Past Exhibition

GM’s Marvelous Motorama

Dream Cars from the Joe Bortz Collection

Location 3rd Floor

Dates Through March 22, 2026

GM’s Marvelous Motorama

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.

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Full museum access to all galleries and exhibitions

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Dream Cars from the Joe Bortz Collection

Legendary GM stylist Harley Earl used the Motoramas to present to the public new ideas 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 near, and sometimes distant, future. A few models, like the Corvette, even went into production. Every Motorama was a spectacle. Held in lavish hotel ballrooms and large auditoriums, the shows featured interactive displays, orchestras, and live song and dance performances.

Once called "General Motors' top salesman," the GM Motorama transformed the automobile industry by changing the way novel concepts were introduced to the public. The six cars presented here are from 1953, 1954, and 1955, the peak years of the Motorama. They represent an era of experimentation and optimism, when the future of the automobile seemed limitless.