Essay on Harley Earl

Harley Earl is the designer I have chosen for the last project.

Harley Earl, later known as ‘The King of Style’, was born in 1893 in Hollywood. His father, J.W. Earl, began work as a coachbuilder in 1889. At first, Earl started his career by attending Stanford University, but later decided to leave prematurely to work with, and learn from, his father at his automotive workshop. When Harley came to work with his father, the workshop was called Earl Automobile Works, but that was not its name at first.

            Harley’s father’s workshop was created in the late 1800s to create horse-drawn carriages; it was named Earl Carriage Works. By 1910, the name of the company changed to Earl Automobile Works as times were changing. The shop constructed custom luxury cars for stars of the movie industry. Harley’s career choice to become a designer was directly influenced from his father. He saw a great opportunity in learning from his father rather than studying a new practice. Earl Automobile Works was eventually bought by a larger company, and renamed to Don Lee Coach & Body Works, and in 1919, Harley became chief designer.

            Earl’s automobile designs eventually garnered the attention of the general manager of Cadillac, Lawrence Fisher. At this time in the United States, cars were being constructed to reflect their true functions. Basic vehicle architecture and customer needs essentially dictated how a car would look. General Motors, the owner of Cadillac and Buick, wanted to launch a new brand of cars but they were not quite sure what to do to be different than their other companies. The new brand that General Motors was trying to launch was called LaSalle, and Harley Earl became the front-runner for making this brand a success.

            Earl was commissioned by General Motors to develop the first LaSalle in 1927. This was the first automobile to be designed by a ‘stylist’ rather than by engineers. By mid-1927, Earl was hired to head G.M.’s new Art & Color Section, which was the first time a major car manufacturer set up a separate department relating to appearance. At first, this section of G.M. was undervalued and referred by some as the ‘Beauty Parlor’. By 1929, only after one automobile design that was not received well, Earl and his crew of designers produced hit after hit and they would change the structure and course of the auto world. Harley Earl contributed to the birth of the concept car. Earl used European influences of ‘flowing lines’ to craft the Buick Y-Job, which was the first concept car. Earl introduced many firsts to the automobile industry with the Y-Job’s two-tone paint, curved wrap-around glass for windshields, and ‘fishtail’ rear fenders. Manufacturers designed ‘dream’ cars, known as concept cars, of the future and would reveal them to the public to test the waters with each design. Earl used industry firsts like clay modeling to design and style car bodies. Earl played a huge role in the automobile industry, and if he had chose any other career path, the cars that we drive today might be entirely different.