Photos: GM's Motorama cars at Pebble Beach 2008

[BigPontiac]

Link to Article

Link to Photo Gallery

Edited August 18, 2008 by BigPontiac

[wildcat]

Thank you for sharing those beautiful images, a part of GM's history! Were those Firebirds Pontiacs or generic GMs? I don't remember ever seeing that '59 Cadillac Cyclone concept. How about the name "Buick Centurion"; if some think "Century" is tarnished, how about "Centurion"? Why were a couple of the cars, including the '55 Chevrolet Biscayne, seemingly unrestored? (Are they new additions to the Motorama collection, or did money run out there, too?) A Cadillac, rather than Pontiac, LeMans? (So there might have been a precedent for calling the Pontiac G8 ST an "El Camino"?) And what's with the popped hood on the Buick Y-Job? Are they trying to match it to the popped hood on the recent silver LaCrosse spy photo?

[Camino LS6]

Good stuff!

I've actually seen a few of these in person.

[balthazar]

>>"Were those Firebirds Pontiacs or generic GMs?"<<

Firebirds pictured at the link were not Pontiacs... as is the case for the '51 LeSabre- likewise not a Buick.

>>"Why were a couple of the cars, including the '55 Chevrolet Biscayne, seemingly unrestored? (Are they new additions to the Motorama collection, or did money run out there, too?)"<<

Biscayne & LaSalle II are privately owned (as are a number of others pictured, FuturLiner, Wildcat I)- Biscayne work only recently began- car was found in late '80s in... IIRC... 8 major pieces. I had expected it would be done by now, but these things (complete restorations) take mucho time & money. Looks fantastic compared to 1989.

>>"A Cadillac, rather than Pontiac, LeMans? (So there might have been a precedent for calling the Pontiac G8 ST an "El Camino"?)"<<

I would not call that a precedent, no. Cadillac LeMans was not production (4 built), Chevy El Camino had decades as a production Chevy.

Edited August 18, 2008 by balthazar

[Camino LS6]

>>"A Cadillac, rather than Pontiac, LeMans? (So there might have been a precedent for calling the Pontiac G8 ST an "El Camino"?)"<<

I would not call that a precedent, no. Cadillac LeMans was not production (4 built), Chevy El Camino had decades as a production Chevy.

Yes, the El Camino celebrates its 50th anniversary next year.

However, there was a showcar called El Camino before production began...

... and it was a Cadillac !

[Sixty8panther]

Great post.

Funny how crazy, wild & over-the-top these

cars were compared to today's concepts

and yet they STILL managed to incorporate

MORE of their fanciful, space age details

into production than today's gell-tabs.

I hate the mandated restraint that is

considered such a MUST today... thanks to

retards like Nader and Gore.

A few observations:

|The '53 Cadillac LeMans musta have looked

very ahead of its time, what with the quad

headlights & sharp-as-a-bucher knife tailfins

adorning the rear. It looks about 8.5 feet

wide in that photo!

As far as the Pontiac Parisienne (53?) this

is an example of a car that is very much an

enigma... what a strange combination of

style, detailing & oddball styling. But GM

pulled it off, the car almost as if it COULD

have been a production car from '54.

I thuoght that the Olds F88 always looked so

very frumpy and awkward, something about

it was very 'off' in the photos from its recent

auction where it brought in record million$.

In this photo it is downright handsome, sleek

and I'm seeing for the first time that the

headlightshave wacky glass "bubbles" while

the car does have quite a bit of details that

do differentiate it from the Corvette.

The '51 Buick Skylark-ish XP300 has a neat

touch I never noticed until today:

B-58 style fender-mounted (V) emblems

just above the headlights. Sharp.

aaaand

last but not least, here's the '51/'52 LaSalle

demostrating why hardtops are |WAY more

slick and shapr looking than ragtops....

when the "rag" is UP, style is WAY DOWN!

That ugly, bumpy,awkward roof ruins what

is otherwise a gorgeous car.

[CMG]

I absolutely LOVE the old concept stuff. Any concept car from the early 50's to the late 60's was fascinating to me.

Great stuff, thanks for the link!!!!!

[balthazar]

Right, Camino- 'cept the '54 Cadillac El Camino wasn't a pick-up (in case others didn't know that).

Original '53 LeMans had dual headlights and a much more domed hood- this #4 LeMans was restyled with quads and a pancaked hood & 'Eldo' fins by GM Styling in '59.

'53 Parisienne was a bit of a throwback in that it was a Town Car (uncovered driver's compartment); GM also built a '56 Eldorado Brougham Town Car.

Agreed 68; having to put the top up on a convert is a 'dealbreaker' for me. Which is why you like never see the '51 LeSabre or the Y-Job with the tops up.