HARLEY EARL - ARTIST, ENGINEER AND SUPERCAR CREATOR OF THE CENTURY DAVINCI OF DETROIT

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We have to thank Palm Beach SuperCar Weekend producers John Temerian and Scott Levinson for introducing us to Richard Earl, grandson of the legendary artist and engineer Harley Earl, who for all of you out there whose grandfathers forgot to tell you, single-handedly introduced not ony color and incredible sense or art, design and engineering to the automobile throughout the 20th Century, and also championed women's participation in the auto industry with the Damsels of Design. Movie stars and studio moguls lined up to buy Mr. Earl's creations sometimes still in the showroom as clay sculptures completely painted with wheels mounted. They didn't even realize it wasn't a car yet. Sure Henry Ford seems to be credited in history for creating the horseless carriage, but it was Harley Earl also known as "The Davinci of Detroit", who as grandson Richard puts it, "took the batton" and made the automobile something that everyone wanted. Style, color, features like windshield wipers and sensors that put the top up on convertibles when it started to rain, who was this man my grandfather forgot to mention? The Harley Earl story is about to unfold. From his earliest years where he would buy a hundred Cadillacs and just use the chasis and motors, Cadillac started to wonder. Responsible for creating the first ever in-house design team at GM, he revolutionized not only the art and engineering, but the manner in which all cars were eventually marketed. Our three part series will take you through the early days right up and through where Harley Earl created the Corvette for Chevrolet. The image above was Harley's personal 1963 Corvette that was on hs driveway when he passed away in the late sixties, as it made an appearance at The Palm Beach SuperCar Weekend held at the International Polo Club this year. We want to thank Richard Earl for sitting down with us at The Blue Buddha in Palm Beach to talk candidly about Harley Earl and this magnificent story that no doubt will soon become a well acknowledged, important and relevant part of American culture and the world of International Motorama. Visit Richard Earl's website to view great pictures, stories and important press articles on the automobile's past and future from the 20th Century. Enjoy our pix and videos by ictv1's Neil London