7 Things You May Not Have Known About Corvette Designer Harley Earl
02-11-2015, 02:37 PM
#1
CorvetteForum Editor
Thread Starter
7 Things You May Not Have Known About Corvette Designer Harley Earl
As GM's top car designer, Harley Earl's name is as synonymous with the Corvette as the name Steve Jobs is with Apple. Especially when it comes to innovation.
Read the rest on the Corvette Forum homepage. >>
02-11-2015, 05:15 PM
#3
Race Director
Member Since: Feb 2007
Location: northern california
Posts: 13,609
Received 6,521 Likes
on
3,001 Posts
C2 of Year Finalist (track prepared) 2019
. The designer is also credited with leading innovations like collision warning alarms, cruise control, keyless entry, onboard computers, and rain-sensing technology.
The computers which existed in Mr. Earl's day used thousands of vacuum tubes, occupied large fractions of a building's square footage, consumed enormous quantities of electricity, needed massive amounts of cooling, and were miserably unreliable.
The technology which permits the impressive level of miniaturization of today's computers simply did not exist.
It would have taken an improbable leap of imagination for him to have foreseen on board computers prior to his retirement from GM.
02-11-2015, 09:44 PM
#5
Safety Car
Member Since: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,532
Received 2,130 Likes
on
1,030 Posts
2023 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2019 C2 of Year Finalist (stock)
2015 C2 of the Year Finalist
Pretty much, yes. The highest level of sophistication in 1957 was memory seats in the Cadillac Brougham, all electro-mechanical. The Caddy sported the first all-transistor car radio and the tried-and-not so true autronic eye headlamp dimmer that worked from a box of tubes under the hood. Ain't no stinkin' on-board computer.
Dan
02-11-2015, 10:02 PM
#6
Instructor
Yes at 6' 4" you can comfortably drive a C2 Corvette. I'm that tall and have no trouble driving C2 or C3 Corvettes. The only issue is getting my right leg under the steering wheel when getting in. I think comfort has more to do with weight than height. My Dad is the same height but about 75 lbs over weight. He struggles to drive my Corvettes and can even get into my Lotus.
02-12-2015, 10:43 AM
#7
Heel & Toe
Member Since: Jan 2002
Location: gaithersburg md
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bill Mitchell's ghost must be rattling its chain now, since all the pictures of Harley Earl show him standing next to midyears. Earl's contribution was the C1. It would be more appropriate to show him next to a 53-57 vette. Bill Mitchell's fondness for split rear windows was reflected in his design for the 63 vette.
02-12-2015, 07:09 PM
#8
Le Mans Master
Yes at 6' 4" you can comfortably drive a C2 Corvette. I'm that tall and have no trouble driving C2 or C3 Corvettes. The only issue is getting my right leg under the steering wheel when getting in. I think comfort has more to do with weight than height. My Dad is the same height but about 75 lbs over weight. He struggles to drive my Corvettes and can even get into my Lotus.
At 6'0... my right leg would go completely numb after 3 hours... hip and ankle would cramp at 4 hours. The problem is that when you sit in the car...in my case a 4 speed... you can never lay your right leg straight out.
It's always slightly off the seat due to the configuration of the brake and accelerator pedals. It's cocked at an angle. After hours...and days in the car... and unconsciously "holding" your right leg up. It hurts like hell.
Good thing these cars only go about 3 hours before you need to stop for gas and get out and stretch. Within an hour it begins again.
