Harley Earl Retires From GM...Again

[BUICK RACER]

August 30, 2004

Harley Earl Retires From GM...Again

DETROIT - For the second time since joining the company in 1927, famed designer Harley Earl has retired from General Motors.

According to Buick Advertising Director Randall Tallerico, the newest round of Buick advertising will feature the division's newest vehicles - LaCrosse and Terraza - and move toward a new product-focused theme.

"Buick's campaign with Harley Earl established a foundation from which to build," said Tallerico. "Our advertising drew consumers in and encouraged them to take a new look at Buick. People are talking about Buick again, and now is the time to make good on promises with new vehicles." According to Tallerico, a new tagline replaces "The Spirit of American Style."

New Buick advertising debuts Sept. 19 on ABC's Emmy Award telecast and will support the launch of the 2005 Buick LaCrosse. LaCrosse -- a premium midsize sedan with a totally new look and a powerful new engine -- arrives at Buick dealerships soon. Tiger Woods will continue as a Buick spokesman in the new creative.

Additional advertising will spotlight the all-new Terraza crossover sport van, Buick's latest entry in a growing truck portfolio. Terraza, also arriving at Buick dealerships this fall, brings a rich blend of style, comfort and elegance to the premium mid-van segment.

Buick advertising in print, on television and on the Internet debuted the week of September 16, 2002. With Harley Earl, Buick reintroduced classic Buick traits of power, comfort and style. Tiger Woods teamed with Earl in a few commercials. In one, Tiger ad-libbed the line, "I see dead people," directly from the movie "The Sixth Sense."

Although he will no longer be featured in Buick advertising, Earl's influence is still visible throughout the industry and especially at General Motors. According to Ed Welburn, GM's vice president of design, "Earl was the father of automotive design and his spirit resonates through everything we create today."

Since the fall of 2002, veteran stage and film actor John Diehl played Earl in the commercials. "This was a dream assignment," said Diehl. "I was used to recognition from my work on 'Miami Vice' and 'The Shield,' but nothing compares to the notoriety from the Buick commercials." Diehl is currently driving a Buick Park Avenue Ultra.

About Harley Earl

Earl, whose father was a coachbuilder from Michigan, was born in Hollywood in 1893. After building a successful business that offered custom-made bodies for cars and trucks tailored for Hollywood stars, Earl was lured to Detroit after a meeting on a Los Angeles golf course and was put in charge of what would become GM's Art & Colour Section. His 20-year tenure at GM has numerous design highlights, including tail fins and the first dream car, the Buick Y-Job.

Widely recognized as the father of automotive design, Earl died April 10, 1969, at age 75 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

[HurstGN]

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August 30, 2004

According to Buick Advertising Director Randall Tallerico, the newest round of Buick advertising will feature the division's newest vehicles - LaCrosse and Terraza - and move toward a new product-focused theme.

"Buick's campaign with Harley Earl established a foundation from which to build," said Tallerico. "Our advertising drew consumers in and encouraged them to take a new look at Buick. People are talking about Buick again, and now is the time to make good on promises with new vehicles." According to Tallerico, a new tagline replaces "The Spirit of American Style."

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Mr. Tallerico and the rest of the powers that be at Buick. May I point out to you that you're expending alot of energy to get people to talk about Buick again, and leaving behind what could be the crown jewel for a 2000-era Buick.

As you may well know, the Blackhawk was in attendance at our 2004 Great Lakes Regional. The Blackhawk was made in 2000 and is now a 4 year old vehicle. Those that are not lucky enough to attend larger Buick functions have probably never seen the Blackhawk before, nor are they aware that it even exists. Those of us who have seen it and followed it's life, to this day, dream of owning such a car. But we're Buick die-hards. We're obviously biased in our affection for the Blackhawk. Well, here are some observations from our recent Great Lakes Regional. These observations were made in a 15 minute time period:

<ul style="list-style-type: disc">[*] Guests were arriving at the hotel to attend a wedding reception that was being held in one of the hotels ballrooms. As a family walked from their car to the hotel entrance, the Blackhawk passed in front of them headed for the trailer for the trip home. All the family members heads turned to watch it drive by, including the wife. After it passed, the wife and kids proceeded towards the hotel. The husband with camera in hand turned to me to ask what kind of car that was. I told him it was the Buick Blackhawk, and it was a one-off show car. It was quite a rare sight to see it and the husband remarked "I guess I should have gotten a picture of it then". I told him "Yes, it's not scheduled for production and you may never see it again." The husband looked at the wife about 5 feet away. The wife said not a word but stood with an approving "go ahead" look, and the husband was off running after the Blackhawk down the parking lot to get a picture of the car. He was closely followed by several other husbands with cameras in hand that didn't even look to their wives for approval to head off after the car.

[*] The Blackhawk drove by the entrance of the hotel, right outside the windows of an exclusive jewelry store that is in the hotel. The owner of the store heard the car first, then saw it thru the window. The owner of the store came outside to ask a few questions of my co-director.

"What kind of car is that?"

"That's the Buick Blackhawk."

"Buick makes that car?!?" (with disbelief...he must not have gotten the message from the Harley Earl commercials)

"Well, Buick made that one, but Buick doesn't make that car."

"Where can I buy one? At a Buick dealer?"

"No, Buick only made one, that one. They don't offer that car for sale. It's a show car."

"I can't buy that car?"

"No, there's only one, and that's it there. It's not a model for sale."

