by Earl Swift
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PART I: DRIVES LIKE A DREAM
5 This particular afternoon: I witnessed the visit of Currituck County planners Ben Woody and Brad Schuler to Moyock Muscle on Friday, September 24, 2010.
12 Tommy Arney and I: My 1993 conversation with Arney is quoted in “The Abdominal Showman: How Tommy Arney Turned Booze and Belly Buttons into a Constitution Issue—and Won,” (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot, January 20, 1994.
15 So it defied long odds: I witnessed and photographed this scene on July 2, 2010.
17 Tommy Arney knows the inventory: I heard Arney mention the tinted windows at Moyock on June 25, 2012. I was with him when he discovered the Firebird thievery on September 8, 2011.
17 And such is the power: I was present for this scene on Monday, August 16, 2010.
18 His head is filled with such trivia: I conducted the inventory on August 26, 2011.
20 The V indicates: My description of the Chevy’s assembly is based on phone interviews with former GM workers Bill Bethke, Leo Heid, Henry Marshall, Tom McDonnough, and Skip Shiflett in May 2012. The Baltimore plant’s size and output is from “G.M. Impact on City Told,” (Baltimore) Sun, November 24, 1954.
21 At the plant’s “body drop”: The approximate date of the Chevy’s birth is based on Baltimore plant records; the wagon was the 6,235th car built there in July 1957, among a total of 14,450—meaning that it likely rolled out of the plant late in the month’s second week.
21 His mother’s people: Tommy Arney’s family history is based on numerous interviews with Arney and a January 13, 2013, interview with his cousin Billie Ruth Bryant and her husband, Steve.
33 Back to an earlier point: My description of Colonial Chevrolet is based on photographs in the collection of the Norfolk Public Library’s Sargeant Memorial Room, and on another loaned to me by former dealership head Josh Darden in 2004.
24 The wagon had not been on display: My descriptions of Nicholas Thornhill and his purchase is based on interviews with Bruce Thornhill Jr.; his mother, Ruby Thornhill; his aunt Polly Parker; and his sister, Janet, in November 2004.
26 Folks in rural Alabama: My passage on Durant’s role was informed by Eugene H. Weiss, Chrysler, Ford, Durant and Sloan: Founding Giants of the American Automotive Industry (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003); Axel Madsen, The Deal Maker: How William C. Durant Made General Motors (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999); Arthur Pound, The Turning Wheel: The Story of General Motors Through Twenty-Five Years, 1908–1933 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran, 1934); Robert F. Freeland, The Struggle for Control of the Modern Corporation: Organizational Change at General Motors, 1924–1970 (Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2001); and John Chamberlain, “The Rise of Detroit,” Fortune, March 1962.
26 His replacement was a man: My section on Sloan relied on Weiss, Chrysler, Ford, Durant and Sloan; Pound, The Turning Wheel; Freeland, The Struggle for Control of the Modern Corporation; Peter Marsh and Peter Collett, Driving Passion (Winchester, MA: Faber & Faber, 1986); Alfred D. Chandler Jr., ed., Giant Enterprise: Ford, General Motors, and the Automobile Industry (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1964); David Gartman, “Harley Earl and the Art and Color Section: The Birth of Styling at General Motors,” Design Issues 10, no. 2 (Summer 1994); and Michael Lamm, “The Beginning of Modern Auto Design,” Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts 15 (Winter–Spring 1990).
28 Fifty-three years later: My tour of Arney’s childhood took place on October 23, 2010.
32 Arney trudges in a minute later: I witnessed the scene with the college boys on August 16, 2010. When I discussed this scene with Arney more than a year later, he insisted that the car in question was priced at $4,500, rather than $4,000. That may be—I never checked the windshield—but my notes leave no doubt that in discussing the car with the lads, Arney listed its price at four grand.
37 Likewise, it’s probably safe: Thornhill’s biography is based on interviews with his family—particularly his daughter, Polly, whom I interviewed on November 4, 2004.
39 Across the water: Reports of “dogs and sailors” signs have persisted not only in Norfolk but in other navy towns—i.e., San Diego; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Jacksonville, Florida—and aren’t restricted to the World War II years. To date, no legitimate example has turned up. See http://www.snopes.com/military/keepoff.asp.
