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Within the first few moments of HBO s four-part docuseries The Lady and the Dale, you re given the broad strokes of the story. The titular lady is Elizabeth Carmichael, a singularly self-assured automotive executive who shot to international fame in the 1970s while trying to take on the American car industry s Big Three General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and the Ford Motor Company by marketing the Dale, a weird three-wheeled (but purportedly fuel-efficient) car.
For a brief point in time, the Dale was everywhere, from the cover of Japanese newspapers to the prize floor of The Price is Right, and Carmichael was right there with it, posing for press photos that depict her wearing a miniskirt, straddling the Los Angeles freeway in a Wonder Woman -esque pose. I don t want to sound like an egomaniac, but I m a genius, she matter-of-factly tells an interviewer.
Lady And The Dale, A 4-Part Series About A 3-Wheeled Car, Is A Wild Ride by David Bianculli
10:56am Jan 27, 2021 The Lady and the Dale tells the true story of Elizabeth Carmichael, an automobile executive who introduced a bold new three-wheel car in the 1970s. Courtesy of HBO
The Lady and the Dale, a new HBO documentary miniseries co-directed by Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker, has been promoted by the network with most of its secrets held in check. Tune in to this nonfiction biography series, the promos suggest, and learn the tale of a female automobile executive who took on the Detroit automakers and tried to market a gas-efficient car in the 1970s, at the height of the oil crisis.