Ed Cole

Cole was the son of a dairy farmer. In his youth, he designed, built, and sold homemade radio sets, and as a teenager became a field representative for a tractor manufacturer. He wanted to be a lawyer, but landed a part-time job in an auto parts store while attending Grand Rapids Community College. He then enrolled in General Motors Institute, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Epsilon (now Pi Kappa Alpha) Fraternity. Soon after Cole married his hometown sweetheart, Esther Engman. He worked in engineering, rising to co-head a team (with Harry Barr) that developed the 1949 Cadillac V8. He was briefly assigned to run a GM plant in Cleveland, Ohio, when Chevrolet general manager Tom Keating requested his assignment as chief engineer.\n', '

He became chief engineer of the Chevrolet Division in 1952. His most important task was to develop a new engine for Chevy\'s lineup to replace the S…