"Long Hood Elegance" Clip from Interview with Bob Gregorie, 1985

Gregorie_Long_Hood_Elegance.Still001 / "Long Hood Elegance" Clip from Interview with Bob Gregorie, 1985 / thumbnail
01

Artifact Overview

Bob Gregorie began his career in yacht design. After the 1929 crash, Gregorie came to Michigan hoping to find work as an automotive designer. In 1932 Edsel Ford hired him and he became the chief of Ford Motor Company's new design department in 1935. The 1936 Lincoln Zephyr, the 1940 Lincoln Continental, and the 1949 Mercury were among Gregorie's best-known designs.

Bob Gregorie began his design career in yacht design in his native New York. After the 1929 stock market crash, Gregorie came to Michigan, hoping to find work as an automotive designer. After one year at General Motors, he met Edsel Ford who hired him in 1932. He became chief of Ford Motor Company's new design department in 1935. Some of Gregorie's best known designs were the 1936 Lincoln Zephyr, the 1939 Lincoln Continental, and the 1949 Mercury.

Gregorie left Ford Motor Company shortly after Edsel Ford's death in 1943. He returned a year later, but conflicts with management led to his resignation after only two years. He left Detroit for Florida and returned to his roots in yacht design. Gregorie never designed automobiles again.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Film clip

Date Made

04 February 1985

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

87.21.5.3

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
02

Related Content

  • Pictorial History of the Lincoln Car Poster, 1952
    Set

    Lincoln - Birth and Rebirth

    • 23 Artifacts
    Lincoln Motor Company was born in 1917 out of Henry Leland's patriotic desire to build airplane engines for the allied forces in World War I. After the armistice, Leland and his son Wilfred refashioned Lincoln into a high-end automaker. But a postwar recession forced the Lelands to sell to another father-son duo, Henry and Edsel Ford. Over the next 20 years, Lincoln grew into one of America's most admired luxury marques.
  • "1907 White Steam Touring Car - Part 1" Thumbnail from Clip from Jay Leno's Garage (www.jaylenosgarage.com), 2010
    Set

    Expert Insights

    • 56 Artifacts
    Television host and stand-up comedian Jay Leno is an avid vehicle collector. Housed in Leno's "Big Dog Garage" in Southern California, his collection spans 100 years of automotive history, with antique vehicles, hot rods, muscle cars, steam cars, and electric cars. The collection also has a number of rare cars and over sixty motorcycles, including a turbine motorcycle.