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Jun 2, 2017 · When you look back at the remarkable automotive design history for General Motors, the first person that comes to mind is the late Mr. Harley Earl (November 22, 1893-April 10, 1969). Some people have called him the man who brought automotive styling out of the custom-car body age.
Nov 11, 2022 · It's said that the young Harley Earl once used the clay sediment left over from recently receded floods to sculpt his very first automotive mockups. At least, according to...
Nov 15, 2023 · Harley Earl invented the clay model while still working at his father’s coachbuilding company in California, and he brought the new form of three-dimensional visualization to General Motors in Detroit.
- A Look at Harley Earl – Boyhood to The 1953 Corvette – Michigan to California
- General Motors
- First Concept Car
- World War II
- The 1953 Corvette
- Harley J Earl Photos
- Harley J Earl and Corvette
- Harley J Earl Videos
- Bonus Photos: Harley’s Firebird Concept Cars
By Doctor Jack Holladay For any person, an ordinary happenstance can sometimes lead to a great opportunity, a good outcome, and just possibly a great change in one’s life. All these happened to Harley J. Earl, the father of Styling in the automobile industry. For Harley, the happenstances began way before he was even born. His maternal grandparents...
Harley came by train to Detroit and went to work with his ideas for the LaSalle. At a shop in the back of the Cadillac plant, he worked with two engineers and a wood and clay modeler Mr. Fisher had arranged to help him. In record time, it was time for the unveiling. GM CEO Alfred Sloan arrived from New York, and Harley’s design for four models was ...
In 1938 Harley started an experimental car. He called it the “Y-Job” instead of “Y-experimental,” and his nomenclature won. With help from Buick in the form of a chassis and a budget, Harley saw his ideas come to fruition. This shiny black one-of-a-kind car had a power soft top, power windows, push-button outer door handles, and retractable headlig...
World War II changed everything. Harley Earl’s styling staff worked on creating camouflage after gaining insight from Canadian pilots who saw how Germany used camouflage to hide military targets. But the crowning achievement was when Buick was asked to create a tank buster. It had to be fast. It had to be armored. It had to be track driven with a r...
In the summer of 1951, the press got its first look at Harley Earl’s newest creation, the LeSabre. It was packed with innovations, including a rain sensor, and it was a hit with the reporters and writers. He took the car to New York for the Watkins Glen Grand Prix, and during the parade, Harley saw several foreign sports car roadsters, mostly from ...
GM Futureliner, created by Earl, was a massive custom-made truck designed for GM’s Parade of Progress, which it exhibited throughout North America from 1940-41 and then again from 1953-56. This behemoth vehicle presented various pioneering technological breakthroughs, including jet engines, televisions, and microwave ovens. Photo licensed under the...
One of the most significant tales from the 20th century is the origin of the iconic Corvette and Harley Earl’s influence in its production. Taking advantage of Chevrolet’s strong production capacity combined with General Motors’ massive resources, Earl designed one of the most renowned sports cars of all time, which is still celebrated today. In 20...
Our first video shows how Harley Earl was the first to create better-paying jobs for women in the automotive world. Harley Earl pioneered higher wages for women in the auto industry. A GM promotional video, at left, captured the progressive message of Earl, one that was seen as shocking and progressive by the all-male car designers, as he predicted...
Here are some other articles you might enjoy: Unlock the Secret of Harley Earl, Watkins Glen, Corvette, and Le Sabre The One and Only 1963 Harley Earl Corvette Convertible Mecum Auctions’ Chicago Event Nets $18.6M with Harley Earl Corvette Leading Sales at $1.5M 1953 VIN 003 Cutaway Corvette Donated to the NCM Mrs. Harley J. Earl’s 1963 Chevrolet C...
Apr 17, 2013 · Earl may have drawn the art on the early patents in his name, but Harley Earl was more of a visionary than a guy who could draw particularly well. He was said by designers who could indeed draw that he had a masterful way of waving his hand and getting you to understand the shapes that he wanted.
- Ronnie Schreiber
Dec 9, 2021 · While the practice of creating 3D models of new visions and concepts is now standard, at the time, it was pure innovation -- the first brainchild of Harley Earl to change automotive styling. But, it didn't stop there. Eventually, Earl Automotive Works was purchased by local Cadillac dealer Don Lee.
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The section was headed by a California transplant named Harley Earl, a style- conscious man given to wearing white, linen suits and purple shirts. But he was also a huge, powerful man who could curse, drink and womanize with the best of the industry's engineers and production men.