41 Midwifed by the explosion: The Texaco ad appeared in Collier’s, September 14, 1956; that for Pendleton, in the same magazine’s November 9, 1956, edition; and the Gleem ad in Life, August 19, 1957.
41 No dummies, Chevrolet: The Chevy ad appeared in BusinessWeek, January 19, 1957.
43 See, for example: The “Road Race” episode is available in several parts on YouTube, the first at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=479bv1iseKg.
44 Real life was messy: I located the Star story on microfilm in the reference library of the Virginian-Pilot.
44 At thirty-five: The Thornhill children’s response to their mother’s death was described to me by the oldest child, Polly.
44 Seventeen years after: Thornhill’s marriage to Mary Drew Early, and their divorce, are described in court papers filed with the Portsmouth Circuit Court clerk’s office.
45 If the Thornhills fell short: Tommy Arney supplied this account of Fred Arney’s departure. His mother claimed to county officials that Fred Arney deserted her in a May 13, 1969, “Social Study” conducted by Edgecombe County officials, part of a dossier related to his childhood state custody that Arney obtained from North Carolina authorities in 2010.
45 The new man of the house: My descriptions of Strickland and Fern’s injury are from ibid.
45 Against this backdrop: Arney provided the descriptions of his own misbehavior and the family’s flight. The May 1969 Social Study suggests his older siblings may have chosen to stay in Norfolk.
46 Some of Tommy’s antics: Arney described his hatred for Strickland in a May 12, 2011, interview.
46 The five moved into: My description of the home is from the May 1969 Social Study.
48 The school expelled him: The cloakroom incident is detailed in Principal Pitt’s May 30, 1969, letter to Judge Tom H. Matthews, which was part of Arney’s state dossier. She makes her plea in the same document.
49 Witness a TV ad: The spot can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FES_cg6Zv5M.
49 The baby boom was on: The station wagon’s market share figures are from BusinessWeek, November 17, 1956. The Popular Science quotes here and in the next paragraph are from “The Big Boom in Detroit: 14 New Station Wagons,” February 1957.
50 The aim was to excite: Don Hammonds, “Style-Substance: Harley Earl’s Design Innovations Changed the Auto Industry,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 16, 2008.
51 His people knew to stay true: Francis Bello, “How Strong Is GM Research?” Fortune, June 1956.
51 He ascribed to a few more: “Another Kind of Transport: The Car as Art,” Economist, Dec. 23, 1995.
52 And there was Earl’s: Harley J. Earl as told to Arthur W. Baum, “I Dream Automobiles,” Saturday Evening Post, August 7, 1954.
52 By the mid-fifties: My account of Earl’s personal style was informed by Gartman, “Harley Earl and the Art and Color Section”; William Diem, “GM’s Harley Earl ‘Invented’ Auto Design,” Automotive News, June 26, 1996; Michael Lamm, “The Earl of Detroit,” Invention & Technology, Fall 1998; and Stephen Bayley, Harley Earl and the Dream Machine (New York: Knopf, 1983).
Incidentally, not all of the workers Earl fired came back. The styling departments of other automakers filled with refugees from GM. Gordon Buehrig, who won fame designing the uniquely elegant Cords of the thirties, worked for Earl beforehand, as did John Tjaarda, who designed Lincolns and Packards, and Frank Hershey, who crafted the ’55 Ford Thunderbird. Virgil Exner, the chief of design at Chrysler in the fifties, became a worthy r
ival to his old boss. Richard Teague, another alum, headed Packard’s styling and eventually became a top executive at American Motors.
53 The strategy dovetailed: The ’57 Chevy owner’s manual is reproduced at http://oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/Chevy/1957/index.htm.
56 In North Carolina, Edgecombe County officials: The passages describing Arney’s feelings about Strickland, and his family’s about him, are based on numerous interviews with Arney and the May 1969 Social Study.
57 At first, his behavior was angelic: The December 15, 1969, Social Diagnosis is included in Arney’s state dossier. Quotes in the following paragraph are from ibid.
58 With that, doctors prescribed: The psychiatrist’s errant diagnosis and the “wrong and harsh” remark are from an August 1971 “Social Work Study” prepared by North Carolina officials and included in Arney’s state dossier.
