When Harley Earl came to General Motors in 1927, he brought Hollywood with him. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Earl spent his early career building custom cars for movie stars before GM tapped him as its first design director. He then pioneered clay modeling as a tool for shaping vehicles, a practice the industry still relies on nearly a century later.
It’s fitting, then, that GM has opened a major new advanced design campus in Pasadena, California, and marked the occasion with a concept that goes far beyond what clay alone could produce.
The new Pasadena studio spans 148,000 square feet across three buildings and is home to about 100 designers, sculptors, makers and artisans. It is fully equipped for life-size clay modeling and digital collaboration, and serves as GM’s primary center for conceptual design.
The focus is on work that looks beyond current production schedules to ask what vehicles might look like a decade or two from now. Hussein Al Attar has been named studio director, replacing Brian Smith, who returns to the Chevrolet Corvette design team in Michigan.
To open the studio, GM revealed the GMC HUMMERa conceptual pair of truck and SUV designed to test new ideas in manufacturing, materials and off-road capability. Neither is headed to production. Rather, they are design and engineering studies that can indicate GM’s future direction.
FLEX FAB and its future implications
Automakers may build cars differently over time
The most technically interesting element of the HUMMER X concept is something called FLEX FAB, a manufacturing approach that could change the way automakers think about body panel production.
Traditional automobile manufacturing relies on large, expensive stamping tools to press sheet metal into body panels. Each tool is designed for a specific part, meaning any design changes require new tooling. That makes the process slow and expensive, two things the auto industry as a whole tries to avoid.
FLEX FAB works more like industrial 3D printingbut for metal. Enables small-batch, on-demand production of metal panels without the need for dedicated stamping tools. The same team can produce multiple designs, opening the door to much greater variety and faster iteration (two things the auto industry greatly desires).
For HUMMER The resulting aesthetic is straightforward and functional, with flat surfaces, clean edges, laser-welded joints and exposed precision bolts. There is nothing decorative about it. The look is derived from the process, and the process is the point.
If FLEX FAB ever came into production, it could allow automakers to offer more configuration options without the manufacturing overhead that typically makes such variety cost-prohibitive. You could also shorten product development schedules. For now, it’s just a proof of concept, but it’s compelling nonetheless.
HUMMER X concepts and the “builder”
Old school car enthusiast approach
Even setting aside the manufacturing history, the HUMMER X as a concept vehicle makes a strong impression. While it would be awesome to see it in production, maybe we’ll get lucky and GM will at least send it to the auto show circuit, since has done with its current Hummer models.
Both truck and SUV configurations are built around a modular platform designed for strong off-road capability. The SUV’s ground clearance is 13.2 inches, with approach and departure angles of 44 and 46 degrees, respectively. The truck version offers 12.5 inches of ground clearance and an approach angle of up to 41.5 degrees.
Goodyear tires and 22-inch aluminum Beadlock wheels are standard, helping give the HUMMER X its signature look. While the SUV variant rides on 37-inch rock tires, the truck version gets a set of 35-inch street tires. Multimatic shocks, a GM staple, are complemented by solid underbody protection.
Inside, stackable displays allow drivers to organize their digital settings based on how they’re using the vehicle at the moment, whether exploring a remote trail or merging onto a busy highway.
GM describes the intended buyer as the “builder,” someone who mods and customizes their vehicle, turns keys and participates in the broader automotive community. It’s certainly an old-school car enthusiast approach, although the “builder” mentality can help. attract new people to the hobby of vehicle ownership.
To serve that customer, the design team created the HUMMER HUB, a connected application suite that includes a scout drone. The drone can fly along a trail, send real-time terrain data to the driver, and dock when not in use. It’s a new approach to school if ever there was one.
- Radar band detection
-
X, K, Ka
- Companion App
-
Drive smarter
The Escort MAX 360c MKII is the follow-up to the standard MAX 360c radar detector. This upgraded version features longer range detection with its updated dual antenna platform and greater false alert filtering through Blackfin DSP integration.
Sustainable materials strategy
Morse code on the ground
The design team focused on what they call monomaterials, replacing adhesives and multi-material assemblies with press fits and mechanical fasteners made from a single material.
The goal is to make the parts actually recyclable rather than theoretically recyclable. Various interior components, including the seat backs, headrest backrests and instrument panel ends, are made from recycled automobile bumper fascias. The pieces are also designed to be exchanged, shared and recirculated.
Hidden throughout the concept are some intentional details. The team’s work mantra, “Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints,” is encoded in Morse code on the floor. The tire tracks spell out the same phrase in their entirety. These are small details, but they speak to how thoroughly the concept was imagined and developed.
What the Pasadena study represents
The new campus is the latest chapter in GM Design’s nearly 40 years in Southern California, building on the same regional tradition that Harley Earl helped establish. GM’s global Advanced Design network also includes studios in Detroit, the United Kingdom and Shanghai. The Pasadena facility is now a key part of that.
The purpose of the study is to look ahead, not just to the next model year, but to the next generation of what mobility could mean. The HUMMER X concept, with its flexible manufacturing, circular materials strategy and modular off-road platform, reflects that mandate. Whether any of this makes it to production in recognizable form remains to be seen, but the HUMMER X is a clear statement of where GM’s West Coast design operation is headed.
