An award-winning design, and a dream revisited
Back in the 1950s, car designs started taking all sorts of new shapes, and for some kids, this was the stuff of dreams.
General Motors Corp. had an outlet for them. From 1937 to 1968, the automaker held an annual "dream car" design competition and talent search. College scholarships were awarded for the best cars, which were handcrafted at 1/12th scale.
"It was very important back then, and now people don't even know about it," said
longtime Rolling Meadows resident Adrian Bruno.
As a 15-year-old in Rochester, N.Y., Bruno designed a sports car and won the nationwide contest. This weekend he'll be among a select group of winners to exhibit his original car at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
"I'll be on a plane Aug. 8 with this thing in my hand," he said of the sleek red sports car model, which has sat on his shelf for decades. Bruno has spent the past few weeks reconditioning the car, which is about a foot long and very detailed.
At the museum, he and other winning designers will be on hand to answer questions about the display and the contest. The retrospective of more than 60 model cars from the 1950s and '60s is sure to be nostalgic for Bruno.
The GM contest, called the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild, jump-started many young auto designers' careers. The influence of the program can be seen on the roads today. At the time, about a third of the workers in GM design studios came out of this program, Bruno said.
Bruno entered the junior division and won in 1955, on his second try. The award landed him a front-page story of the "Teen Scene" section of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in October 1955.
"Most of the entrants had to try eight or nine times to win," he remembered.
He describes his car as "not as adventuresome as some," but it was what the judges were looking for. And the $3,000 scholarship gave him opportunities he might not have had otherwise. "My folks were thrilled," he said. "It was going to be pretty difficult to send me to college."
He attended Bucknell University and earned a degree in engineering. His interest in design led to 28 patents in diverse fields - though not the auto industry. Now 69, Bruno continues his career with Weber-Stephen Products Corp. in Palatine. "Now I design grills," he said, laughing.
Bruno has lived in Rolling Meadows for 30 years and with his wife, Ruth, raised two sons here.
This year, GM's truck and SUV divisions have taken a beating by high gas prices. Maybe a new contest could bring out the best ideas for how to solve that problem.
• Colleen Thomas' column appears Fridays. She welcomes your news about community events and people. Call (847) 427-4591, or e-mail her at cthomas@dailyherald.com.