Autos: Corvette, Camaro designer may be world's best job

Chief designer for Corvette and Camaro must be close to the world's best job. If I had the talent, it would be my dream job.

Fortunately for those who love Chevrolet performance cars, the position is claimed by Tom Peters, whose career direction took shape early.

"I just loved cars," said Peters at last month's Detroit auto show. "I remember being 4 or 5; my dad had shirts cleaned, put in boxes. I'd take the boxes, draw cars, cut them out and line them against the wall."

He said he'd draw everything — trains, ships and planes like the F104 Starfighter. Then he started building models and started "understanding shape, functionality, understanding the mechanics of it, how light falls on it."

One day during the third grade stands out as having a profound influence on Peters: "The neighborhood rich kid's dad dropped him off in a '63 split-window Corvette — like a spaceship from a different planet."

Despite this, Peters went to college for advertising illustration. During his second year, he saw a catalogue for Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, sent a portfolio and was accepted. He got a $10,000 loan, loaded his Ford Galaxy and headed to California.

Peters joined GM Design in 1980, spent two years at Texas Instruments, and then returned to GM in 1982. His portfolio includes the Corvette Indy, Pontiac Banshee, Cadillac XLR, Pontiac Aztek, C6/C7 Corvettes, Camaro and Silverado. He also guided the Cadillac Sixteen and Buick Velite concepts.

He has a deep appreciation of the cars' heritage, but controversially pushed his teams to execute the C6's exposed headlamps and C7's rectangular taillamps.

"I told my team that nothing is sacred," Peters said. "It has to look like a Corvette; no round taillamps, but probably dual-elements."

He recalled showing me the Stingray's taillamps at its 2013 Detroit debut.

"The car has very sculptured taillamps with LEDs. I hear comparisons to Camaro, but they forget we took its taillamps from Corvette."

Peters said they tried all ideas for the C7's side windows, but "just had to create something different than the big basket handle."

Question: These cars have a long, iconic tradition, which can be a design challenge in itself. How do you help them age well?

Answer: "What I learned applies to anything designed or created. Make it powerful and simple; give it a unique personality and face. More superfluous detail becomes somewhat fashionably trendy, dating themselves. Keep it simple, but not boring."

Question: Does technology help or hurt design?

Answer: "It helps — frees you if done right. If it's function-driven, it stands the test of time; even functional items can be elegant. People think designers and engineers are against each other, but we're not. To develop a great car, you need creativity from everybody. The best solutions solve problems, executed beautifully."

Question: Corvettes are often seen pacing the Indy 500 at high speeds. Does that influence design?

Answer: "It plays into it more than it ever has. We have to get cold air in and hot air out in ever-increasing volumes. We rotated the radiator and added hood vents. The three effects of aerodynamics are drag reduction, lift reduction and cooling improvement. Instead of complaining, we have to find creative ways to manage air."

Question: What's next?

Answer: "My focus right now is on the next generations of Camaro and Corvette. It's very hard, but fun every day — a lifelong passion. I try to give my designers a high-level vision and let them execute it through their own eyes. I try to create an environment to do absolutely phenomenal work. I'll be here as long as I can inspire my team to do new stuff, and as long as they'll have me."

Email Casey at AutoCasey@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter: @AutoCasey. Check out more car coverage and auto reviews weekly on IndyStar.com.