Just look at this photo below from 1946; clearly anyone can see that GM's yet to let out the true story on this great innovator. For example, it wasn't the treasury office administrating CEO, Alfred P. Sloan, who reinvented General Motors in the modern sense, but Sloan backed the pioneer who did: Through the new profession Harley Earl invented, he sculpted the shape of America's future. And, for secrecy reasons, this unusual maverick never talked about how big the bang was he originally detonated inside this giant corporation. Sloan and other top leaders of GM naturally complied with Earl's wishes to keep things down, since it would just enhance GM's making more money and increasing market share position. Earl never lectured or wrote a "tell all" book on how important a role the automobile design profession related to ramping up and modernizing the engineering world we live in today. 

Harley Earl's Y-Job and LeSabre with sons Jerry and Jim (above and below) in their family's driveway.

William (Big Bill) Knudsen with Harley, below, onboard ship in route to Europe in 1928.

Knudsen became president of GM in the 1930s and was always a faithful champion of Earl's design-in-industry dream. 

Additional Material:

•    Look at a newspaper story reporting that Harley Earl introduced the world of "Colorization" to the American automobile business. This very innovation is a giant milestone (it's one of the most important steps in vehicle design still used today) and perhaps as significant as Mr. Earl's introducing the concept of clay modeling to Detroit. The news report is here: http://carofthecentury.com/harley_j__earl's_color_revolution.htm 

•    Historical content (print and reel footage) on the one and only true legend behind the birth of the Corvette. Harley Earl’s seminal 1951 weekend in Watkins Glen is where he had his momentous Corvette brainstorm that went on to start what would become a national phenomenon two years later as America’s first sports car was rolled out to a national audience in January 1953 at GM’s rocatomic Motorama inside the famed Waldorf Astoria in central Manhattan. Every move of the historic 1951 Watkins Glen race weekend was captured on film! For example, click the link below showing photos chronicling one of America’s most treasured moments of modern pop culture history: http://www.carofthecentury.com/harley_earl_in_watkins_glen_spells_birth_of_corvette.htm

•    Seminal GM Press Release on “General Motors Customized Cars” (the first-ever “Corvette” Press Release). This automobile was so new, GM’s media relations people misspelled "Corvette" in the original press release: C O U R V E T T E . Click below: http://www.carofthecentury.com/customized_cars.htm

•    See "Birth of Modern Design in the 1930s" segment at this section: http://www.carofthecentury.com/car_design_at_75.htm  

There are hundreds of photographs to choose from...samples featured below:

Archival photos at this website are available to buy; please contact us:

Click image below to read various testimonials: