Curiosity Stream documenting Harley Earl/GM's '54 Oldsmobile concept car
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- The 1954 Olds F-88 is a timeless work of art and engineering and it languished in obscurity for decades of time. Not surprisingly, it was GM's mid-century dream team leaders who were responsible and funded this and thirty odd other one-of-a-kind concept cars during the 1950s inside the Styling Section of General Motors. Each one of these concept cars deserves a video like this one.
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I've read that Harley Earl said the 1954 Cadillac is the first car that looks as good driving away as it does coming toward you. My late Father had a 1955 Series 62 convertible that he traded in six months before I was born. As a boy when he showed one to me, I instantly fell in love. Years later and just before his death, I bought a '54 Eldorado convertible and hid it in my garage. I surprised my Dad with it, and we drove it on Route 66 together..... it was the last car he ever drove, and I still have that car today. I agree with Mr. Earl, it is truly a beautiful car.
Great share, thank you!
@@arthurearl1150 , you're quite welcome, sir!
It is a beautiful piece of art.
Thanks for your kind comment, we are in complete agreement. Check out the HarleyJEarl.com website and please let us know what you think sometime. Cheers, Rick Earl
My friend Jerry assembled the this car for Mr. Cord. in his garage at his his. All the parts were in boxes. Mrs. Cord would unscrew some of the light bulbs because they were taking to much electricity.
Jerry was in his twenties when Mr Cord, hired him to oversee this project. One day Mr. cord sat Jerry down and told him his whole life story. Jerry is in his eighties, and still pretty sharp.
Appreciate you sharing this and could you please email me at hjestory@gmail.com and/or please send your phone number, I'd love to know more. Take care, Richard E. / www.HarleyJEarl.com
Sure glad you put this together and shared it with us gearheads !!!!
Thanks Norm, check out the official website, www.HarleyJEarl.com , you'll surely be glad you did. More untold parts to this leader's story that never came out. Feel free to email us if you have a question: hjestory@gmail.com . Thanks, RE
That was the one to build, wow
Beautiful machine, great story, well done.
Appreciated!
Beautiful car, should start building it now.
The F-88 was not intended to be put into production. It was for show and for Harley Earl's use, too. Indeed at least two were built for managers to drive. Sherrod Skinner of Oldsmobile got one of the other. Oldsmobile did not have a customer base to support sales of the F-88. The car was an exercise in showing what GM's designers could do. Not every F-88 was ordered to be destroyed "when the project was terminated." I have copies of GM documentation ordering the refurbishment of one of the cars in 1958! Of course, that is not the car which is known to survive today. I have not seen anything so far that actually ordered the destruction of any of them. I am the author of two heavily researched books on the GM "Dream Cars" of the 1950s - "GM's Motorama: The Glamorous Show Cars of a Cultural Phenomenon" (2006) and "Motorama: GM's Legendary Show and Concept Cars" (2015).
When the F-88 was (Mecum) auctioned as one of a kind , someone told the winning bidder; there's 2 more out there (joking-ly) 🤣🤔
Please GM, make it today and I'll buy one.
Hi Dave, I concur! This HJE concept car is a jaw dropping beauty...with one of the General's first post WW Two high compression engines no less. Hope you check out our official family run HarleyJEarl.com website and please send us an email at hjestory@gmail.com and tell us what you think. Cheers, Rick E
The glory days of American Iron long gone but will never be forgotten 😊👍❤️❤️❤️💋💋💋💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🙏🙏🙏
Short and sweet, thank you!
This story is exactly why I hate bean counters.
Thank you Mr. Earl so much for creating this beautifully done documentary with care and love when you didn't have to, at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will share it with others. Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I really like this one better than the Corvette, and that's saying a lot because I love both.
Great web page thanks
Very nice! I’m still enjoying one of Harley’s best designs ever (IMHO): The ‘49 Buick. The detailed interior is the best interior when it comes to style and grace and the exterior is perfectly balanced by the golden ratio. Design excellence on wheels.
Good comment. Let's connect, send me your contact info at HJEstory@gmail.com
Oldsmobile wanted an F body (Camaro /Firebird) in 1967, answer from GM no! Oldsmobile wanted to put their W43 and OW43 into production, answer from GM no!
that would be so coolto own
Thanks for sharing Richard!
Glad you liked it, much of Harley Earl and the GM dream team's story has not been shared yet.
There was a Buick and LaSalle version of the Corvette also
This is one hell of a car. It would look nice in a garage side by side with a Corvette. It's been said before, but I'll repeat it. Take the body styles from the '50s and '60s and upgrade them to today's safety standards and fuel economy.
Too many cars look the same today.
Atleast in the past they tried to out design the Jag.
They tried to make reproductions but with safety bumper requirements they won't look right. The new Dodge Challenger and the Ford 2 door T-Bird look hideous
Homer LeGassey of GM design was the principal exterior designer of this olsmobile concept
This is the Zygote of the Oldsmobile F-88, the lucky one.
Allow me to correct the record: the car may have been a design marvel, but it was an engineering run-of-the-mill.
I’d love to invite you to discuss this vehicle in person. Thank you for sharing this piece of history.
Hi Johannes, thanks for commenting and could you please send an email to me at: hjestory@gmail.com . Thanks, Richard E
One of my favorites was the 1954 La Espada. Looked like a mix of the Eldorado and later Corvette.
Agreed, drop dead gorgeous low slung priceless Cadillac concept car...it'd be worth millions today! Hard to imagine now what could possibly have ever been the reasons for chopping up and destroying one of the world's most amazing works of art and engineering...any motoramic masterpieces by HJE! Right?
@@rickearl8018 In my opinion, these cars were the most futuristic works of art to leave the drawing board and put on wheels.
People should build those.....
You can see that the paint on the door is darker than the rest of the car...same car as in the ad.
Amazing. Look at Netflix "Shelby American", There is a Surf Green F88 at 9:08.
Thank you so much for plugging me into this photo. Will post at HJE fb w/ over 60k Likes....I'm sure it'll be an interest to many more race fans! Please email your contact info to hjestory@gmail.com ...I'd very much like to have a little convo!
The F-88 could have easily have been produced and been something for Jaguar to be very worried over.
Bruce, I wholeheartedly concur! Let's connect, please send your contact info at HJEstory@gmail.com
It was the best sports car of the decade. And, would have spanked the '54 Corvette
No question about it....better than the Corvette in what matters
Great piece thank you for sharing! And now I'm even MORE curious as that bill of lading lists it as Oldsmobile XP-20 car #4. As I understood it there were only 3 actually produced. Were the parts for this one made alongside the others and it was never initially assembled? Or,did Harley decide to follow the letter of the GM edict by destroying the only 3 known while having the parts for this produced and stashed on the side?
Corvette Americas second sports car / Crosley Hot Shot 1949 was first !
It's a shame that both this Olds and the Pontiac Banshee were turned thumbs down by Chevrolet. Frankly they both have great style over the 53/54 Corvette.
Wow. Why would a car company destroy these works of art? Shades of the destruction of GM's EV1.
Many of these cars were made for motorama car shows and thus were "push cars", meaning no engine or drive train. Since the cars weren't designed for the road, the cars were shown around the U.S. and after then taken to the scrap yard to be crushed. This kept anyone from motorized them and driving them in public which could have made GM liable for any damage caused by it.
Ok
To see this as it was THEN and you look at what these turds are making NOW. GM designers need to be terminated.
Sad to see what Mary Barra has allowed this once great company become. Free fallin'
10/12/2021
So “it sat there for a number of years?” What’s this “number of years” crap? Don’t these people know how to speak intelligently? What number? Ten years? Fifteen years?