Blaine Jenkins, 1934-2014

I’m deeply saddened by the passing of my good friend, retired GM Studio Chief Blaine Jenkins, age 80, at his home in Palm Springs, California. Blaine was a talented designer who had a hand in the creation of some of the most iconic products of GM’s Golden Era.

Blaine with Ruth Helm and his '53 Ford, 1955

Blaine and Harvey Helm, 1955

Blaine was born and raised in the tiny town of Caney, Kansas, and studied architecture for two years at Kansas State before hearing about a school for Automotive Design called Art Center in Los Angeles. Although none of his credits would transfer, he applied anyway and soon headed westward. After two years, he joined GM in the fall of 1956. He was recruited by none other than legendary GM designer Chuck Jordan. Following his probation period in the Orientation Studio, he was assigned to Chevrolet Interiors where his first assignment was working on the all-new 1959 Chevrolet.

The 1960 Corvair "Super Monza" for Miss Lynn Mitchell

His contributions to Chevrolet were many, including the interior for the 1961 Corvette Mako Shark. His “Super Monza” Corvair for sixteen year old Lynn Mitchell led directly to the highly successful production Corvair Monza. His favorite project of the era was the mid-year 1965 Chevrolet Caprice, a car which was developed so quickly it had no budget, and Blaine was able to design a Cadillac-level interior for the the new top-of-the-line Chevrolet. It was in 1965 that he created what became is signature color, a violet tinted silver he named "Evening Orchid." Blaine marveled that of all the projects he worked on, he got more questions about Evening Orchid than anything else.

1965 Corvair Corsa in Evening Orchid

The mid-year 1965 Caprice

Blaine went to Oldsmobile in 1966. His first project there was a last minute redesign of the 1967 Toronado interior to make it more appealing to women, then took over the 1968 line up. He was made Studio Chief and had a good relationship with Olds GM John Beltz, who came to him one day to ask what he could do if he was given a hundred dollars to spend inside a Ninety-Eight. “Anything you’d like” was Blaine’s immodest reply and the result was the highly successful Ninety-Eight Regency whose luxurious pillowed seating caused considerable consternation to sister division Cadillac.

1972 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency

From Olds, Blaine went to Pontiac where he created the Luxury Le Mans and applied finishing touches on the 1973 Grand Prix and Grand Am, including the genuine wood dash veneers. After about a year, Olds asked him to come back and he went, remaining there until 1980 when he was placed in charge of the GM Color Program. He ran the color program for four years and introduced Jadestone and Briar Brown into the automotive conversation. Following that assignment, he returned to Chevrolet until a back injury caused him to take early retirement in 1990, His last project was the 40th Anniversary Corvette of 1993.

1993 40th Anniversary Corvette

Blaine’s loved wood bodied cars and owned many over the years, including a 1947 Buick Estate Wagon, a Chrysler Town and Country Sedan and a rare 1947 Ford Sportsman. He also owned a 1954 Buick Super that had belonged new to his Mother’s college roommate, Blaine had known the car since 1955 and inherited it in 1976, it remains in his garage to this day.

Blaine in front of the Buick he would inherit, 1955

Blaine with the newly restored Super, 1989

He met his husband, Philip at a bar in Detroit one night in the summer of 1975 and they were together ever after- just shy of four decades. With him goes a treasure trove of stories and recollections of GM’s Golden Era. He knew how Harley Earl took his coffee and how Bill Mitchell liked his hookers, and there aren’t many left with that testimony.

Blaine's "Rock Star Moment," 2012

His health declined in recent years and his mobility became severely limited, but his blue eyes still sparkled. In 2012, Automobile Magazine ran a tribute article about him and we celebrated with a surprise party that caught him totally off guard He reveled in his “rock star moment,” as I called it, and talked about it for months afterward. At his 80th Birthday party this last March, we were all asked to explain our connection to Blaine, after which he himself spoke. “I’ve had a magnificent life,” he said, “and each of you are a part of it.” He went on to say that his life had been far beyond the wildest dreams of a little boy from Caney, Kansas who wanted to draw cars.

Is there really anything more one can ask for? I will miss him dearly, but I am so much richer for having known him. Requiescat in Pace, my friend.

The Story of Ruth- A Very Special Buick Super

Ruth Helm and her new Super in Palm Springs, April 1954

A car can be more than just a car. Sometimes it's a time machine as well, like the story I'm going to share with you about a very special 1954 Buick. Not a Buick Special- but a special Buick indeed.

