Auto industry / Business & brands
Ed Cole
1909–1977 · automotive engineer, president of General Motors
GM engineer behind the Chevrolet small-block V8 and the Corvair who rose to president of General Motors from 1967 to 1974.
- Born
Marne, Michigan- Died
near Kalamazoo (Mendon), Michigan
aged 67- Birth name
- Edward Nicholas Cole
- Also known as
- Edward N. Cole
- Detroit years
- 1930s–1974
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Cole grew up on a farm in western Michigan and enrolled at the General Motors Institute in Flint in 1930; GM sent him to Cadillac in Detroit before he graduated. There he co-led, with Harry Barr, the team that created the high-compression 1949 Cadillac V8. Moving to Chevrolet as chief engineer, he developed the small-block V8 introduced in 1955, one of the most successful engines ever built, which also gave the Corvette real performance. As Chevrolet's general manager he pushed through the rear-engined Corvair, launched in 1959, which Ralph Nader later attacked in Unsafe at Any Speed. He became head of GM's car and truck group in 1961 and president of the corporation in 1967, backing aluminum engines, the Vega and the catalytic converter with the switch to unleaded fuel. He retired in 1974 and died in 1977 when the plane he was piloting crashed in bad weather near Kalamazoo.
Highlights
- Co-developed the 1949 Cadillac V8
- Led development of the Chevrolet small-block V8 (1955)
- Chevrolet general manager; launched the Corvair
- President of General Motors, 1967–1974
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1956–1974
General Motors Technical Center
GM's Warren engineering campus, base of Chevrolet engineering during his rise.
Worked here · 1961–1974
Cadillac Place (former General Motors Building)
GM's headquarters during his years as group executive and president.