58 In his first six months: Ibid.
58 Indeed, a November 1970 evaluation: The handwritten assessment by a “Mr. Myers” is included in the dossier.
59 “He worked quickly and carelessly”: The quotes here and in the succeeding paragraph are from a psychological report prepared on February 9, 1971, and included in Arney’s dossier.
59 That August, a break came: Arney’s adjustment issues are described in a February 17, 1972, “Summary Dictation” prepared by Kennedy Home officials and included in his dossier.
60 About a month in: Arney described his flight and return to Norfolk in a March 18, 2010, interview. Official accounts in his dossier indicate he ran on September 26, 1971.
62 Thirty-nine years after: Arney shared his Sunoco and Coach House experiences in our October 23, 2010, tour of his old neighborhood.
62 Eventually, the cops caught: Fern Strickland’s handwritten letter, dated October 21, 1971, is part of Arney’s dossier. A May 10, 1972, memo prepared by a Kennedy Home social worker indicates that Arney “disappeared and was not located until Mr. Roger Williams, Superintendent of Kennedy Home, received a letter from Mrs. Fern Strickland. . . .”
63 Brokering the arrangement: My description of Arney’s stint with O’Neil is based on my March 18, 2010, interview with Arney and an April 17, 2013, interview with Bill Taliaferro.
64 When, outside a sub shop: Arney interview of April 1, 2011.
65 Another example: Arney interview of October 23, 2010.
66 Pity, even, the biker: Arney told me the soup can story on September 8, 2011.
67 He was breaking the law: Arney interview of March 18, 2010.
70 Sid Pollard was one of those kids: My description of Sid Pollard’s childhood and his purchase and restoration of the wagon is based on my interviews with him on October 20 and 27, 2004, and December 10, 2012.
70 The ’57 Chevy inherited some: My passages on the development of the ’55 Chevy’s body and the grilles of subsequent model years were informed by Pat Chappell, The Hot One: Chevrolet, 1955–1957 (Contoocook, NH: Dragonwyck, 1977); and Michael Lamm, Chevrolet 1955: Creating the Original (Stockton, CA: Lamm-Morada, 1991).
73 By August 1954: Earl and Baum, “I Dream Automobiles.”
75 Over at GM, meanwhile: Ibid. On fins, see also Grady Gammage Jr. and Stephen L. Jones, “Orgasm in Chrome: The Rise and Fall of the Automobile Tailfin,” Journal of Popular Culture 8, no. 1 (Summer 1974).
82 Like Nicholas Thornhill: Pollard interviews of October 20 and 27, 2004, and December 10, 2012.
83 And because it’s trusted: I had my visit with the Nova on November 23, 2011.
85 Seat belts were entirely absent: Ford’s safety campaign of 1956 is described in “When Wrecks Sell Cars,” BusinessWeek, December 10, 1955; and in “The Truth About Auto Seat Belts,” Changing Times, May 1957. GM’s position is described by Francis Bello in “How Strong is GM Research?”, Fortune, June 1956. For contemporary study of seat belts, see Charles A. Chayne, “Automotive Design Contributions to Highway Safety,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 320 (November 1958), and for a still-impressive primer on safety failures of the cars of the day, see Ralph Nader, Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile (New York: Grossman, 1972).
86 There’s no better demonstration: The IIHS video can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g.
88 Over in Norfolk: Arney described his entry into the junk business in several interviews, beginning with that of March 18, 2010.
88 He earned extra money: Arney described meeting his future wife in a June 1, 2011, interview. Krista augmented that account in a June 6, 2013, conversation.
89 Conduct yourself in such fashion: Arney described his conduct in fights in several interviews, including those of March 18 and October 23, 2010, and May 12, 2011.
90 He did not always leave the field: Arney interviews of May 12 and September 16, 2011.
90 On rare occasions he was defeated: Ibid.
91 He felt good for a little while: Ibid.
PART II—GOING DOWN SLOW
95 It looked like a winner: The advertisement I mention, along with other Alliance come-ons, can be savored at http://www.productioncars.com/vintage-ads.php/Renault/Alliance.
95 It covered thirty-seven miles: Ibid. The Motor Trend quote, from editor Tony Swan, was featured in Renault’s advertising.
