The 1939 Buick Y-Job became the first automobile widely recognized as a concept car.
General Motors designer Harley Earl created the Y-Job to demonstrate future styling and engineering ideas rather than to enter normal production. Its name reportedly referred to GM's use of “X” for experimental vehicles, with “Y” chosen as the next letter.
The Y-Job had concealed headlights, power-operated windows, flush door handles, and a low, streamlined body. These features helped preview styling directions that later appeared on production Buicks and other American cars.
The Y-Job is sometimes confused with later show cars or prototypes, but its historical importance is its role as a deliberately styled design study displayed as a vision of the future. It remained associated with Harley Earl for years and is now preserved in the GM Heritage Collection.