Buick Y-Job

1938 Buick Y-Job Often called the first concept car, Harley Earl's Y-Job was built to test ideas rather than to be sold. Its headlamps hid behind covers that opened like eyelids, the windows were electrically operated and the convertible top disappeared under a metal cover. Wraparound bumpers and flush door handles completed a look that ran ahead of every Buick in the showroom. Its real legacy shows on the dashboard: the Y-Job's instruments set the tone for the Buicks that followed, and Earl used it as his own personal car. Hidden headlamps and power windows took decades to become common, which makes this the clearest starting point for the whole idea of a car that previews the future.