tanks, 157–61
Taylor, Estelle, 70
Teague, Richard, 105–6, 110–11, 227, 268
Technical Center, 1–7, 186–90, 228, 233–41, 246, 252
Blue Room, 237–38
Harley Earl Suite, 236–37
Teichmann, Howard, 207
television advertising, 246, 252, 260–61
Teschke, Sally Taft, 26, 33–34
Throckmorton, John, 273
Time, 197, 225
Tjaarda, Tom, 107, 128
Too Much Speed (film), 58
Tracy, Spencer, 238
trade-ins, 49, 146
Train of Tomorrow, 185–86
transmissions, 44, 80, 217, 223
Transportation Unlimited, 206–7
Treasury Department, 95–96
Trump, Donald, 264
unemployment, 91–93, 97–99, 116, 138, 163–64
Union Guardian Trust Company, 94–97
United Auto Workers (UAW), 166–67, 175–77
United Motors Group, 45
U.S. Air Force, 196, 202
U.S. Army, 41–42
2nd Armored Division, 192
87th Airborne Division, 273
102nd Division, 273
704th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 161
Ordnance Corps, 160
U.S. Army Air Corps, 152
U.S. Congress, 94, 96, 155, 271
Universal Studios, 34
University of Southern California (USC), 35–36, 51, 53, 83
Unsafe at Any Speed (Nader), 269–72
used car market, 76, 146
US Rubber, 263
Vanderbilt, Sue, 241–46
Vauxhall, 256
Villa, Pancho, 41–42
Volkswagen Beetle (KdF Wagen), 136–38, 174, 254–57
Walker, George, 197, 228
Wartime Production Studio, 159
Watkins Glen Grand Prix, 200–202
Wayne, John, 212, 215
Welch, 45
Werlin, Jakob, 136–37
Westinghouse, 263
Whitley, H. J., 25, 31–32
Wilcox, Harvey, 25
Williams, Gregory Paul, 32
Willow Run Ford Plant, 158, 163, 167–68, 171
Willow Run GM plant, 272
Wilson, Charles E., 3, 173–74, 180, 206, 208
Wilson, C.R., Company, 29
windshields, 28, 59, 80, 131, 194, 198, 211, 221
Windsor, Duke and Duchess of, 238–39
Wintershied, Glen, 227
Withers, Rollie, 244
women
autoworkers, 165–67
designers, 241–46, 265
World War I, 42, 58, 138, 158
World War II, 142, 150–74, 178, 192
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 187
Wright, William, 122
XP-8. See Buick Le Sabre
Y-job (Y Project), 131–35, 184
“Your Car After the War” (article), 173
Photo Section
Employees of Earl Automobile Works in Los Angeles in 1918. Harley helped his father, J.W., build the former carriage repair shop into the sixth-largest maker of auto bodies in the country. (Courtesy of the Earl family)
The Earl family in the driveway of their Hollywood home in 1915. Left to right: Bill, Nellie, Jessie, Art, J.W., Carl, and Harley. (Courtesy of the Earl family)
Harley behind the wheel of a 1927 LaSalle, the first mass-produced American car styled front to back and top to bottom by a designer. (General Motors Media Archives)
Harley’s wife, Sue, and their two-year-old son, Billy, just days before the little boy died during surgery to remove his tonsils. (Courtesy of the Earl Family)
The dapper young designer sailing to Europe in 1932 for the annual auto shows. (Courtesy of the Earl family)
The 1934 Cadillac V-16 Aerodynamic coupe, GM’s first one-of-a-kind show car. (General Motors Media Archives)
The stylistically influential 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special was the first production car without running boards. (All photographs: General Motors Media Archives)
Harley showing off the first-ever “concept car,” which he dubbed the “Y-job” and drove to and from work for eleven years.
Unveiled in 1950, the Le Sabre was perhaps Harley’s most famous creation.
America’s first sports car, the 1953 Corvette, was inspired by Harley’s weekend at a road race in upstate New York.
The 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air was called the “Hot One” for its powerful V-8 and popularity among the burgeoning youth culture. (All photographs: General Motors Media Archives)
Harley’s brother Art with their father at GM’s 1956 Motorama show in Los Angeles. (Courtesy of the Earl family)
The Styling staff took tail fins over the top with the 1959 Cadillac, creating one of the defining images of that decade. (All photographs: General Motors Media Archives)
Harley looking over new models under the lights of the Styling Auditorium.
About the Author
WILLIAM KNOEDELSEDER is the New York Times bestselling author of Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America’s Kings of Beer, as well as the critically acclaimed Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, the Music Business, and the Mafia. His book I’m Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy’s Golden Era is the basis for the Showtime series of the same name. He lives in Woodland Hills, California.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Also by William Knoedelseder
Bitter Brew
Copyright
FINS. Copyright © 2018 by William Knoedelseder. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Cover design by Gregg Kulick
Cover photograph © Keystone / Getty Images
FIRST EDITION
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Knoedelseder, William, 1947– author.
Title: Fins : Harley Earl, the rise of General Motors, and the glory days of Detroit / William Knoedelseder.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Harper, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018014672| ISBN 9780062289070 (hc : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780062289094 (digital edition)
Subjects: LCSH: Earl, Harley. | Automobile engineers—United States—Biography. | Automobile industry and trade—United States—History. | General Motors Corporation—History. | Detroit (Mich.)—Economic conditions.
Classification: LCC TL140.E23 K66 2018 | DDC 629.2092 [B] —dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018014672
* * *
Digital Edition SEPTEMBER 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-228909-4
Version 08032018
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-228907-0
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