Corvette Glossary Of Terms
E
Earl, Harley J.
November 22, 1893–April 10, 1969 – was the first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques. He subsequently introduced the “concept car” as both a tool for the design process and a clever marketing device.
Influenced by the English and European sports cars being raced on road racing circuits after World War II, Earl decided that General Motors needed to make a sports car. Design work on “Project Opel” began as a secret project. He first offered the project to Chevrolet general manager Ed Cole. Cole accepted the project without hesitation, and the car was offered to the public in 1953 as the Chevrolet Corvette.
Harley Earl retired from General Motors in 1958 after overseeing the design of the 1959 models. He was succeeded as vice-president with responsibility for the Design and Styling Department by Bill Mitchell, under whose leadership GM design became less ornamental. Before Earl retired, General Motors became the largest corporation in the world, and design was acknowledged as the leading sales factor within the automotive industry. Harley Earl’s biographical content courtesy of Wikipedia. Corvsport Page References: C1 Overview, 1953 Overview, 1954 Overview, 1955 Overview, 1956 Overview, 1958 Overview, 1960 Overview, 1962 Overview.
Eaton TVS Supercharger
Eaton’s new Twin Vortices Series (TVS) is a Roots-type supercharger for a variety of engine applications that delivers more power and better fuel economy in a smaller package, for uncompromising, high-performance driving.