"The Beautiful Buy"

It was the spring of 1954 in the little farming town of Caney, Kansas, which was located in the Eastern third of the state just north of the Oklahoma border. Buick advertised itself in 1954 as "The Beautiful Buy" and the local grocer, Joe Elliott was much impressed with the new Buick line up. There were only Ford and Chevrolet agencies in town, so he decided to drive over to Coffeyville and have a look. He stopped by the market to get some cash from the safe and also to pick up his only grandson, Blaine Jenkins- to accompany him on the twenty mile trip. Blaine had just turned twenty and loved automobiles more than anything. He was studying architecture at the University of Kansas but had just applied to Art Center in Los Angeles and wanted to design cars. However, that day he and his Grandfather were focused on just one car- a new 1954 Buick.

They checked out all the cars in the showroom in Coffeyville and it turns out that they both were both taken by the same one- a new 1954 Super sedan in a color called Casino Beige with a green top. Mr. Elliott summoned the salesperson and signaled his intentions with a roll of bills. Soon he and Blaine were on the way back to Caney in the handsome new Super. To this day, Blaine recalls how thrilling the drive home was.

Motor Trend profiles the 1954 Buick

It turns out that Joe Elliott wasn't the only person enamored of the new '54 Buick. Halfway across the country,  in Hollywood, California- a lady named Ruth Helm was driving her 1948 Buick convertible past the Phil Hall Buick Showroom in on Sunset Boulevard, when a brand new Super convertible caught her eye. Coincidentally, this Super was also finished in the handsome Casino Beige, with a two tone green interior. She telephoned her husband Harvey at work that very afternoon to tell him she had seen a new Buick that she wished to buy.

George Burns and Gracie Allen

Ruth seldom telephoned Harvey at work. As the Head Writer of the George Burns and Gracie Allen Television Show, Harvey was pretty busy working on a new show every week. Besides, Ruth had her own income serving as the President of the Hollywood Democratic Club as well as being a Personal Assistant to actor Eddie Albert. But nonetheless she phoned Harvey- who like much of Hollywood was a Buick owner himself, and told him of the beautiful new car. He told her that it's her money, and by all means to buy it if she wanted it.

The new Super in the Desert- Palm Springs, April 1954

Ruth drove the car out of Phil Hall's Showroom on March 31, 1954. Almost immediately she and Harvey took it on a spring trip to Palm Springs, where they stayed with George Burns and Gracie Allen at their desert home. Of course they took pictures of the beautiful new Buick that she placed in her photo album. The album shows several other trips as well- La Jolla, Half Moon Bay, and what appears to be Lake Tahoe. The big Buick was an excellent road car, and the three of them traveled well together.

Harvey Helm and the Super in La Jolla, 1956

Harvey and the Super at Pigeon Point, Pescadero CA 1956

Now these stories might seen totally unrelated but fate has a way of making people intersect. Back in Kansas, young Blaine had been accepted into Art Center and was preparing for a move to Los Angeles. His Mother suggested that she look up her old College Roommate there, a lady she knew as Ruth Van Eaton- but Ruth was now Mrs. Harvey Helm. Blaine arrived in Los Angeles in the fall and did indeed look up the Helms. His first memory was seeing her nearly new 1954 Super convertible- in the same Casino Beige that his Grandfather had. Sitting beside it in the garage was Harvey's new 1955 powder blue Century convertible, suggested that they had indeed been pleased with Ruth's purchase.

Harvey, Ruth's niece and Blaine clean out the garage, 1955.

The childless couple took Blaine under their wing and became his honorary extended family.  Both of Blaine's parents had been only children, so he came to regard the Helms as the Aunt and Uncle he never had. He recalls chauffeuring Ruth in the '54 and riding with Harvey in the blue '55. He tended bar for their Hollywood parties and met any of the celebrities of the day, and they all watched the Burns and Allen Show together on Tuesday nights. He had one special memory of accompanying Harvey to the VIP opening of Disneyland in 1956- it seems that being the Head Writer for Burns and Allen had its perks.

Blaine and Harvey head to Disneyland, July 17, 1955

But his time in Los Angeles was growing short. Graduation from Art Center neared and Blaine was offered a job at General Motors at the brand new Technical Center in Warren. He bade the Helms and their pair of convertibles farewell and drove East to start his career. And quite a career it was- becoming first a designer and later a Studio Chief, working on many, many Chevrolet and later Oldsmobile products including the Mako Shark and nearly every Corvair. Creating the first Monza, the first Caprice, and the first Ninety Eight Regency were just a few among his many accomplishments.

Ruth's Lubricare card from Phil Hall Buick

From time to time, travel would take Blaine to Los Angeles and he would look up the Helms. He kept in contact with Ruth even after Harvey passed away in 1965. Ruth got herself a new Buick in 1968, but being unimpressed with the trade allowance she simply kept the old '54, and the two cars sat side by side in her garage. Her health declined and they eventually stopped corresponding.

And then, in the Autumn of 1976, Blaine Jenkins got a letter from Los Angeles. It was from the Helms' family attorney, advising Blaine that Ruth Helm had passed away in late summer- and that he had been left the Buick in her will. The purpose of the letter was to politely ask if he indeed wanted the car, which at that point had sat unused inside the garage for several years and was valued by the Estate Appraiser at a mere two hundred dollars. Blaine didn't hesitate for a second and advised the attorney that he did indeed wish to have it. It took a few months for everything to be settled, but by the spring of 1977 a dusty old Buick was on a truck to Detroit.

"Ruth" arrives in Detroit, 1977

The Buick, which Blaine called Ruth after his friend- arrived looking a bit neglected. The original paint was thin and the top was worn. Careless movers had dented the bumper and broke the grille. The interior had some seams coming apart and the carpet was worn through. But all in all, it was a straight, solid, and rust free example of a 1954 Super convertible with just over 80,000 original miles- and one of only 3,343 produced. He got it running and drove it for a few seasons, before taking it down for a proper restoration.

The Super in Unrestored condition, 1980

The car was largely disassembled and stripped down, Except for a past repair to the passenger door, it was in remarkably good condition. It was refinished in the original Casino Beige and the bright work was polished and replated as needed. The top frame was restored and a new top and well were sewn. The engine and transmission came out and both were rebuilt and detailed. But the green interior was largely reused. The seats were resewn and the door panels simply cleaned. New carpeting and rubber was installed, and the dash and garnish moldings repainted. The only change from original was the addition of a set of chrome plated wire wheels, which were a correct factory option for the car.

Under restoration in 1986

Going back together, late 1986

Resplendent Ruth upon completion, 1987

Blaine is long retired from General Motors, and lives in Palm Springs with his partner of 38 years, Philip. He's owned a number of classic cars over the years but there's one in his garage that he will never part with. After all, he's had it for thirty seven years- almost twice as long as the original owner did. Even more remarkably, the Super hasn't been in the stream of commerce since Ruth Helm handed over a check almost 59 years ago to the day. The Buick shines as brightly as it did when the restoration was completed almost 25 years ago.

Blaine is recovering from surgery these days and doesn't drive himself, so I make it a point to drop by and take him for a ride in the Buick he has known for almost six decades. The Buick rolls along on glistening wire wheels, incapable of processing the passage of time. I glance over at him when we drive, and I'm not sure if it's Joe Elliott or Ruth Helm that he's visualizing riding along with us.

Blaine, Philip and "Ruth" March, 2013

As I said, a car can be more than just a car. Sometimes it's a time machine as well.

Special Thanks to Casey Shain of the Art and Colour Blog for photo restoration. 

Pinky- Sue Earl's handmade Corvair Convertible

 A very special car made an appearance on our Facebook Page recently in the form of this very unique Corvair. At first glance it looks like a first generation Monza convertible, except that it's a 1960 and there weren't convertibles then, nor even Monzas until very late in the year.

Secondly, you will notice that it is pale pink, and not any shade but pearlescent pink with matching leather interior and top boot. Because this is no ordinary Corvair indeed.

These are factory photos of the legendary "Pinky", the one off 1960 Corvair convertible done by Blaine Jenkins of Chevrolet Interior Studio for Sue Earl, the wife of none other than GM Styling founder Harley Earl. And when Mrs. Earl wanted a special car, she got it- and in a grand manner. Blaine recalls submitting drawings, paint, and fabric samples for Mrs. Earl's approval.

The handmade top assembly is power with a rain sensor. Pinky is also equipped with power windows, power seats and even air conditioning. A Pink leather interior and pink carpeted trunk complete the look. Pinky was returned to Styling for periodic updates, and got a '62 nose panel and Corvair wire wheels along the way. A three speed Hydramatic experimental transmission and turbocharged engine were also fitted, as the Pinkster was a bit of a lead sled (did I mention that the windshield frame was cast bronze?)

After the Earls were done with the little car, a GM employee managed to buy it for his daughter who drove it through ten years of winters and killed it. Very sad, as Pinky deserved a more special fate. These are the only color pictures I have seen of Pink- if you have any please let me know.

