GM’s Motorama Concept Cars

The Petersen Automotive Museum will celebrate “Dream Cars” from the 1950s with its newest exhibit, “GM’s Marvelous Motorama: Dream Cars From the Joe Bortz Collection,” which will open on March 16. The exhibit will feature six concept cars, together for the first time under one roof, originally displayed at GM Motorama shows in 1953, ‘54 and ‘55.

Background

In a time of unprecedented prosperity in the United States, General Motors, the largest corporation in the world, created a traveling showcase for its varied products called the Motorama. From 1949 to 1961, the Motoramas flaunted not only automobiles, but also auto parts as well as non-automotive goods from GM subsidiaries such as appliance-maker Frigidaire. It was the cars, however, that attracted the crowds.