In 1953 General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Corvette sports car, America's first mass-produced automobile with a fiber-glass body. With its sleek design and Americanized European styling, it quickly became the "dream car" of thousands of auto enthusiasts. Though the economy was experiencing a postwar boom in automobile sales, the base price of $3,498 was prohibitive for many, and only 300 Corvettes were produced the first year. In 1960, its popularity was enhanced by a television series called Route 66 (1960-1964), which featured two adventurous guys—actors Martin Milner and George Maharis—tooling around the country in a Corvette.

The car was the brainchild of Harley Earl, an auto designer who had made his name turning out one-of-a-kind car bodies for movie stars. Earl's first design after joining General Motors was the spectacular 1927 Cadillac LaSalle, which was to help convince the automobile industry of the importance of styling. He scored another design coup by...