John Herlitz, former Chrysler Senior Design Vice President, died earlier this week at age 65. Herlitz — who joined Chrysler from General Motors in 1965 — worked his way quickly up the Chrysler design ladder. In 1968 he was named Plymouth styling studio manager and when he retired from Chrysler in 2000, he had climbed all the way up to senior vice president of design.
Herlitz was best known for designing the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda and 1971 Plymouth Road Runner. Herlitz also designed the Barracuda Formula SX concept car — which laid the foundation for the 1967-69 car — but Herlitz was called away for National Guard duty before Plymouth brought the car to reality.
One of Herlitz’ most recent designs was the Dodge Copperhead, which debuted at the 1997 Detroit International Auto Show.
“During his 35-year career history at Chrysler , John made a significant impact on Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Plymouth vehicles’ design,” Trevor Creed, Chrysler senior vice president of design, said in a statement. “He had a heartfelt passion for the automotive industry and he will be greatly missed.”
