What’s on the drawing board for General Motors? What’s up with Cadillac design? How do designers approach remaking internal combustion-powered icons like the Escalade while trying to build up new EV nameplates like Celestiq, Lyriq and… Escalade IQ? What the hell is Jaguar doing? We answer all of these questions and more on this episode of The InEVitable, as we chat with Brian Smith, design director of GM Advanced Design California.
ADCA, as it is also known, opened a few months ago, and is the genesis of this conversation, as we met with Smith and his colleague, GM’s head of advanced design, Andrew Smith (no relation). After they showed us a couple of super secret concept cars we can’t talk about, we invited both of them on, ostensibly to talk about stuff they are allowed to discuss. Only Brian took the bait, and we’re glad he did, as he gave us a lot of time and insight into his own journey as a career GM car designer, as well as his thoughts on what the future holds.
We started with a curveball about his background, as Smith is one of the few automotive designers of the many we have interviewed not to hail from the famed transportation program of California’s ArtCenter College of Design. Instead, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati, with a degree in industrial design and internships at Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors.
As we discuss, it’s elements of this background that put him on a 30-year career in design that includes launching some of GM’s most memorable concept and production vehicles and, more recently, flagship Cadillac’s transition into electrification and racing. Just look some of the vehicles credited to him:
- 2003 Cadillac Sixteen concept
- 2006 Chevrolet Camaro concept
- 2009 Cadillac Converj concept
- 2014 Cadillac CTS (MotorTrend Car of the Year)
- 2016 Cadillac XT5
And Cadillac EVs:
Of course we spend a lot of time talking about Cadillac, first asking when Cadillac is going to finally build a flagship coupe or four-seat droptop, after so many stunning big-body concepts like the Ciel, El Miraj, and Sollei. We also cover the challenge of taking Cadillac not only into the EV space, but also into the upper stratosphere of luxury against the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley with the $300K, build-to-order Celestiq.
And, as this was recorded a week after GM and Andretti Racing announced that Cadillac will indeed race in Formula One in 2026, we ask him whether his designers are involved in any of that (after all, they helped style Cadillac’s LMDH race car).
And because Smith has exceptional taste in personal cars, including a fondness for British coupes and roadsters, as we profiled back in 2020, we had to ask him for his thoughts on the latest Jaguar rebrand.
Kick off the new year with a great episode on automotive design right here, or on our YouTube channel. If audio is your thing, you can listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like it, please tell your friends, share us on social media, like the video, and don’t forget to give us a five-star review.
