1969 Pontiac Grand Prix - Jack Humbert

Jack's dream car was the work of another great automotive designer, Gordon Buehrig. While restoring a black, supercharged '37 Cord phaeton, his perfectionist tendencies really showed through. The first time it was painted, he was unhappy with some of the reflections on the original production sheetmetal, so he had some of the panels professionally reworked by his talented sculptors. He then had it repainted, and this time it was perfect.

RM Auctions recently sold Jack's '37 Cord from the prized John McMullen car collection. The quote in the auction catalog read, "The Cord 812 remains one of the most significant vehicles in the history of automotive design." Jack even knew what cars to collect, it sold for $297,000.

Conclusion
Regrettably, in March 1985, Jack's life was cut short by leukemia, but he left a legacy of automotive design that is second to none in the Pontiac world. Pontiac owned the decade of the '60s-it was its era. The Division was the industry leader in styling and Jack Humbert was the in-house unsung hero, whose contributions command a special chapter in the Pontiac history book of legends from the '60s.

A Team Effort
Automobiles are designed by teams of designers, sculptors, and engineers. Here are some of the names of those from the Pontiac studio who shaped the decade of design leadership under Jack Humbert.

Designers
Duane Bohnstedt, Wayne Viera, Ron Hill, Glen Wintersheidt, Paul Deesen, Jim Ferron, Elia Russinoff, Bill Porter, Roger Hughet, George Pysche, Al Flowers, Maurice Chandler, John Perkins, and Ted Schroeder. It should also be noted that Fedele Bianco lead the Pontiac interior design team in the '60s.

Sculptors
Rudy Reginold, Frank Fisher, Bill Tricoff, Al Thall, Earl Hoskings, Ray Hildebrandt, Conrad Locanis, Monte Obries, Nick Houvres, Steve Ailing, Dean Towns

Engineers
Willis Calvin, Bud Gosling, Paul Zibel, Roy Tiesler, Carl Tacke, Rod Weekly

A Lasting Legacy
A lot can be learned by how a man is remembered by his peers. If the quotes below are any indication, Jack Humbert was admired and respected as a designer, a leader, and a gentleman.

"Jack was my hero and mentor, he was very well organized and a perfect gentleman. He had the rare ability to put together cars that always looked good."-Bill Porter

"Jack was the greatest designer I ever worked with. He was always the gentleman."-Roger Hughet

"Pontiac was the best studio of my career, and that was because of Jack Humbert. Jack was a finisher, he spent countless hours with the sculptors perfecting surfaces."-Elia Russinoff

"Jack Humbert had exceptional courage to stand behind fresh new designs that Pontiac was noted for. He was extremely kind and revered by everyone who worked for him." -Paul Deesen

"Jack was one of the sharpest designers I ever worked for, he had an eagle eye. Jack could see a 1mm imperfection in the clay model from across the room."-Tom Peloquin

"I will always remember Jack going to the GM Styling garage and getting in one of his signature triple-black Pontiac convertibles with blackwalls and 8-lug alloy wheels." -John Perkins

"Growing up in the '60s, my father was a new-car salesman at the local Pontiac dealer. Seeing the beautiful AF/VK illustration of the '68 gold convertible GTO in the brochure, I knew I wanted to design cars for General Motors. At GM Design, I found the man behind the cars of the '60s was Jack Humbert. Jack was my hero. I felt he deserved more recognition for his major role in the Pontiacs of the '60s, and I wanted to share his life with other enthusiasts."-Jeff Denison

The author would like to thank all of the people at GM Design who helped in preparing this very special article. Thanks also to RM Auctions for the image of the Jack Humbert/John McMullen '37 Cord 812.