Alex Tremulis at Art Center School, Class of 1955/56

Many may not know that Alex worked as a consultant for Subaru in his later years. He was responsible for the first Brat mini truck and his signature center headlight on the Tucker could be found on early Subarus hidden behind the center emblem. A touch of a button and the headlight would appear. Alex also used an aircraft wing tank to create the body of a three wheel car powered with a Subaru Rex mini car engine. Dubbed the “X-100 Gyronaut” it achieved 100 MPG traveling at over 55 mph for 100 miles at the old Ontario, CA Motor Speedway, and this was over 30 years ago. The plan was to travel cross country on a single tank of gas, but the trip was never made. http://www.rongineer.com/x100.html It was thru our mutual interest in 3 wheel cars that I was eventually hired by Subaru as a designer. Alex’s great sense of humor and fascinating auto aerodynamic studies made his monthly report meetings a treat to attend.

Hello…

I agree with Pete that at least some of these shots look verrry Ford. I’ve seen those curtains and floors before–especially the herringbone zig-zag wood. And the one bubble-top with the tandem front wheel arrangement looks a whole bunch like what ultimately became the “Seattle-ite X-21” (or XXI) that Alex and Ford did for the World’s Fair in Seattle.

I also would agree… where is Strother in these shots? Either way, great stuff! Keep it coming!

Leon Dixon

I just discovered this site, I hope I’m commenting in the right location but its about Alex as a teacher. In about 1965 Alex was an instructor at The Art School of the Society of Arts and Crafts in Detroit, now known as CCS.

I was a transportation major and Alex along with Homer La Gassey were our instructors. This was 47 years ago so I can’t remember much except I thought Alex was a bit eccentric. He kept talking about gyro cars and once brought in a working model that I don’t think worked so well as he tried to make it run across the floor.

Maybe some other students from that first graduating class at Arts & Crafts can remember more.

I had a wonderful experience as a young 17 year old visiting the “Art School of the the Society of Arts and crafts” with my parents to see if I might become an artist of some kind. My Mom and Dad were talking with the administration folks and I was encouraged to walk about the campus,which at that time was a M. Yamasaki building and several old Detroit Annex buildings representing various venues of education.

Luckily I went next door and proceeded downstairs into this old ancient annex building smelling of chalk and paint spray and heard this guy just making motor sounds and drawing wonderful Shapes on this Long Black paper? It was a full size spray paint chalk masterpiece that was bad ass to the bone. I went Holy crap! What the heck? (I was a young catholic kid from an all boy Detroit Cathedral school and had not learned how to swear properly like a real car designer yet Hah Hah)

Well I had just met the proverbial car designer Jerry Palmer before he was famous. He was crazy into this full size chalk drawing of a car, and there was just the two of us in the Class Studio basement . He went on to explain that this was an assignment from Alex Tremulios, a famous car designer and he was going to be a car designer. I never heard of such a thing.

He went on to show me how he drew cars. He was fast and could make the car look amazing in a few seconds. I said “Holly Cow” when I meant to say ” Holy Shit that is so cool” He was talking So fast and he was drawing (So fast). I said I can’t draw like that, and he mentioned Mr.Tremulis and Mr. Legassey were teachers and this was the place to be and I could learn. He told me I could do it, so he showed me a few more sketches.

It was like a light went on and all I could think about were those HUGE drawings hanging on the wall and those way cool sketches he did. It made me realize I had a new dream.
I looked at some way out Alex Tremulis sketches and paintings of streamlined missiles that looked like they were moving in a blaze of bright colors with explosions coming from the background! They had small models and it was overwhelming. I saw some of Homer Legassey’s images that were so far out, it made my Dad’s 61 comet look totally wrong and dated.

I never looked at a car the same way, and remained friends with Jerry Palmer during his entire career. I ended up taking the course and was a student of the infamous and wonderful Homer La Gassey. My career began at Ford Design, then the West Coast and continued on through to ASC Design for 30 years and continues to this day as an independent Designer.

(I think that is Larry Shinoda in the picture with Mr Tremulis, as I was in his studio at Ford design when he came overe from GM, Small world)

Alex Tremulis and Homer La Gassey were amazing people. BUT I really owe my transformation and passion for Design to that wonderful
Jerry Palmer and his amazing Design talents. The whole experience was surreal to this day and I remember it as though it happened yesterday.
Mr Tremulis and Mr. La Gassey were amazing instructors and even the students were amazing people with tremendous talents. Some that I can remember were Jack Crane, Bob Smart, Jim Christich…just sharing a wonderful experience . Palmer was a senior and I came in as a freshman the next year.
Thank you Mr.Tremuilis, Mr. Legassey, Jerry Palmer and all the wonderful students I went to school with. What a wonderful group of talented people! What a Great Ride!