Congratulations must surely go to General Motors for bringing twenty Motorama cars to be displayed at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The Motorama shows, dating back to the 1950s, offered a peek into the future... or at least the future as envisioned by GM's design head Harley Earl. Like many of us during that period, Earl was fascinated by aircraft design, especially the upcoming jet era. His concept cars often resembled aircraft on wheels, leading to the first Cadillac fender fins (inspired by the P-38 Lockheed Lightning twin-boom fighter). The 1954 Firebird XP-21 was never intended as a serious road car but it excited all of us who believed in the the automobile. Note the General Motors Parade of Progress Futureliner in the background.

[Photo © 2008 Pebble Beach]