At the center of this redesign was a man from General Motors" - Harley Earl. .
The Styling Redesign.
Much of this mid-century styling redesign can be attributed to Harley Earl. In Hollywood during the twenties, Earl had become famous for modifying and redesigning cars of the rich and famous. Cost was not an issue, and Earl experimented with "futuristic body designs and introduced bold colors into the mix. In 1927, Earl joined General Motors as chief stylist, but with the depression and subsequently the war, Earl's creativity "was temporarily stifled" as automakers, reflecting the mood of the nation, "painted most cars in drab colors: black, brown, dark green, and occasionally navy blue. However, Earl stayed on at General Motors, and as the nation returned to better times, Earl would get his way with design: "dazzling colors reappeared, embellished by two-tone paint jobs (Kelly green bodies with beige hardtops) " and "inspired by fighter planes, he introduced tail fins, clearly derived from the p-38 airplane, which first appeared on Earl's 1948 Cadillac design. In the post-war era, "it soon became clear to the stylists that the debris of war could be recycled into the stuff of fantasy." The cockpit of an airplane could serve as the conceit for the car's instrument panel; air scoops could be dummied up to conjure the speeds that were then threatening to surpass the sound barrier Think of it: everyman his own fighter pilot. It was this initial vision and the positive reception to Earl's Cadillac that began the automotive culture movement.
After the 1948 Cadillac's enormous success, Earl increased the fin size and other designers and divisions of General Motors followed suit: the Oldsmobile in 1949, the Buick in 1952. In 1955, Chrysler added fins on its quarter panels, and in 1957, when Ford finally gave in, all of the Detroit big three had fins. However, tail fins would see their demise at the end of the 1950's at the hands of their creator.