96 Yet for all its attributes: Car and Driver admitted its mistake in a January 2009 feature, “Dishonorable Mention: The 10 Most Embarrassing Award Winners in Automotive History,” available at http://www.caranddriver.com/features/dishonorable-mention-the-10-most-embarrassing-award-winners-in-automotive-history. The story opens with the Alliance, which is saying something, seeing as how the list also includes the Vega and the 1974 Mustang II. “Here and now, in vivid HTML, Car and Driver formally apologizes for naming the Renault Alliance to the 1983 10Best Cars list,” the piece opens. “For the past 26 years, it’s been gnawing at our collective gut like a shame-induced ulcer. The car was trash. We should have known that back then, and it’s taken us too long to confess our grievous mistake. Let this frank admission be the start of our penance.”
97 As for Frank DeSimone: Interview with DeSimone of October 14, 2004.
98 The Savages lived in Suffolk: My description of Picot Savage’s upbringing and his life with Debbie is from my interviews with Savage of September 24, 2004, and July 15, 2013.
99 Picot Savage had seen: Ibid.
101 The Savages were unaware: For more on the history of Chevy’s small-block V8, see Chappell, The Hot One; Lamm, Chevrolet 1955; Gartman, “Harley Earl and the Art and Color Section”; J. P. Vettraino, “Block of Ages: Its Place in Automotive Lore Secure, the Chevy V8 Is Stronger than Ever,” Autoweek, May 1, 1995; and “Horsepower Nation: Chevrolet’s Small-Block V8 Celebrates Its 50th Birthday,” Autoweek, June 20, 2005.
101 GM officials woke up: For more on Ed Cole and his development of the Chevy small-block V8, see From vintage-metal.blogspot.com/2009/02/1955-chevrolet.html.
104 Still hauling junk: Arney described his transition into car repair and sales in a March 31, 2010, interview.
105 He found time for more violence: Arney described the attack on Mike in a March 27, 2012, interview.
106 Was it nature or nurture: Arney described the potato chip incident in our interview of May 12, 2011. I tried to ask the uncle about it, but on hearing Arney’s name he hung up on me twice on November 12, 2013, yelling both times: “He ain’t no kin to me!”
107 That was, it turns out: My interview with Billie Ruth took place during my visit to Lenoir on Sunday, January 13, 2013. I followed it up with a second conversation, by phone, on November 12, 2013. For all of her storied misbehavior, aunt Ruby’s criminal record in Caldwell County is short: The court clerk’s office turned up only a June 1981 arrest for “Drunk & disruptive,” and a July 1983 arrest for “Unsafe movement.”
107 Roughhousing wasn’t restricted: Arney described his first meeting with his father in our May 12, 2011, interview.
107 Given his kin’s fondness: Arney tol
d me of his rumble with the marines in a May 30, 2012, interview.
108 He came close to shooting a man: Arney interview of May 12, 2011.
108 In 1985, Arney again expanded: Arney interviews of March 31, 2010, and June 1, 2012.
109 Part of the attraction was obvious: Arney interview of June 1, 2011.
109 So there was that: Arney interview of April 27, 2010.
109 Arney renamed the place: John “Skinhead” McQuillen described meeting Arney in a September 28, 2011, interview. Arney’s conversation with Mrs. McQuillen is from ibid. Arney described the meeting in our April 27, 2010, interview.
110 Often as not, the latter was the case: Arney interview of May 7, 2013.
111 He and Krista had been a couple: Ryan’s recollection is from an August 31, 2010, interview.
111 Finally, things between Arney and Krista: Arney interview of April 27, 2010.
112 Skinhead was on hand: John McQuillen interview of September 28, 2011.
114 Arney relates such stories: Arney interview of May 12, 2011.
114 Perhaps the most troubling facet: Ryan recalled spinning on the street sign in our August 31, 2010, interview.
116 Ricketts knew the Chevy was a dicey choice: Interview with Mary Ricketts on September 24, 2004. Also, interviews with her sister, Sandy Wood, on April 30, 2012; Julie Hill on April 23, 2012; Carrie Ziegfeld on May 1, 2012; Mary Jo “Joey” Rothgery on May 7, 2012; Marianne Holmes Vest on May 16, 2012; Charmaine Clair on May 24, 2012; Lona McKinley on June 25, 2012; and undated notes from a telephone interview with former Ricketts coworker Kenny Rowe.
