1927 LaSalle Automobile

Harley Earl designed the 1927 LaSalle, a sporty "companion" car to the Cadillac line, which filled the price gap between the highest-priced Buick and lowest-priced Cadillac. It was the first car designed by a stylist to achieve mass appeal as a production car. The new sleek lines introduced a European lightness to the previously square U.S. automobile. Initially, Earl worked on the LaSalle as a consultant to Cadillac, but the design was so successful that General Motors hired him as head of its new Art & Colour department.