Emperor's New Cloths 

The projected analysis came out in the following newspaper story during the Detroit International Auto Show in January, 2006.  "As anyone can see today this two and half year old news story exposes how GM's forward automobile designs are sure to lead this company down a path of destruction. If GM does not change and reform their current design philosophy very soon, complete annihilation is imminent," said Richard Earl in July, 2008. He goes on to say, "The existing way GM Design does business is polar opposite the philosophy of Harley Earl, the creator of GM Design. Going against the grain of the very individual responsible for cementing this company near a fifty percent market share for decades of time is the surest way to fail in a business that is 'design driven.' The decay of GM's design legacy began in the 1960s, but really took hold in the 1970s when GM's treasury office took entire creative control of GM Design. This is why this company rapidly continues to lose market share, loyal clients, money, respect and prestige."

Richard continues, "I went head-to-head in the media against GM vice president of global Design, Ed Welburn because someone with a proven knowledge of this company's design legacy needs to stand up and fight for what is right in Detroit and be able to legitimately challenge the emperor's new cloths. This newspaper article decisively demonstrates how GM Design (in the last 5 years, GM has lost more market share than ever before in its history) is in the worst shape it has ever been in and how Welburn's a minor puppet and/or just a cog in the wheel of GM's financial treasury office. Welburn will continue to crank out the design visions of Rick Wagoner, GM's CEO, who controls all GM Design's creativity with an iron fist. This is the system of business America's largest auto maker [GM] has been following for decades now and obviously, with the test of time, it clearly is all wrong and will bankrupt the company in the end run. Welburn's quotes in this above article are proof positive his forward design visions, compliant to Rick Wagoner, will sink General Motors fast! Wagoner and Welburn should be held accountable for their momentous failures (poor styling and improperly timed designs) for what's discussed here is at the heart of why General Motors Corporation is at its lowest market share point in nearly 80 years time!"

New DNA of Extraordinary Style

Notice in below article, third paragraph from bottom, leads into where this entire story begins, "Of course, Japanese automakers aren't about to be overshadowed by American innovation." This Los Angeles Times newspaper story from April 5, 1959 details beginning of Japanese invasion of their smaller "designed" import cars. Also remember, 1959 marked the very first year General Motors would venture out on their own; no longer having the extraordinary wisdom and talent of America's Car Design Pioneer: Harley Earl.

It's not the first time GM's modern day vice presidents of Design have been dead wrong on "mega design trends" concerning the long-term fate of the American auto industry. Read Bill Mitchell's 1974 words on the "Small Car Trend," during America's first oil crisis. Then you can see how Bill Mitchell and GM's current vice president of Design, Ed Welburn, are cut from the same cloth and clearly employ same tact of driving GM in opposite direction using a design philosophy contrary to Harley Earl.

The main reason I [Richard Earl] put up all this info that's above at this weblink is because I am still retaliating from various high level GM execs who blackballed me in business when I lived in Detroit. By late 2004 word filtered out amongst GM's major executives not to do any further business dealings with Richard Earl; essentially, I became persona non grata in Detroit's auto world.  Remember, for eight years up to this time I had lived and worked harmoniously with GM and got many favorable news stories written in the media about what I was doing...plus, I was the very individual who signed the contract with GM to start the Harley Earl advertising campaign with Tiger Woods in the first place. In other words, I had made a successful living in the Detroit area, up until 2004, and then found out the leaders of America's largest auto maker were intensely upset with the current work I was doing (telling the truth on Detroit's design legacy)....and that's when this company's management elite put a distinct order out, "run Richard Earl out of Motown." Of course I found this information out from various insiders of mine within the corporation loyal to what I was doing (reform and change) and how it could very well turn GM around, and that is essentially when I decided to shoot a cannon shot over the bow of ruling GM management getting the decisive "Cutting Edge Design, Key to Market Success" article written in a newspaper article during the 2006 Detroit International Auto Show. Later on, in October '06, I moved out of Michigan though realizing why fight these bastards on their turf...I'll take em on later.