Mike Simcoe: Drawing conclusions

It is too easy to say that Mike Simcoe lets his pen do his talking, but that’s more or less true. His design influence can be seen every day on roads in Australia, across Asia and throughout the Americas.

For the Australian who joined GM-Holden in 1983 as a young RMIT graduate, Simcoe crafted a reputation within General Motors for design defined through all the senses and underscored by attention to detail and balanced proportion.

In July, Simcoe was appointed by General Motors CEO Mary Barra to Vice President of Global Design with responsibility across all GM marques and nameplates, from Cadillac’s re-genesis to the next-generation of Baojun micro-cars in China.

He is in truly rare air. Only six others in GM’s 100-plus-year history have carried a business card that reads Design Boss.

Simcoe is the first non-American to hold the role and is the highest ranking Australia in the global auto industry since Jac Nasser (CEO and President Ford Motor Company) and Geoff Polites (CEO Jaguar Land Rover).

He is well suited to take the reins during a time when the automotive industry and GM are moving at running speed to embrace new technologies, ride sharing and a future with driverless vehicles.

“I knew I was being considered and on the short list, and then Mary Barra called me to ask if I wanted the job,” Simcoe told us at the recent Los Angeles motor show.

“When I said yes, she said I better not screw it up.”

And with that casual verbal handshake he stepped into the most visible and influential role within the global automotive industry. Nervous and excited? Probably not. Simcoe was always the front-runner, but he’s very different from the stylish and politically correct Ed Welburn he replaces.

Simcoe can be quiet and reserved and often found doodling in a notebook or on a serviette during times when his creative mind seems to be stuck in neutral. Drawing a blank literally looks as if his Montblanc had a blowout.

His experience in Asia gives him deep insights into the expanding markets in China, India and Southeast Asia. Intense and focused best describe his professional persona, and those who work closely with him will add determined and assertive. However, he can often be misread by others as impatient.

He’s made it a point to integrate engineering into the design teams to quicken and improve design, manufacturing and build quality.

“Engineering now works closely with design, and we have engineers as part of our design teams throughout the design process,” said Simcoe.

The close working relationship between designer and engineer explains how GM, lately, has improved interior packaging and occupant comfort despite -- in many instances, such as new Camaro -- having moved to smaller vehicle platforms.

The new electric Chevrolet Bolt, for example, is small by measure but the proportions and interior packaging feels sizeable and easily provides comfortable space for four adults. The Bolt was chosen recently by MotorTrend as its 2017 COTY.

The Bolt was designed in Korea while GM Holden Design in Melbourne built the concept car revealed in 2015. As always, Simcoe is quick to proportion credit to the team of designers working in Korea and Australia on a car principally designed for the North American market.

Earning boardroom kudos is all about improving real revenue. Simcoe sees the big picture beyond the pen and proportions. Engineers and designers who work with Simcoe say he’s very savvy about dollars and cents. They say he greatly increased revenue by simply prioritising accessories, perhaps something he learned working with HSV.

Todd Parker, Director of Design, GM Performance, points directly to Simcoe. “He is actually the one who started us on this whole path. To be honest with you, this [accessories] was really important to him from a design standpoint. And that was new. It wasn’t something that we’d had from our design leadership in the past. So, Mike Simcoe saw the value in accessories.”

In fact, Simcoe insisted accessories be designed in time for each new vehicle launch. And not just for Camaro, Corvette and SUVs, but across the Barina, Spark, Volt and Cruze nameplates.

Looking back, Simcoe’s and Holden Design’s work on the all-new VT Commodore in 1997 was brilliant at a time when GM North America was deeply lost in the design wilderness and producing indigestion like the Pontiac Aztec.

He followed the VT Commodore in 1998 with the two-door Monaro concept. Simcoe had outlined the initial tape rendering of the coupe on the family room wall at his home in Melbourne.

He then stepped into critical design roles with GM in the Asia Pacific after the company purchased control of Daewoo Motors in South Korea in 2002 and established a design studio in Asia equal to those in North America and Europe.

Simcoe is a powerful reason why designers are so well respected within GM. In the short term, under Simcoe’s overview as design chief, expect to see defined brand design identities. A Buick will not share design DNA with Cadillac; nor will a Chevrolet look like a GMC.

Recent GM concept cars from the muscular Buick Avista coupe and Buick Avenir sedan to the stunning Cadillac Escala sedan revealed at Pebble Beach are certain clues to how Simcoe and his studio managers will direct this era of GM’s evolution.

He laughs when asked if he plans to appear, as did Welburn, in a Transformers movie: “There’ll be none of that.”

He has other, more interesting projects. Time out of the office is often spent in the garage restoring classic sports cars or vintage motorcycles which he may never ride. It is another Simcoe dichotomy for the man who often finds the future in the past.

While casually chatting in LA, he begins scrolling through images on his phone of an Aston Martin DB4 body shell. Completion of his latest project has been severely disrupted by Ms Barra’s recent phone call and his relocation, along with the DB4, across the Pacific.

The Aston is a gorgeous car, and then the critic in Simcoe says a few words, “They didn’t build them very well. We did a lot to correct the DB4.”

Moving addresses from Melbourne to Detroit is a valid excuse to start a new project. He’s looking for something with significant GM design heritage. Something equal to the DB4.

“Something like a ’63 Corvette split-window coupe,” he says. “So if you happen to know of one, preferably with fuel-injection...”

His reasons for a ’63 Corvette put everything into perspective. “The original concept by Bill Mitchell is incredible, and the concept’s design wasn’t diluted in the ’63 production Corvette.”

The concept was revolutionary, and Simcoe’s admiration and respect for Mitchell is heard in the adjectives he uses to describe the Mitchell era at GM.

Perhaps Simcoe’s greatest skill is identifying true talent, mentoring it and promoting it. Andrew Smith, who is now Executive Director of Cadillac Global Design, started his career at the Holden design centre, as did Sharon Gauci, who as of 2013 has overseen GM’s global color and trim.

He speaks highly about the team in Korea which produced Bolt and current Spark, predicting we’ll see a lot more from them. He has the power to make a career happen.

When asked in New York at the reveal of the new CT6 if Smith consults with him about Cadillac and evolution of its controversial design direction, Simcoe fired back: “Do you think Andrew calls me for my advice or that he needs my advice?”

Smith responded with a tone of the obvious: “That’s exactly what I do.”

Increasing Simcoe’s presence at GM means only one thing. GM is definitely heading into a new design-focused era.