Have you heard of Harley Earl?

[Guest JeffreyAlman]

I was surprised at the number of people who have not, have you without googling?

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

It's not all that surprising that many these days have no recollection of Harley Earl given the last car to come to the market under his direction of the GM design studio was the 1959 Cadillac. To summarize for the younger crowd, Harley Earl was recruited from Hollywood to head the GM design Studio in 1927 and if there was one single driving force that pushed GM into the forefront of the automotive world it was Harley Earl.

Fins, fins, fins! Harley Earl became infatuated with the look of the WWII fighter the P-38 Lightening which the Cadillac production line had been converted to produce. Those "Dagmars" appearing on '50s Caddy's were not from the figure of the actress Dagmar, but from the nose cones on the twin engines of the P-38. The fins were an outgrowth of the P-38's twin rudders.

Though members of the Design Studio at the time have expressed the opinion that by the time the '59 Caddy's hit the market that Harley had pretty much lost it, no one can deny he had a very clear understanding of what motivated consumers to buy automobiles and it was well expressed in almost living room interiors that took the automobile from being an unimaginative utilitarian means of transportation to being an extension of the consumer's personality. Unfortunately that aspect of automotive design seems to have gone by the wayside with its last vestiges seen in cars of the late 1970s. Maybe one of these days the automakers will again discover people will buy cars that have pizazz and not solely on the basis of utility, economy, and gadgets.

As a matter of personal opinion it makes me almost ill to think buying what should be a luxury automobile has come to buying a vehicle with the same basic "Blah" interior looks as the bottom of the line offerings. Shame, Shame, Shame! There was a time when a Chevy, a Ford, or a Plymouth had an interior that was luxurious, just not as luxurious as a Caddy, a Lincoln, or Chrysler Imperial.

[Guest JeffreyAlman]

what an eloquent post, thanks for that. this is what got me started, the GM Technical Center in 1955 Versailles of Industry amazing

then I started looking around (his grandson's website) and 4 days later was on the phone talking about it with his grandson.

He has sent me some ultra cool stuff

the entire website Official Harley Earl Website / Home Page has an incredible amount of information, to GM in WWII and political allies and family anecdotes, not to mention spectacular CARS!

there were also a bunch of Buick commercials made around 2002 that are on youtube (with Tiger Woods, some very clever)

I just want to help spread the word

[MrEarl]

Harley WHO???

but in all fairness, let us not forget Ned Nickles, designer of the Buick ventiports aka portholes.

Edited February 12, 2010 by MrEarl (see edit history)

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Harley WHO???

but in all fairness, let us not forget Ned Nickles, designer of the Buick ventiports aka portholes.

Me thinks there are some Buick folks that need to get a life! In Harley Earl's time of directing the GM design studio virtually all GM vehicles shared many design characteristics, just as the "survivors" do today, though the drive trains and suspensions in that era might have had some differences. There was always a sharing of many body parts among various models of Olds, Buick, Pontiac, and smaller Cadillacs.

As for Mr. Nickles, let's just say he did a great job of "borrowing" the idea of exhaust pipes coming through the hood/fender, sans the actual pipes, from various 1930's cars produced by the Auburn Automobile Company,the latter actually having the exhaust pipes. Distinctive, but nothing original or even innovative!

[rocketraider]

Harley WHO???

but in all fairness, let us not forget Ned Nickles, designer of the Buick ventiports aka portholes.

AKA Mouse Holes!

Sorry Lamar- couldn't resist it!

I just wish GM had a Harley Earl or a Bill Mitchell in charge of styling now. I don't think you'd see them in the state they've gotten themselves into. There are times I think the entire GM Styling department is on some strange drugs...

[Guest]

I'll bet if you took a poll there would be alot of people who don't even know who Willie Durant was.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

I'll bet if you took a poll there would be alot of people who don't even know who Willie Durant was.

Played Right Field for the New York Yankees in the early 20th Century didn't he?

There are many early names important to the development and progress of the automobile that are becoming long forgotten. Willie Durant was certainly a most interesting "character" but without him, and perhaps what many might consider "slicky boy" business deals there would have never been a GM.

[OldsDoug]

We're getting old.

I was sitting in a Panera Bread a couple of weeks ago having dinner - guys behind me were doing a crossword puzzle... one of the clues was "William C. ____________ Foundation"... they didn't know it. But I think they were all F*rd guys.

******

Greg, great picture of your cars - they look good!

[rocketraider]

Doug- you know that's Joe Coyle's Toronado that Jeff has? Car's gone Hollywood...

Prolly a good thing Earl or Mitchell aren't there. With their legendary tempers they'd have probably whacked Roger Smith up side the head. No telling what they'd a-done to more recent GM "(mis) management".

[Guest JeffreyAlman]

hey Doug and Glenn, yes, Joe's Toronado is resting comfortably downstairs in the garage, just turned 71k (wow I have put 16k on it since I got it!) Still as over-maintained as it was when Joe had it. Still a pleasure to motor in.

