Subject
Ford; Designer; McKinley Thompson
Description
DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 24, 2020 – Bronco is the product of legendary talent, from the teams who won the Baja 1000 to the collectors who restore them today. But there’s one legend in the story of the Bronco who not only helped create the first Ford 4×4 sports-utility vehicle design, he made history, becoming one of the first African American designers in the industry.
McKinley Thompson Jr., a Ford designer who helped pen the first-generation Bronco, was the first African American designer hired at Ford Motor Company after graduating from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California with a degree in transportation design in 1956.
His first assignment was at Ford’s advanced design studio in Dearborn, working under George Walker, vice president of Ford design. Among his projects was a light-duty cab-forward truck, several concept sketches for the soon-to-be Ford Mustang and the legendary Ford GT40. Thompson also worked on the futuristic space-age Ford Gyron, a two-wheeled concept car that was on display at the Century of Progress exhibit at the Ford Rotunda in 1961.
Creator
DEARBORN, MICH.
Source
Publisher
FORD NEWSROOM
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