Chuck Jordan Inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame for 2025
The Corvette Hall of Fame proudly announces its 2025 class of members-elect, who will be formally inducted during a ceremony on Friday, August 29, 2025, as part of the National Corvette Museum’s 31st Anniversary Celebration.
Established in 1998 by the National Corvette Museum, the Corvette Hall of Fame stands as the highest honor in the Corvette community. For 27 years, it has recognized trailblazers whose passion, integrity, and accomplishments have shaped the history of America’s Sports Car.
Each year, inductees are selected from three categories: Racing, GM/Chevrolet, and Enthusiast.
Check out the nomination document that was presented to the nomination committee.
Corvette Hall of Fame Announcement
Chuck Jordan had an affinity for sketching cars as a boy, and his passion for automobiles led to a 43-year career with General Motors, beginning in 1949. As a protégé of Harley Earl, Jordan held design roles with Cadillac, Opel AG, Oldsmobile, and Buick. In 1986, he became GM’s Vice President of Design, where his leadership revitalized the creative energy of the design staff.
Guided by the mantra “no dull cars,” Jordan championed the fun and excitement of automotive design, embracing both production vehicles and concept cars. Among his early contributions were the iconic Cadillacs of the late 1950s, recognized for their sweeping fins and bold chrome details. He also played a role in the design of the 1958 Corvette.
In the later years of his career, Jordan oversaw the design of vehicles such as the Pontiac Firebird, Buick Reatta, and Cadillac STS. As Vice President of Design, he directed the creation of several concept cars that had a significant impact on the Corvette’s evolution, including the Corvette Indy, the CERV III, and the Stingray III.
Jordan also influenced the styling of the C2, C3, and C4 production Corvettes and was a vocal advocate for preserving the Corvette program during the development of the C5. Deeply passionate about automotive design, he was admired and respected by colleagues across the industry. After retiring from GM, Jordan continued to inspire future designers by teaching automotive design to high school students in his native Southern California.
GARY,
I know that you helped Mark put all that together, a beautiful presentation. I don’t know how anybody could deny the message regarding Chuck’s enthusiasm for CORVETTE. He should have been in there a long time ago, but now he is and he certainly deserves so.
I don’t know why this took so long. Chuck was a good friend of my Dad and used to go up to my folks resort on Lake Huron, as well as Jerry and Rita Palmer. I wish this had happened while he was still with us. But, glad that he finally got this accolade.
Suzanne LaGassey
A well deserved award.
I’m his niece. He sure was talented!!!!!!! It was such a thrill to visit him at the GM plant. His 2 daughters and son are very Creative and Talented.
The Corvette was a slow comer when first introduced and it took nearly a decade before it became accepted. Now, the Corvette community’s dedication far surpasses that of most more popular marques.
It’s too bad Ford nixed the early Thunderbird. Imagine how it would have enjoyed the devoted dedication the Corvette still enjoys after seventy years!
A great contributor to the design of the Vettes thru the early formative years with variations that celebrated what we Corvette enthusiasts now call American icons.
I’ve known Chuck since I was a teenager at Art Center.
He was singularly responsible for obtaining executive approval to hire me at the age of 24 after my stint as a designer at Ford. He was my boss (along with Haga, Shinoda, and of course Mitchell) in Studio-X and the Chevy-2 Studio (responsible for Corvettes, Camaros, show cars, and race cars). He loaned me his personal car when I had to rush to the hospital when my daughter was born. We talked about going to Germany together. We remained friends after I left GM…and occasionally talked about me returning. Frequently I would get together with him during Pebble Beach autoweek.
A man of exquisite taste and talent. Always challenged his designers to do something new and better. I remember his famous saying “Show me, don’t tell me”.
Finally, he gets his long overdue recognition and leadership.
During a patio review, Bill Porter was taking a while explaining the nuances and subtlety of the surfacing on a clay model. Chuck finally ran out of patience and exclaimed, “I don’t want to read about how good it is in the owner’s manual.” (He wanted to see it, not hear about it.)—Gary Smith
Chuck must have designed under duress with Harley Earl as head of GM “Art and Colour” when he had a large influence in the style of the 1959 Cadillac. I can’t believe that he thought that over-the-top abomination was “tasteful”. This was Earl on LSD, his Rococo era of auto design in response to Exner’s Chrysler startling 1957 designs. But it has been related that it was in fact the GM design team, including Jordan, which came up with an alternative 1959 style line-up that reached production without Earl’s consent when Earl was on a trip to Europe, to counter Earl’s preferred 1959 direction that reflected the bloated, round styles of 1958. So maybe Jordan isn’t so innocent after all. Thankfully Jordan redeemed himself under the reign of Bill Mitchell and went on to greater things at GM design.
Well. It’s about time! Chuck Jordan contributed so very much to General Motors and to Corvette in particular. What a treasure of talent and an inspirational beacon of light– even in dark times of the automotive world.
My first Corvette was a 1958. As a forever Corvette fan and owner of several, Chuck Jordan’s influence in Corvette and keeping it alive is hugely appreciated here. His brilliant influence was not limited to design, but his was an injection of spirit. AND… yes, I have loved all of my Cadillacs too (Including my 1959 Biarritz)!
Congratulations to his son, Mark for assembling a fantastic nomination history– and for preserving so much of Chuck’s incredible, inspiring legacy. I worked with Mark at Mazda Corporation for the better part of twenty years. I might add that Mark has also done some very impressive automotive design work of his own.
Thanks for sharing.