[starfireelvis]

They often call me Speedo but my real name is Mr. Earl...

Is that how the old song goes (by, ironically enough, the Cadillacs!)? Always wondered if there was a purposeful connection there.

If I had a pick of ten people I would want to sit down and talk with, Harley Earl would be in there for sure. Anyone who loves the styling of, in particular, the post-war era, the fifties, and by extension (through Bill Mitchell) the sixties, etc., owes Mr. Earl a debt of gratitude, for sure (not to mention his ground-breaking work as the GM Art and Colour chief as far back as the twenties, and his fantastic concepts like the Y-Job in '38, and the '51 LeSabre).

I have read that Earl was an imposing figure, a taskmaster for sure, but someone who demanded excellence, and that's what we got with General Motors during its glory years, when, as GM went, so went the nation (I shudder to think that's as true today...)

Guys like Earl must be rolling over in their grave at the current state of the domestic automobile industry--if only we had LEADERS like him who would have the onions to stand up to the forces that have led to today's predicament (and there's enough blame to go around, for sure), we'd surely be better off.

But, these are mere words which we are tossing about--the real genius of Earl (and his contemporaries, not only at GM but Ford and Chrysler as well as the independents) can be seen in the vehicles that all of us cherish today, and which makes events like Fall Hershey a celebration of their legacies.

[poci1957]

I would certainly expect most regulars here would know who Harley Earl is, but would not expect it from the general public or car fans with no sense of history.

But to follow up what starfireelvis correctly pointed out above, Harley Earl was essentially the dictator of GM styling from 1927-1958 and his equally forceful protege Bill Mitchell took over from 1959-1977. So for 50 years two men were in charge of the appearance of 50% of the cars sold in America. These guys had huge impact, and in both cases they only gave up the reins because of GMs manditory retirement at 65.

Like a lot of eccentric geniuses they have been criticized for being difficult to deal with and for taking credit for the work of many underlings. Earl in fact could not himself draw well, I have heard. BUT as starfireelvis says, the overriding fact was that these guys knew how to produce cars that sold and they made the company big money for decades, and that earned them (deserved) big power in the company. They were both dictators and prima donnas and probably would have admitted that themselves. But legend had it that if Earl had a disagreement with an engineer or a division General Manager (they too of big clout in those days) Alfred Sloan himself would take his side every time.

That power is indeed the difference today. Supposedly when Bill Mitchell retired the company installed Irv Rybicki as his successor, rather than his preferred Chuck Jordan. Both had served under Mitchell since the 1950s, and Jordan had more hits to his credit. But he was imperious and tempramental like Mitchell, and it was thought Rybicki could play nice with everybody. He had a few hits while in charge, but the unhindered power of his predecessors was no more. The current director is Ed Welburn, who is said to be a devoted car guy with a superior feel for design and the potential of the office, but GM is so de-fanged now he can never have the power of Earl and Mitchell.

And what do I think was Earl's greatest achievement? Perfecting the now extinct price ladder of cars "for every purse and purpose." He supervised the A/B/C/D body sharing of the 1930s through the 1950s, and using 3 basic body shells made people crave the upgrading of the car from make to make and year to year. People willingly spent more money, GM made more money, and GM quality and design was the envy of the industry for over 50 years and these cars still beloved by us today.

Of course if MrEarl is still reading he can correct me as needed, hopefully I am correct in my comments. Just a few words of tribute, and anyone reading this for the first time should Google Earl and Mitchell for a lesson in automotive history they will enjoy. Todd

[Guest BJM]

Me thinks there are some Buick folks that need to get a life! There was always a sharing of many body parts among various models of Olds, Buick, Pontiac, and smaller Cadillacs.

As for Mr. Nickles, let's just say he did a great job of "borrowing" the idea of exhaust pipes coming through the hood/fender, sans the actual pipes, from various 1930's cars produced by the Auburn Automobile Company,the latter actually having the exhaust pipes. Distinctive, but nothing original or even innovative!

Mr. Edwards,

I assure you I have a life. It would be tremendously easy for me to criticize the Oldsmobile styling of this period and Pontiac in favor of Buicks.

Ned Nickles did a lot more then create the Ventiport look as a styling cue for Buick for many years, still used today on LuCernes. Of course, the Oldsmobiles of today have an impressive, whoops, never mind.

[Guest BJM]

If I had a pick of ten people I would want to sit down and talk with, Harley Earl would be in there for sure.

Me too. Some people consider politicians and Presidents or movie stars as people they admire, changed history or consider heroes.

I think in a broader brush. The Americana that was the 20th Century is marked by technological progress and Earl's cars were there at a every turn.

I have a picture of Jesus next to my bed and to his left is Harley Earl's photo.

[padgett]

30's cars heck, them's P-39 (GM) exhausts.