Fins: Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit

The fast paced world of the automotive industry had its nexus in Detroit, Michigan. The motor city lived and died in the success and growth of Ford, General Motors, and many others. 1956 witnessed the unveiling of a new building, the General Motors Technical Center. The edifice was symbolic of changes at the company, as the older leadership was retiring and handing leadership over to the young turks. Harley Earl and his brilliant attention for/to detail was at the forefront of the GM rise. Harley Earl was born into a family with the American dream burnished into their souls. Harley labored at his father’s automotive business; his love of fast cars and his work with some of the Hollywood glitterati would start to get noticed on a national scale. He would be hired at GM, where despite a bumpy start, Earl would persevere and prosper at choosing successful designs. The success of GM would parallel the growing misfortunes at Ford, where change was viewed with a paranoid eye by Henry Ford.

Fins is a highly charged autobiography of an animated figure. The book serves as a well written history of the rivalry between GM and Ford. The timelines bookending the story hold an array of interesting histories of Earl as well as the auto industry as a whole. William Knoedelseder has penned a fascinating and entertaining read.