1986.

The Commodore Coupe concept was created after Mr. Simko sketched it on a blank canvas while renovating the house.

Simcoe is credited with not only styling the oversized rear wing of the 1988 Holden Special Vehicles Commodore that replaced the special editions built by Peter Brock, but also designing the Commodore Coupe concept car that stunned the public at the 1998 Sydney Motor Show.

Originally created solely to divert attention from the new Ford Falcon at the time, the public demanded that the Commodore Coupe be built, and from 2001 to 2006 it became the modern Monaro.

The Commodore Coupe concept was created after Mr. Simco sketched it on a blank canvas hanging on the wall while renovating the house on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Simco took the sketch to work and the design team decided to build a full size model. It eventually became the modern Monaro and led to Holden's exports to North America.

In 2004 and 2005, Holden sold 31,500 Monaros as Pontiac GTOs in the US, more than double the number of Monaros sold locally in four years.

After a short break, Holden resumed his export deal with Pontiac, sending the Commodore there as a G8 sedan.

Mr. Simko will replace Ed Welburn, who has been with General Motors since 1972.

Over 41,000 2007 Commodores were sold as Pontiac between November 2009 and February XNUMX, nearly equivalent to Commodore Holden's annual sales volume at the time, but the deal ended when the Pontiac brand was folded following the global financial crisis.

In 2011, the Holden Caprice luxury car was converted into a police vehicle and exported to the US for state parks only.

The Commodore sedan returned to the US in late 2013 under the Chevrolet badge.

Both the Australian-made Caprice and Commodore versions of the Chevrolet continue to be exported to the US today.

Mr. Simcoe will replace Ed Welburn, who has been with General Motors since 1972 and was named Global Head of Design in 2003.