ADL TV | GM @ 100 Yrs: Cadillac
“MISTER EARL”
There’s nothing quite like having the man who designed the Corvette Sting Ray tell you, the interviewer, that you’re not giving GM’s larger-than-life chief designer Harley Earl enough respect.
My question: “Did you ever work with Harley Earl back in the day?”
Bob Veryzer: “He was around. It was never Harley Earl. It was always Mister Earl.”
To which GM’s VP of Global Design Ed Welburn added, “It was only until recently that people started calling him Harley Earl.”
Apparently, GM’s artistic duo hadn’t seen any of Buick’s “My name’s Harley Earl” TV spots. Nevertheless, at this gala in honor of Cadillac, clear respect for an icon was the order of the evening.
Last summer we drove up to Saratoga Springs, New York where instead of placing bets on horses we braved the worst tempests that the Hudson River Valley could throw our way to tape a story about Cadillac’s past and where it might fit in GM’s tomorrow.
GM had turned 100 years old and the Saratoga Auto Museum threw a party in honor of Cadillac. Many GM big wigs were there, including GM’s G.M. for Cadillac, Jim Taylor.
As grim as Caddy sales looked last July, the financial markets had yet to crash and the General was still almost a year away from filing for bankruptcy protection. We were in, if you like, the eye of the perfect storm.
In this segment with a T.R.T. of 07:15, we watch some of the best and worst of Cadillac’s past; hear comments from the marque’s fans; and get a real sense that in the midst of the celebration, GM’s top brass knew what was to come.
“This is a new world we’re going into,” Mr. Taylor notes, “Quite frankly I don’t think anybody realizes how big a difference there’s going to be. Until you wake up in four or five years and realized what happened.”
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Credits
Executive Producers: Gunnar Heinrich & Neil Rogers
Editors: Michael Russell | Neil Rogers | Kevin Kusina
Camera: Joshua Schnitzer | Gregory Dwyer | Neil Rogers
Writer | Host: Gunnar Heinrich
Special Thanks: GM | Saratoga Auto Museum | Dres. Ward Heinrich, Sr. & Jr.| J.M. Ficca
About the Author: Gunnar Heinrich is publisher of Automobiles De Luxe online and is executive producer of the Automobiles De Luxe Television series on PBS member station CPTV.
Cadogen 11 | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
Great rolling stock. Great footage! When will we see more of your video work?
Glory days of the auto are gone…for now. It is difficult to relish American cars these days.
But that said, the automobile is woven into the fabric of the American life… status, utility, mobility, the biggest outlet for “practical creativity” we have today…It won’t be down for long. There will always be interest in, and a perhaps smaller market for, exceptional design and performance.
Gunnar | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
You may just have a point. In probably won’t be long before we’re shuffled from A to B in electronic pods
More to follow!
Jim | Jun 7, 2009 | Reply
When stuck in I93/I95 traffic, a self driving electric pod sounds like a good idea. Driving can go back to be a pleasure.
Neil | Jun 7, 2009 | Reply
Oh I cant wait for the day of pods! (sarcasm)