Harley Earl

The Buick Y-Job, the world's first style study

Harley J. Earl (born November 22, 1893 in Los Angeles , † April 10, 1969 in Palm Beach ) was an automotive designer , engineer and industrial designer . From 1927 to 1959 he worked for General Motors , where he rose to become the first deputy chairman of the board with the design division.

youth

Harley Earl was born in Hollywood . His father JW Earl had worked as a coachbuilder since 1889 and initially devoted himself to horse-drawn carriages, but in 1908 he founded the Earl Automobile Works and from then on manufactured special bodies and conversion parts for cars.

Earl Junior began studying at Stanford University, but dropped out and worked in his father's company. In the meantime, the Earl Automotive Works had become known for their special bodies for Hollywood film stars, such as Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Tom Mix .

At General Motors

Employed by General Motors

1928 LaSalle Phaeton

Earl Automotive Works was bought by Cadillac dealer Don Lee, who continued to employ Harley Earl as head of the body shop.

Cadillac boss Lawrence P. Fisher loved to visit dealers across the country; on a trip to Lee he met Earl there and could watch him at work. Fisher, whose automotive career began with the coachbuilder Fisher Body , was impressed by Earl's designs and methods; Earl developed his designs using clay models , which was not yet common at the time.

Fisher then commissioned Earl with the body design of the new La Salle , which was under development at Cadillac. The success of the LaSalle prompted General Motors CEO Alfred P. Sloan to set up the so-called Art and Color Section , the first design studio of a car manufacturer, and to entrust it to Earl.

Before setting up the Art and Color Section , automakers hadn't paid much attention to the appearance of their bodies. High-volume manufacturers used bodies designed by engineers that were designed according to purely functional and economic aspects. The luxury car makers did not produce any bodies themselves, but handed the ready-to-drive chassis to a bodybuilder at the customer's request.

In 1937 the Art and Color Section was renamed the Styling Division .

He also designed the futuristically designed GM Futurliner buses .

Buick Y job

Rear view of the Buick Y-Job

In 1939, under Earl's supervision, the Styling Division designed and built the Buick Y-Job , the first style study in the history of the automobile. Although one-off pieces with special bodies had already been created before, the Y-Job was the first car from a mass manufacturer that was solely used to attract the attention of the media and the masses. The Y-Job was presented to the public and then driven daily by Earl.

Tail fins

Tail fins on a 1959 Cadillac

Harley Earl approved Frank Hershey's design for the 1948 model year Cadillac, which featured the first car tail fins . The tail unit of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning , a twin-fuselage fighter from the Second World War, served as the source of inspiration for the fins . The tail fins became fashionable in the US auto industry; there was a kind of duel between Earl and Chrysler designer Virgil Exner . While Cadillac had good sales, sales of the more opulent Chrysler vehicles plummeted in 1959 and Exner lost his job.

Chevrolet Corvette

Chevrolet Corvette

In the early 1950s, under the influence of the appearance of the European, especially the British sports cars after the Second World War, Earl came to the conclusion that General Motors had to offer a sports car. The design work on this so-called “Project Opel” began in secret. Earl then offered the project to then Chevrolet boss Ed Cole, who took it over without hesitation. In 1953 the Chevrolet Corvette was officially presented.

Succession

Harley Earl left General Motors in 1958 and retired; the design work on the 1959 GM models had previously been completed. He was succeeded as a board member with the design and styling division, Bill Mitchell , under whose leadership GM design became more objective.

Death and legacy

Harley Earl died of a stroke on April 10, 1969 in Palm Beach . He was 75 years old.

He is remembered as the first design director of the US car industry, as a pioneer of design work with clay models, as the inventor of the panoramic window , the hardtop coupé and the hardtop sedan, the two-tone paintwork and the tail fins . He discovered design as a means of brand management.

Every year the winner of the Daytona 500 , the most important and famous race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup , receives the Harley J. Earl Trophy .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Paolo Tumminelli, Car Design, teNeues 2004, ISBN 3-8238-4561-6 , page 382
2. ↑ Paolo Tumminelli, Car Design, teNeues 2004, ISBN 3-8238-4561-6 , page 390.