Fins by William Knoedelseder

Author:William Knoedelseder
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

12

The Birth of Fins

Navy lieutenant Frank Hershey received a medical discharge in the fall of 1944 and became the first of Harley’s senior designers to return from the war. The reunion must have been emotional, given their long mentor-protégé relationship, but it’s unlikely either man let on. Harley’s display of affection consisted of naming Hershey chief of the Cadillac studio until Bill Mitchell completed his tour of duty as a naval officer.

Harley began gathering up other staffers who had been dispersed to various projects scattered among different GM divisions, including a small group of designers the company had interred in somewhat shabby quarters at 40 West Milwaukee Avenue because their age or national heritage disqualified them, in the eyes of the government, from involvement in defense work. In a wry reference to the military classification that deems a person unfit to serve, they had taken to calling themselves the “4-F Club.”

Fierce fighting continued in Europe and the Pacific, but the momentum of the war had shifted in favor of the Allies and the mood on the home front was optimistic. People were starting to talk about what life would be like in “the coming peace,” and automobiles were no small part of the conversation.

Nearly three years into the production shutdown, cars had become a precious commodity. Half of the 26 million passenger vehicles that had been on the road in 1941 now were more than seven years old. Wrecked and worn-out cars were being scrapped at the rate of 4,000 a day. Of the approximately 500,000 1942 models the government had ordered set aside for the military and essential civilian personnel, only 47,000 remained. And the shortage would only worsen with the war’s end, when as many as 10 million servicemen and -women returned to civilian life en masse, a vast horde seeking jobs, housing, and America’s preferred means of transportation.

In an article titled “Your Car After the War,” the Saturday Evening Post quoted Harley as boldly predicting that the number of automobiles in America would reach 50 million by 1952. “The car of the future will be functionally designed and so is likely to change greatly in overall appearance,” he said. “The thing we have all been trying to do for years is to erase the static look of cars. We are convinced the public wants low, racy styles.” He scoffed at the notion that postwar automobile design would mimic that of aircraft design, stating flatly, “The only thing the car and the plane have in common is the principles of aerodynamics.” He also declared that “comfort will be demanded at all times and will have to be provided at a lower cost per car pound,” and said he doubted that postwar economics would move Detroit to start building smaller cars, explaining in his inimitable fashion, “They don’t make chairs or beds smaller during depressions. Then why shrink the car?”

GM president Charles E. Wilson proposed to do exactly that, however. Having assumed the chief executive position with Chairman Alfred

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