The Second World War left the automotive industry dormant for many years, largely due to its focus on the production of war material. After the war a new era began, a time of great optimism. People no longer lived from day to day, but at last looked forward to the future again. This attitude affected all aspects of life. In 1949  GM held the first of 8 GM Motorama shows. These shows drove the car enthusiast completely crazy. The shows showed futuristic cars like never before seen, and even now  be futuristic.

The GM Motorama shows were set up to not only  the products of Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac,  Chevrolet and GMC as well as parts and products from divisions other than the automotive divisions. Most importantly, the Dream Cars. It was a way for Earl to show new things that could be in normal cars in the near future. He knew that the buyers did not want too much change in too short a term, with the Dream Cars it was possible to show this so that many of the new things were considered desirable when they bought a new car a few years later. GM's traveling car circus focused on its products with interactive exhibits, orchestras and dance groups set amid elaborate sets. It was an unprecedented spectacle.  

The roots of the Motorama shows go back to 1928 when GM hosted a show at the Astor Hotel in New York. This was repeated in 1929. From 1930, business lunches were organized at the Waldorf Astoria. Those invited could view the cars here  between Persian carpets and painted landscapes. These shows continued until World War II. In 1939 and 1940, GM had displays at the New York World's Fair under the name Futurama. These shows gave GM experience with beautiful decors and displays to market their products.  

In 1933 Earl designs his Cadillac Aero Dynamic Coupe recognized by many as the first concept cars. The car was exhibited at the World Exhibition of 1933. The car later goes into limited production.

After this comes the first real concept car, the Buick Y-Job, designed for Buick's boss, Curtice. He orders Earl to design a car that he would buy himself. Earl makes a long, low, wide car with small wheels and a prototype of the Dynaflow transmission.  

In 1946, as the Y-Job got older, GM's chief engineer, Charles Chayne, Buick's senior management, Harlow Curtis, and Earl got together to discuss its successor. They agreed that the Y-Job still seemed to be fresh after almost 10 years, its successor had to after  still be 15 years old. In the end they also agreed that their wishes could not be summed up in one car. It was decided to design 2 cars. The XP-8 (LeSabre) and XP-9 (XP-300). On May 19, 1947, both projects were approved.  The XP-8 was partially designed by Chevrolet and later featured Buick lettering on the front. Ultimately it becomes a GM car, not specifically designed for a division. The XP-9 is designed as Buick by Ned Nickels (started at GM in '41). Charles Chayne, however, was in charge. The LeSabre was designed by the newly formed Special Automobile Design studio headed by Ed Glowacke.  Ed raced cars and boats, and flew. Ed's design was influenced by this, as was Earl's by Lockheed's P38. One of the most striking pieces of design was an Earl invention, the tinted (!) Panoramic windshield. Earl wanted a panoramic windshield in 1918, but they couldn't bend the glass yet. After extensive research in the 46s - 50s, Earl finally got his panoramic windshield.  

In 1950 and 1951 the cars were already  shown, the LeSabre in Life magazine and the XP-300  at the Chicago Auto Show. Then the LeSabre went to the Paris Salon and in 1953 both cars went along with  the Motorama tour. In the end, Earl saw the LeSabre as Y-Job 2 and drove it 45,000 miles. The XP-300 also had 10,400 miles on it. The era of the dream cars had begun.

The term Motorama was previously used for a customs and sports car show when GM's version began. GM even participated in the Los Angeles Motorama in 1952 where the XP-300 was also shown. GM used the name Motorama as early as 1947 for the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry exhibition. GM also used the name Wonderama in Dayton and Powerama in Chicago in the mid-1950s. The first major GM show was 'Transportation Unlimited' in 1949 in New York. At the Waldorf, GM introduced a two-door Buick Riviera, two-door hardtop prototypes of the Bel Air, Catalina and Coupe de Ville. In addition, three new Cadillacs, the El Rancho, Caribbean and Embassy. 

Various concepts were shown for the 1950 'Mid-Century Motorama'. Including the Cadillac Debutante, Oldsmobile Golden Jubilee and Westward Ho, Pontiac Magnificent and Fleur de Lis and the Chevrolet Royal Canadian. The last 5 also went to Canada.

In 1951 and 1952, GM did not participate in major shows because of their dedication to the Korean War. However, they did have models to display. Of course the XP-300 and LeSabre, but also the 1952 Buick Skylark and Cadillac Eldorado and Townsman. These cars were shown at various shows.

After a drop in sales, GM decided to host a major nationwide show. This became the 1953 GM Motorama. The tour started in the Waldorf Astoria, New York, then Miami, LA, San Francisco, Dallas and  Kansas City. The last two were no longer in the tour schedule for the next one  years. Boston would be added. The 1953 tour drew 1.5 million people. No expense was spared, and the entire spectacle cost $5 million, not including the cost of Dream Cars like the Wildcat and LeMans. There was no entrance fee, which would have helped cover the cost of transporting 125 trucks alone. Rental of the locations, shows, sets, maintenance of the cars, costs for accommodation of the 1,000-strong crew and $100,000 for openwork  cars and motorcycles. The Miami location was three times the size of New York. As a result, an extra team of 725 men was needed. Only the Shows (Motor-Rhythms and Fashion Firsts)  already needed an extra 60 men. GM could afford it with 143  factories spread over 18 countries. Company  had a market share of 49.9% in 1954. The government even considered dividing the company.

GM got something extra out of its concepts by showing them at other shows such as the Chicago Auto Show as well as at dealers.  

The broadway-style shows were GM's best 'seller'. The disadvantage was that the competition could see where GM's styling would go. GM indicated that given the  large number of visitors 1953 would be a good year for GM. The Motorama shows would continue to push sales in the years that followed. Half way through the first show at the Waldorf there was already $600,000 worth of it  orders noted. In total, 2.5 million people attended the shows in 1956.  Again in the Waldorf, orders were already listed for $1.3 million. Despite its success, 1956 was the last show of this format. The only Dream Car for the 1959 and 1961 shows was the Firebird III along with the Cadillac Cyclone. In 1957 there was still the Cadillac Director show car. A total of 10.5 million people had attended the shows from 1949 to 1961. Due to high costs and the advent of TV, GM stopped the shows. From 1955 to 1961, GM Canada still hosted shows in Toronto and Montreal. The success did not pass by the people at FoMoCo. It was proposed to make some show cars and show them at similar shows. In 1957 the Stylerama shows would start. Some clay models were made but unfortunately the shows were cancelled. The high costs of the Edsel debacle and the costs for the shows made Ford decide not to start the shows. Also, some of the show cars were found to be too futuristic. The Nucleon, for example, was a nuclear-powered vehicle.

GM .'s Futurliner and Streamliner buses  are often associated with these Motorama shows but belonged to a different program, the Parade of Progress which toured the country annually from 1936 to 1941 and again from 1953. Click  HERE  for the history of this piece of history.