BOOK SIGNINGS (confirmed):

Automotive Authors Book Fair, Detroit Public Library, Nov. 22, 2008

What others are saying:

“The significance of the history of automotive design is well told in this book; I learned even more about the early days of GM Styling by reading it.”
Wayne Cherry
GM VP of Design, 1992-2003

"Tracy Powell does a wonderful job of capturing those heady, early days of the GM Art & Colour [and Styling] Section. Harley Earl's Art & Colour Section was not just significant to General Motors, but to the entire auto business, for it was there that these skillful men established the industry's first true in-house design studio and it became an incubator for future design talent. ... Those were no doubt exciting times for those young designers and engineers and Tracy Powell, through his research and storytelling, allows us the chance to share in that excitement."
--Jeffrey K. Leestma
President, Automotive Hall of Fame, Detroit

"Tracy Powell draws upon his considerable expertise to provide the reader with an informed and informative history of automobile styling of this legendary company in "General Motors Styling 1927-1958: Genesis Of The World's Largest Design Studios". Profusely illustrated with 80 photographs and 32 full color artist renderings, this detailed history is a seminal work of meticulous scholarship as Powell identifies key personalities and their contributions to milestone accomplishments as reflected in specific car designs for Buicks, Cadillacs, Corvettes, and other distinctive General Motors cars. Enhanced with the inclusion of an extended bibliography and a comprehensive index, "General Motors Styling 1927-1958" is an important and original contribution to American automotive history and should be a part of every academic library reference collection for the benefit of scholarship and non-specialist general readers with an interest in thirty years of specialized car history."
Midwest Book Review

"I love your book. It's wonderful to have
the whole story in one volume. And your anecdotal approach is super ... both
enlightening and fun to read."
--The late Beverly Rae Kimes
Automotive historian

"As Tracy Powell has so eloquently shown us, the early years of the Harley
Earl era were years of building: building credibility, building confidence, building an organization, and perhaps most important of all, building a remarkable assemblage of design talent. It is doubtful that the Pharaoh’s workshops could boast the equal of the amazing creative engine
that Mistearl succeeded in setting in motion. This
book has chronicled the development of that powerhouse and touched on the early career of Earl’s successor,
William L. (Bill) Mitchell."
--Bill Porter
Senior GM designer, retired

Author's street creds

Other book projects.

General Motors Styling 1927-1958
Genesis of the World's Largest Design Studios
ISBN 0-9709195-1-4 (978-0-9709195-1-9)

With contributions from Chuck Jordan and Bill Porter.

Take a look inside! Click here for Table of Contents and chapter excerpt.

Available at these fine retailers:
Automobile Quarterly Order: 812-948-2886
Autobooks-Aerobooks, Burbank, Calif.
Automotive Hall of Fame, Detroit, Mich.
AutoZone, Birmingham, Mich.
Destinations Booksellers, New Albany, Ind.
Enthusiast Books (www.enthusiastbooks.com)

Bronze Medalist for Best Non-Fiction, Great Lakes Region
2008 "IPPY" Awards

Foreword by Chuck Jordan    

The story of the early years of automobile styling at GM is a fascinating tale. From its beginning in 1927, Harley Earl forged a new and unknown activity within GM into a strong and vital styling organization. During that time, the look of the automobile was dramatically transformed from its early carriage-like architecture into a motorcar with pleasing lines, appealing form and graceful proportions. Customers’ emotions were stirred and they bought cars in increasing numbers.

The intriguing part of this story is how it all happened, who made it happen, and the human relationships while it was happening. I was fortunate to experience the latter years of this drama after joining GM Styling in 1949 as a junior designer. I was also fortunate to hear stories of the early years told by the very people who lived them – most of whom are now gone.

This account of the formative years of GM Styling explains how and why GM became the undisputed styling leader. It is also an important part of automobile design history that has never before been so completely told.

--Chuck Jordan, Vice President GM Design, 1986-1992

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1956 General Motors Motorama, one of the key Populuxe films of the 1950s, showing futuristic dream cars and Frigidaire's "Kitchen of the Future."

Another short film about work inside the Styling Section, circa 1958.

Short clip about the last prewar (1942) Olds lineup.

Screen ad, in Technicolor, for the 1940 Chevrolet models.
 

      
       Illustration by Paul Gillian, who became the
        Pontiac studio's chief stylist in the mid-'50s.
        *This illustration is currently in the collection
                of Jeff Goldstein.
 

        
Sharing the book-signing table with Janet Guthrie at Ault Park -- what a pleasure to meet a real class act, the first woman Indy driver and Rookie of the Year for both Indy and NASCAR circuits.