GM’s Classic Concept Cars Displayed in the Petersen Museum’s Motorama Exhibit

Babies weren’t all that boomed during America’s post-World War II years. The car industry rode a growing economy to unprecedented success. General Motors sought to harness the popularity of new cars with a traveling showcase called Motorama.

The Motorama was a spectacle. Held in lavish hotel ballrooms and large auditoriums, the shows featured interactive displays, orchestras, and live song and dance performances. It ran from 1949 until 1961 as a showcase of the wildest dreams of GM’s chief stylist, Harley Earl.

Motorama let Earl present new ideas to the public in the form of "Dream Cars," visionary non-production experimental autos that showed off design and technological features that would find their way to production automobiles in the future.

The Petersen Automotive Museum has corralled six Motorama dream cars from the 1953 to ’55 period. Cars on display include the 1955 LaSalle II Roadster, 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne, 1955 LaSalle Sedan, 1953 Buick Wildcat, the 1953 Pontiac Parisienne, and a completely original and unrestored 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special.

 The exhibit is on display through March 2026. Click through the gallery for a closer look.