| Some
of the most ingenious automotive designs of all time were conceived
between 1935 and 1955. Imagining a future in which technology would
provide a solution to every problem, mid-century designers conveyed
their concepts of advanced automobiles though paintings, drawings,
scale models and full-size prototypes. Fortunately, many of these
important objects survive and will be displayed in the newest Petersen
Automotive Museum exhibition: Driving Through Futures Past.
From renderings of gyroscopic rocket cars and atomic-powered flying
vehicles to full-size automobiles such as the ultra-streamlined
1936 Stout Scarab and 1954 Pontiac Bonneville dream car, these
concepts embody technologies that remind us not only of how far
we have come, but also how far we have yet to go. |
1948
TUCKER
The
Tucker incorporated features that were considered advanced during
the immediate postwar period such as seat belts, a central headlight
that turned with the front wheels, and a rear-mounted flat-six
engine. Tucker produced a prototype in 1947 and 50 pilot production
cars one year later in his Chicago, Illinois factory, but his
inability to supply dealers with vehicles as scheduled contributed
to his indictment on 31 counts of fraud. Although Tucker
was acquitted, a lack of public confidence prevented him
from resuming production. Francis Coppola told the story
of Preston Tucker’s
struggle to bring an all-new car to market in the film Tucker:
The Man and His Dream (1988), one of the few major motion
pictures made to deal with automotive history.
Collection
of the Petersen Automotive Museum
|
