‘The GM Futurliners were a group of stylized buses designed in the 1940s by Harley Earl for General Motors. They were used in GM’s Parade of Progress, which traveled the United States exhibiting new cars and technology.’
Images show restored Futurliner 10, currently available at auction.
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This capsule was curated by Truna
Any idea what might have travelled in this?
(Clearly not people. Scarily no windows.)
Clicking on the photos takes you into a new dimension of weird…
Not sure WHAT happened there, Michael! Though I like to think it was at least subconsciously deliberate.
Will rectify asap;
Please will someone buy me one of these.
Thanks.
beautiful lines and begging to be remade as camper vans
Much better now, thanks.
I get a shiver thinking that this bus is still driving around with its new atomic motor in the Gernsback Continuum.
A small fleet of these was built for GM’s Parade of Progress, which was sort of a rolling version of their exhibit at the 1939 World’s Fair. They went around the country showing off the latest in technological advances… one of which ended up killing them – television.
Most of them still exist and I do believe one was converted into a camper van.
@JGMango:
One went through the Barrett-Jackson auction a couple years ago here in Phoenix. It went for more than a million.
A few years ago I used to see one of these – or something really close – parked on a street in Los Angeles in the Studio City area
Serveral years ago at the Hagerty Classic Car/Boat Ins. car
show that had one of these rebuilt and at the show. You
got to get in and see what the drive saw. The forward vision
was very poor. I have quite a few photos of it. HR
Notice the driver’s position – perched at the very top of the vehicle accessed by a stairway. You ever wonder why modern buses or RVs aren’t configured like this? Apparently, the drivers couldn’t stand going under low overpasses – they thought they were going to have their heads taken off. I feel the same way driving my wife’s SUV in a parking garage.
The Futurliner pictured was designed and built in the 1950′s. Earlier vehicles, also called Futurliners first began touring in 1941, and were quite different, but still very unusual-looking.
http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/63380819363.jpg
One of these is occasionally parked on the street, (for the last 10-15 years), in Sherman Oaks, CA behind the Guitar Center store. It’s in great condition, painted red, white & blue with stainless steel trim. Being a car collector, I have left several notes, but nobody ever called.