Clay Models
Between 1919 and 1920, Don Lee Coach and Body Works produced hundreds of custom cars. This success was due in part to Harley Earl's approach to customers, he not only showed them drawings of his proposals, he also built full-scale clay models. Clay models and trips to Europe were valuable tools for Harley. Modeling concepts in clay was something as revolutionary as the moving assembly line for automobile production, and like the moving assembly line, it spread to automakers everywhere. According to the book GM's Motorama by David W. Temple, Earl reportedly said, "A picture is worth a thousand words, but a model is worth a thousand pictures."[1]
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