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GM Motorama Show Cars Part Of New Petersen Museum Exhibit

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is gearing up to launch a new exhibit featuring several vehicles from the GM Motorama shows of the ‘50s. Titled “GM’s Marvelous Motorama: Dream Cars From the Joe Bortz Collection,” the new exhibit will open March 16th, 2024, and will showcase six concept cars from the 1953, 1954, and 1955 GM Motorama shows, brought together under one roof for the very first time. The vehicles highlight the experimental design and technology of the era, as envisioned by legendary General Motors stylist Harley Earl.

The 1955 LaSalle II Roadster from the GM Motorama show.

1955 LaSalle II Roadster

Among the models on display will be three vehicles rescued from Warhoops Auto and Truck Parts in Sterling Heights, Michigan, which were sent to the junkyard after wooing crowds on the auto show circuit. After learning about the vehicles in the mid-‘80s, Joe Bortz purchased them and added them to his collection, including the 1955 LaSalle II Roadster and 1955 Chevy Biscayne, both of which have been restored after they were cut in half in anticipation of being crushed. Further highlights include the “junkyard fresh” 1955 LaSalle Sedan, the 1953 Pontiac Parisienne, the 1953 Buick Wildcat, and the original, unrestored 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special.

The GM Motorama auto shows were held between 1949 and 1961 as a means of sparking public interest in GM brands and the future of automotive design, with concept cars, technology, and design exhibitions drawing throngs of fans.

“These cars are the Picassos and Rembrandts of this automotive generation,” said collector Bortz. “To see six of them together, all from the ‘50s, and all the real deal is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The new “GM’s Marvelous Motorama” exhibit will be on display at the Petersen Museum through March, 2026. Located at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, the museum is supported by The Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity. Museum tickets are $21 for general admission adults, $19 for seniors, and $13 for kids.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. 1953 needed some hype.
    1950 through 1952 were some pretty bland styling years….

    Reply
    1. The blandness of any car built in the 50’s is complete style compared to vehicles of today. If you look at all of them from the side without any badging of any kind and just plain steel wheels. You would a pretty damn hard time identifying what actual model any of them were. You can’t say that about cars built back in the 50’s, because they were designed by people who wanted to be seen in the vehicle they were designing!

      Reply
      1. @Creig. The difference is back than they were designed by humans, today they are designed by computers and the wind tunnel. Today’s cars have no soul.

        Reply
  2. You can see the passion put into these designs vs most of the egg shaped blobs we get today.

    Reply
    1. the result of computers and wind tunnels dictating design.

      Reply
  3. Beautiful collection of one of a kinds. I would love to see them but you can’t pay me to go to CA and definitely not LA!

    Reply
    1. Oh, come on out to L.A. and visit with us!
      I’m a car guy that has lived here for 42 years. It certainly is not ideal for us car guys, but it’s really not much worse than any big city in the U.S.

      Reply
      1. Calif. is the pits. Ran into the ground by a certain political party.

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      2. Been living in my free red Midwest state for 64 years and not leaving except going south to visit.

        Reply
  4. That Bonneville Special front end looks a bit like my 2007 Pontiac Solstice.

    Reply
  5. I got to see most of Joe’s collection at the Crawford Museum in Cleveland a while back. Most of the cars were there. It is a true experience as these cars were to be no more. We only had photos for decades and Joe saved these so we can see them today.

    I would love to see them displayed in a reproduction of the ballroom from NYC.

    Cars at this time were designed for passion. Today they are to meet fuel and crash standards.

    Reply
  6. It was a horrible shame, that GM at the time, sent these works of art, to be crushed. They just didn’t want the public to se or have them. Thanks to the work of deicated people, we get to see at least, a few of these Gems. Great job!

    Reply
    1. I believe that GM crushed these cars for the same reason that they destroyed the EV1s built in the late ‘90s – taxes. The cars had to be crushed to be labeled developmental concepts, and thus comply with Federal tax regulations as a full write-off. Blame the U.S. tax system, not GM!

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    2. It’s all simply about taxes and always has been.

      Reply
  7. FYI- If you trek to LA to the Peterson Automotive Museum, be sure to visit the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum (aka the “Oscars’ Museum”) right next door. Where you can get a souvenir video of you accepting a real Oscar statue. Makes for a great “2-for” museum day.

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    1. Across the street actually, as is the LA County art museum. And the Tar Pits!

      Reply
  8. I remember going to the Motorama in 1953, when I was 10 years old. That show sparked my interest in cars and now the proud owner of a Corvette.

    Reply
    1. When GM started to really pick up design and marketing. Big crowd in the picture!

      Reply
  9. I loved concept cars. Always hoped they would be production. Was just at the Petersen and toured the vault. Did not see these. Recently went to the Nethercutt in Sylmar also. The Grand Salon is fabulous. There is a Lions Dragstrip museum now in Del Amo also.

    Reply
  10. Excellent Museum, went there around 2003 or 4 I think, got to see in person cars that were in hot rod magazines. Went for Drag Races but rained out so we went to Many places, 6 or 7 hundred miles on rental car driving around LA. They were going to Expand the Museum after we were there. Good Times!

    Reply
  11. Just think if they had the tires we have now. How wild would these cars look, with 10″ wide fat bob tires, and some real fine custom rims. Just not 24″ wheels with no side wall tires. Glad to see some of these great cars made it out “The Back Door”. How many more are hiding in warehouses? We all need to keep an eye out. There HAS to be more somewhere.

    Reply

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