[PODCAST] Corvette Today #306: Corvette and the Damsels of Design

Feb 23, 2026

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[PODCAST] Corvette Today #306: Corvette and the Damsels of Design

Photo Credit: General Motors

Recognizing that women in the 1950s had a lot more influence and buying power, especially with cars, GM’s visionary VP of Design Harley J. Earl recruited 10 female designers to help to bring a more “feminine touch” when it came to designing car interiors.

This week on the Corvette Today Podcast, your host Steve Garrett travels back in time to the 1950s with his special guest Sean Hixon to talk about this special group of women, as well as their accomplishments and innovations that are now standard in automotive design.

When we talk about breaking barriers in automotive history, no group did that more than the Damsels Of Design.

In the late ’50’s, Harley Earl assembled a group of women that helped influence the styling and creativity in General Motors automobiles…even the Corvette!

There is a terrific article about the Damsels of Design in America’s Sports Car magazine from the National Corvette Museum in the January/February/March 2026 issue. The author of that article, Sean Hixson, joins your CORVETTE TODAY host, Steve Garrett, to really dive into exactly what the Damsels Of Design truly meant to GM and the automotive industry as a whole.

Sean really takes a deep dive into the influence this group of women had and what things they changed that you still see in cars today.

It’s a fascinating look at Corvette and automotive history on this episode of CORVETTE TODAY.

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2 COMMENTS

Bob in FL Feb 24, 2026 At 3:59 pm

Could that be that’s why there’s no C8 manual transmission option? Lol
Raylan Benzl Feb 24, 2026 At 6:09 pm

Just months after Harley Earl’s retirement Mr. Bill Mitchell disbanded the Damsels.
“No women are going to stand next to any senior designers of mine on any exterior styling of Cadillacs or GM’s other major brands.” Bill Mitchell.
On this point, Mr. Mitchell was on the wrong side of history. Thanks, Ray