And don't forget to drop by our Facebook Page for daily images and smart conversation.

Blaine and the 442 Apollo Show Car

Another week, another crazy show car from the GM Dustbin of History. Again an Olds 442, and once more a Blaine Jenkins creation. Last week he convinced us that "Olds Is Young" with the Mod Rod, a salute to octane boosted flower power. Now from the 1969 Auto Show season, we have the Apollo.

Apollo is done in a color scheme of metallic Fireball Red with black accent striping. Inside, it features a matching interior of red patent leather with black suede accents. Instead of seats it features Space age "Comfort lounges" inspired by the Apollo Moon Rocket, with separate floating headrests.

Once more a static display only, the Comfort Lounges were actually wooden mockups and by all reports ridiculously uncomfortable. And again static - they d not fold, recline, or adjust. But they looked great and the car put the "Rocket" back in Oldsmobile. Apollo is not believed to have survived.

Blaine and the Mod Rod 442

I have coffee with my neighbor, retired GM designer Blaine Jenkins, a couple of times a week. Actually, neither of us drink coffee, but it takes too long to explain what a Diet Cherry 7-Up klatch is. So anyway, one of the things I like to do is find some obscure car that he created and quiz him about it.

So the other day I asked, "What was the Mod Rod?" His eyes lit up and he recalled- it was a 1968 442 convertible show car for Chicago. It was a light pearlescent yellow car with an matching interior, set off by this wild custom Pucci-esque fabric inserts of purple, silver, orange and yellow in the bucket seats and door panels. To set it off appropruately, the narrators wore outfits made of the same fabric with orange and purple skirts and orange go-go-boots. Red line tires and "Mod Rod" scripts completed the look.

The Mod Rod was displayed under an arch that proclaimed "Olds is Young." Obviously there was no production intent behind it, rather is was the stuffed shirts of General Motors were attempting to connect with the Flower Power generation. Alfred P. Sloan meets Peter Max. Mary Wells Lawrence would have been proud.

Incidentally, not only was there no production intent, the car was not driveable. The seats were wood mockups with no padding and further and lacked any mechanism for rear seat access, so the Mod Rod was merely a pretty face. Accented by an even prettier face in a matching dress.

Chevy Centennial: "My Dad's Car," Part III

Herb Younger meets retired GM Designer Blaine Jenkins, who is responsible for the interior of the '65 Impala.

 More fun today from the Sweet Chevy story that not only keeps on giving- it's becoming the Energizer Bunny of Chevrolet commericals. You'll recall that I wrote about the Chevy spot "My Dad's Car" last fall, the story of a father being reunited with his long lost '65 Super Sport after a five year search by his sons.

It's one of the best Chevy spots I have ever seen, and if you haven't seen the commercial yet, grab a tissue:



I had the pleasure of meeting Herb and his family at the LA Auto Show Press Day and talked to him about the car and how touched I was by the story. I told him I had showed the ad to my neighbor who had designed his car's interior and how he recognized the special door panels right away. Herb commented that he would like to meet him some time.

There at the Press Conference, they showed the long version of the commercial with backstory:



Now my neighbor turns out to be retired GM designer Blaine Jenkins, who was responsible for the interiors of some of the most successful Chevrolets of all time. He created the Corvair Monza and the original Caprice, along with the Mako Shark and yes, the 1965 Impala, including Herb's Super Sport. Just last month he was featured in a tribute by Automobile Magazine called "The Inside Man" and it's highly recommended in case you haven't seen it, but anyway Blaine loved Herb's Chevy commerical and agreed we should all try to meet up.

Some times these things happen and some times they don't, but this morning we all got together for breakfast in Palm Springs. I picked Blaine up in an immaculate original 18,000 mile 1965 Impala Sport Coupe (to set the right tone, you know) and off we went for breakfast and car talk. The man who owns the most famous '65 Impala on record met a member of the team who designed it.

Herb brought a the '65's Photo Album and his article in Muscle Car Review and Blaine brought his tribute in Automobile, and we talked about the automobile as more than the sum of its parts, the link they help create between generations, and of course the 1965 Chevy Impala. It was a great time and we hope to see Herb again. After breakfast, we drove around Palm Springs for a few minutes and somehow ended up in front of the Kaufmann House, Richard Neutra's 1947 masterpiece.

Is it hard to figure out why I love it here?

Blaine Jenkins inside the 1965 Impala Sport Coupe

Blaine Jenkins surrounded by his work

Two classics- the 1947 Kaufmann house by Neutra and the 1965 Impala Sport Coupe