"Oh. I would buy that car tomorrow morning when the dealer opens. I like that car."

Yes, the jewelry store owner only saw the car for maybe a minute at most, and he wanted to know what dealer carried the Blackhawk so he could go buy one.

Us Buick die-hards see this time and time again when the Blackhawk makes an appearance somewhere that the general public can see the car. Think about this; the Blackhawk has the look of a 1939 Buick turned hot rod. Isn't that the kind of revival that is driving cars like the Prowler, the PT Cruiser, the new Mustang, the Thunderbird, the VW Beetle? Manufacturers are rolling out new cars with some "retro" styling and these cars are popular. They're easy to sell because they sell themselves. This is what the public wants. They want Harley Earl to design them a new Buick that has sexy curves and style like the cars Harley Earl designed years ago. That's why the commercials were run. Now give the people what they want. Give them the Blackhawk.

[Guest my3buicks]

I agree Dan that the Blackhawk is a stunning automobile and would have made an excellent limited run vehicle to celebrate Buicks 100th (Buick really missed that one) and I am sure that units would sell. I sure would want one in my garage if I could have one. But the Blackhawk is not going to appeal to the buyers that are looking at the Lexus and Infiniti offerings in the Luxury Sports car field that they are using for their every day transportation. That's what it boils down to, what people will buy to use everyday and replace on a regular basis. The Blackhawk would be a weekend warrior for most like the Viper - Prowler and other "specialty cars". It would be a great image builder but not a long term product.

I also think that Buick may be on the right track with the Velite - a beautiful peice of automotive art - instead of a retro Blackhawk it's more of a modern version.

We, as Buick collectors, and vintage Buick lovers find the vintage looking and the V8 thumping Blackhawk stimulating, but I think the real buying public would be more apt to lean toward the Velite or similar type vehicle for a "Flagship" or "Crown" in the Buick Shield.

[JohnD1956]

What a topic!!!

The blackhawk? The velite? the Lacrosse? Heres two thoughts for you.

1) GM is making a loud statement each day they delay the introduction of anything new. The Lacrosse looks like an Impala, two years later, The Terrazo looks like a Venture 4 years later, and the Velite will be nothing more than a warmed over Solistis. Every time Buick is lagging behind the others. This is not new for Buick lately. The Rendevous followed the Aztec and the Ranier follows the Trailblazer, interestingly being introduced just as gasoline prices reach record highs and SUV's are taking a beating. That loud statement I hear is the last person heaving a heavy sigh leaving buick and turning off the lights on the way out.

#2) Even if these cars were cutting edge new, who do they really think can afford to buy them? Kids leave college today with huge loans to repay and very few find jobs with the outstanding pay in their field. Those who don't go to college can't make enough money to drive to the poor house waiting tables or flipping burgers at the fast food houses. Meanwhile the price of Buick cars continues to go through the ceiling! The Ranier is over 40K, The Rendevous is likewise in the high 30's and the Lacrosse is scheduled to be up in the $35K range as well. Meanwhile Chrysler is producing cars that look good, reflect cutting edge design trends, appear to be reliable, and are selling in the $20K range.

Fella's and gals, hang onto your Buick Classics. When Buick pulls down the closed sign like Oldsmobile maybe our cars will appreciate faster.

Buick people, WAKE UP!!! Tons of people drool over the Buick Classics! Get with the program and beat those Chrysler/Ford engineers like we know you can! And kick those GM Big wigs in the butt and take our piece of the American car market TODAY, not in 3 to 4 years from now while your in Bankruptcy Court.

Whew!!! I feel a lot better now.

John d

BCA 3787

[Mrbuick714]

I once worked in the same building as did Harley Earl. The "Y" job wae his daily driver. He was a VERY impressive man. I think his influence should still be felt.

[BUICK RACER]

I saw a LaCrosse yesterday for the first time. As I walked by it, it did stop me for a second, to say what is that? But I quickly figured it out, the seats were folded down in the back for hauling stuff?? Hopefully more will be showing up in the fleet for testing and I'll get one to try out and let you know how it goes! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Guest]

The LaCrosse in profile is the Pontiac Grand Prix-Impala class car that's all.

if Buick is going to do a "same" platformas the other divisions, then they need to distinguish it with a Buick only powerplant or really distinctive styling or both. No one could mistake a 61 Buick Electra from a 61 Olds 98 yet both shared the same body BUT had different powertrains and interiors.

Bryan

BCA 28571

[55PackardGuy]

I'm afraid that the public is no longer buying style as Mr. Earl and others envisioned it. Today it's either status--what badge the car has--or how many creature comforts and cupholders it offers. After that it's price. It seems that whether or not it's a nice piece of automotive art is way down the list, if its even cosidered. I think Buick, and GM, recogize this trend and build to this mass market.

It seems that, in the case of domestic manufacturers, the closest thing we have to a "maverick" is our friends at Dodge, who continue to make a few relatively affordable, interesting models like the Magnum that are priced for mass consumption rather than just showroom traffic. They ARE our friends, because without someone in the industry doing attractive, edgy vehicles, everything is likely to start looking like today's "anti-cars," as in the Honda Element and its ilk.

Could we say that the "taste" of the motoring public in this country has gone to h*ll? I think largely it has. The future does not bode well either, as the anti-car look seems to be particularly popular among younger buyers. They might not yet make up enough of the market to assure the box-on-wheels look is the future of motoring, and their tastes may change, but I'm feeling pessimistic today (obviously).