User:John Franklin Mason/1977-1990 Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet Anonymous Designer

John Franklin Mason/1977-1990 Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet Anonymous Designer
John Franklin Mason 05:45, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

The 1977-1990 down sized Cadillac Deville and Chevrolet Caprice; the 1977-1985 full size Buick and Oldsmobile; the 1979-1985 Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Toronado; and the 1980-1985 Cadillac Seville were designed by me: John Franklin Mason, not in a General Motors Design Studio but out of a prison cell between 1972-1975.

I mailed original hand drawn copies of my drawings to General Motors Institute from Jackson Michigan Penitentiary beginning in 1973 and I was contacted by return mail from Dr. David H. Harry, Professor at General Motors Institute whom I corresponded with until my release. My drawings were returned to me from General Motors Design Center in Warren Michigan, stamped received, dated and enumerated.

I was eventually transferred to Marquette Michigan Correctional Facility and prior to my transfer Dr. Harry informed me his friend and associate, Professor Bush of Northwood University, would be setting up extension courses at Marquette and for me to contact him and to take his classes which I did.

General Motors built the cars nearly exactly in every detail to which I had draw them with exception to the proportions of the Seville. I drew the Seville as a larger vehicle, the Seville had not been introduced at the time that I drew the design and the design was my concept for the Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy Five Series.

My favorite image was the design used on the 1979 Oldsmobile Toronado. I drew hundreds, if not thousands of hand drawn copies of that image doing my incarceration, nearly all my drawings were lost during transfers between Jackson and Marquette and back. There are likely copies of my drawings still floating around the Michigan Penal System.