Next Cars & Coffee - Saturday August 8th - Special Guest Richard Earl

[Mike Phillips]

Harley Earl Trivia


His work on Corvette took place under the code name,


Project Opel


He separated it from the rest of the company, using dedicated engineers to design and build his prototype.

[Mike Phillips]

GM Futurliner

The GM Futurliner was designed by Harley Earl for General Motors for the 1939 World Fair, then used in the Parade of Progress from 1940-1941 and 1953-1956.

Twelve Futurliners were built in total and showcased the latest in design and technology of the era, including stereophonic audio, microwaves, televisions, as well as jet engines.

Nine Futurliners still exist today, with one Futurliner selling for $4,000,000 at an auction in 2006.














Pretty cool!

[70fastback]

That is a lot of cool, interesting info Mike. Thanks for posting!
I would love to get behind the wheel of a Futurliner!

[BillE]

I must admit I have NEVER even heard of the Futurliner.

That said, fast forward to when GM came out with the GMC Motor home. One can really see some of this monsters influences.

Thanx for the pics Mike. Time to do some 'Googling'.

Bill

[Paul@Autogeek]

GM Futurliner

Slim body and high center of gravity... I wonder if the 3 that no longer exist were rolled over! Regardless, these things look awesome

[Mike Phillips]

This video does a really great job of telling the life story and accomplishments of Harley Earl.

[Mike Phillips]

The Firebird designs were Harley Earl designs. This video show how the Harley Earl design was taken from start to finish and incorporated new technologies like,

Cruise Control
Keyless Entry
Onboard Computers
Automatic Guidance or Auto Pilot

[Mike Phillips]

Quotes about Harley Earl from Dennis Gage

Harley Earl was the guy that basically came up with the concept of the “concept car”. His first was the Buick Y-Job in 1939, Project Opel lead to the Corvette, and of course there’re the Flash Gordon fins on the ’59 Caddy.

I think my favorite though was the La Sabre in 1951. This was a magnificent, hand-built, custom car with design elements that found their way into many different production models over the years.

But this was when concept cars really ran, and after it was debuted and toured, Harley used it as transportation and rolled over 50,000 miles on it. Now that guy knew how to roll!

I got to drive it myself for a short distance at “Eyes on Design” back in 2003. That car made a lasting impression on me, and Harley Earl had a lasting impact on automotive design.


Dennis Gage

1951 LeSabre Concept Car

[Mike Phillips]

This video shares 3 of Harley Earl's car designs for Chevrolet's Motorama.

Excellent video of these cars!

[BillE]

Thank you for ALL the vids Mike!

Really fun to look back and see what may/could/want to happen with auto design and engineering.

When the Firebirds were in the picture, kerosene was, what 10¢/gallon? Nowadays, it's pushing $5/gallon. Would have been a bit pricy to fill the tank today...LOL.

I can imagine the 'hot rod society' figuring out a way to really get the turbine roar vice just the whine. Think about it, it's midnight and you're trying to ease away from your girl friends house at midnight, and the N-3 stage kicks in (unrestricted)...BUSTED! Oh that would have fun.

Again, thanx for all the info on Mr. Earl.

Bill