Investment In Tomorrow

Reciting guidelines of the first step in Motor Car Designing in 1937, Harley Earl made the following statement: 

LEONARDO DA VINCI, the great Florentine artist, demonstrated that in order to arrive at a satisfactory portrayal of the human form the artist must posses a knowledge of anatomy -- especially of the bones and muscles that make up the structure of the body. 

HJE’s ability to turn a “one at a time” process into a system that could be repeated in multitude for a mass market was the true secret behind his success. Being the son of a late 19^th Century carriage maker allowed him to be in the right place at the right time. (Read more on HJE's California years at the COMING SOON segment titled, Hollywood Harley). Combine this factor with other unique elements that Harley exclusively had along with his coach building background of creating one art piece at a time...and it is easier to understand him and the directional path his life took after he perfected using pliable clay models as a new medium to create and market his futuristic masterpieces. 

Allowing prospective buyers to visually eye his refined “concept” model, before building it, was an extremely novel idea back in the early 1920s. In other words, his climaxes in sheet metal were not only engineering innovations, dramatic works of art but each one was used for scientific preliminary test purposes (this exact area is one he personally refined and then introduced as a pre-production stage of engineering that would radically change Detroit later on). The media during the 1950s knew all about it for HJE opened up on this original idea he pioneered on experimental model vehicles. For example, he dubbed his radical LeSabre dream car as being another, "Laboratory on Wheels." Basically, by this time, it was just one in a long string of successes. 

Most trained auto minded professionals today think Harley Earl's all-new methods introduced inside General Motors' engineering world was evolutionary instead of revolutionary. Maybe that's exactly how GM's leaders of the Golden Era (1920s-1950s) wanted to project the picture to most outsiders, including the press and the public, into believing this was the way it all happened? Again, GM's top cadre back then were extremely shrewd and knew that Harley Earl was their golden goose. 

And, since HJE always reminded GM's largest shareholders how important it was, to him, not to share these important trade secrets, this aspect or facet on how GM built all its products different than its competitors always remained a low key area and remained under the surface for a long time...This holds especially true since the giant whale never spouted out how it was on account of his inventive "California Principles" being ultimately responsible for cementing GM as the worldwide modern leader...for decades of time.

Fortunately, back in the 1960s, many savvy auto world individuals had learned the facts (many had leaked out by then) behind how Harley Earl was the acknowledged pioneer of Automobile Design and that the clay modeling component was a key element of this advanced math based profession he introduced to General Motors starting back in 1927. Being the champion car architect of the modern age allowed Mr. Earl an ability to take GM to a stunning design monopoly no other car company has ever come close to achieving since. This artistic modern movement, based on individual expression, became the "faster new way" to build things.

Ultimately, Harley Earl remained objective and never really tried personally capitalizing off the state-of-the-art juggernaut he detonated inside GM. To this man, just being chosen as the pioneer...of the future, responsible for designing all GM's products, was one of his greatest rewards in life.

During this man's most influential years (1920s-50s), Mr. Earl stayed the course and remained loyal and faithful to his greatest patron (largest company of the Twentieth Century)...and for that reason, GM always protected him.

In the end, H.J. Earl's California Technique of "how to make a car body of clay" turned into a great big: INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW.