If there’s a city meant to have a large temple devoted to automotive history, that is car-crazy Los Angeles. And that obligatory shrine is none other than the Petersen Automotive Museum. A large modern structure in the heart of LA, with much to see in its 25 galleries of automotive nostalgia.
So let’s take a tour around this auto temple, courtesy of shots from my 2016 visit. For today, we’ll concentrate on Detroit concept cars of the ’50s that were on exhibit, and I’ll add a few automotive icons for a bit of variety. And since we’re talking LA, let’s see if I can stay away from the obvious ‘Cars in Movies’ motif.
We’ll start with a bit of background. The museum was the initiative of Robert E. Petersen, the man behind publications such as Motor Trend and Hot Rod Magazine. As we know, he did rather well with those, thanks to a penny here and there from the likes of you and me. With enough cash in his pocket, he did what most of us would do in his place; get a nice car collection. An early version of the museum opened in 1962 and eventually moved to its current location in ’94.
After a major redesign by Kohn Pedersen Fox architects, the Petersen reopened in 2015. I visited the museum a few times during the ’90s but was unaware of its new appearance upon arrival. Honestly, I’m not awfully fond of the new melted-metal-ribbon facade, but modern architecture works better in interiors than exteriors. Which is where all the goodies I cared for were.
The Petersen’s collection is large enough that exhibits are often renewed. About 100 vehicles are usually on display, with a similar number stored away in the museum’s vault. Back in the ’90s, I had seen a neat Cord exhibit that was nowhere to be found during my 2016 visit. Pity, unless I get a personal pass to the vault, I’ve no idea if I’ll ever see those Cords again.
Oh, wait. I just saw online that one can pay for access to the vault collection. And now I find out?
But the point is, if you haven’t been to LA in a while, make sure to pay a visit. Chances are there’ll be something you haven’t seen before. Now that we’re up to speed, let’s go and take a look around.
This 1953 Cadillac Ghia Coupe was the first to greet me near the entrance; announcing the concept cars of the ’50s that I would soon see.
Ghia was already working with Chrysler by the time they put this Caddy Coupe together. One can assume the idea was to woo Cadillac for some commissions when they displayed it at the Paris Auto Show of 1953. That obviously didn’t happen; Earl and company had all the talent they needed and could do without outsiders. Also, as Chuck Jordan noted, GM’s stylists visited those shows often and at best, just ‘borrowed’ whatever ideas they found interesting.
Regrettably, the Cadillac Ghia Coupe was too close to the museum’s store, and there was just too much human traffic to get a clean shot. If you wish to see it in profile, it appears in a previous CC post.
Once inside the museum, there were three ’50s concept cars on display, one each from the Big Three. First of all, this 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne.
The whole Motorama fad seems funny and quaint from today’s perspective, but it’s nonetheless a fascinating period. After all, it was part of a larger narrative of the time; to dream of the future, and to put those dreams into material form. Life had changed so much in a few decades with the dawn of the industrial age, that daydreaming was fashionable; even encouraged.
The question is, what kind of dreams GM’s stylists had when thinking of this Chevy show car?
When it comes to show cars, Harley Earl got the ball rolling with the Y Job in 1938. After the limitations of WWII were over, GM got busy daydreaming about the future; in public. Thus the Motorama shows were born.
One has to go back to a ‘kid-like mentality’ to get the idea behind these. They’re, after all, a reflection of people unrestrained to try new ideas. GM’s show cars went from styling exercises to technological showcases; with some eye-grabbing and gimmicky qualities.
And while the sum of the parts may be questionable, the careful detailing of each piece is always nice to look at.
The Biscayne was mostly the work of a young Chuck Jordan. It has some curiously fuzzy detailing upfront, with overall nice sporty proportions and a clean rear view. If it all seems too much, in its defense, out-there ideas were being encouraged in Detroit’s studios during the mid-50s.
As told previously at CC, the Biscayne went through some gruesome times after its show run was over. It emerged as it is seen today after considerable ordeal.
The 1954 Plymouth Explorer served a very different function than GM’s show cars. It was part of a series of concepts meant to prove that Chrysler’s styling could shake off its stodgy image, which was costing the company dearly in the early 50s.
The concepts were also a trial of sorts for new company hire Virgil Exner, the stylist with the mission to add some pizzazz to Chrysler’s products. To assist Virgil in this task, Chrysler entered into a deal with Carrozzeria Ghia of Italy to build the concept cars.
A whole series of vehicles were built by the Turin-based firm, with the Plymouth Explorer considered a Ghia-designed car today. One could argue that there are some later-Exner tendencies in the vehicle; the central radiator shape predates the Valiant, and an ample use of surface detailing is prevalent. Cues that would appear in Exner’s future work.
Who created what on Chryler’s Ghia concepts has been a matter of endless debate, since ideas were habitually exchanged between Detroit and Turin. That said, the Explorer’s final shape and sense of style do say more Ghia than anything else.
If you wonder what exciting mechanicals are underneath the Explorer, wonder no more. Chassis and hardware are standard Plymouth fare of the period, down to its 230 in. 6 cyl. Unlike some of GM’s Motorama wonders, Chrysler’s dreams could run for real.
Let’s go now to a no-dream car. Unlike the others, this Mercury D-528 from 1955 was a styling exercise that never reached car shows.
The D-528 shows a curious amalgam of stylistic influences and was a testbed for production materials and technologies. Its body was made from fiberglass, and plexiglass was used for the windshield.
The odd round rear fenders have packaging reasons; the driver’s side carries the spare, and the passenger’s the gas tank. An air conditioning unit resides where the gas tank would normally sit.
Overall, the D-528 doesn’t have the Jetson-like qualities that Ford favored in their show cars from the period. I don’t dislike it, but I can see why this baby remained behind closed doors.
That’s for Detroit’s Dream Cars. Let’s move now to someone’s dreams, the 1947-48 Davis. Another pie-in-the-sky idea, the likes of which were rather common in the early postwar years.
The three-wheel wonder was the brainchild of Gordon ‘Gary’ Davis, one of many yahoos who had the talent to get investors behind some half-baked ‘revolutionary’ car proposal.
Getting investors was often the easy part. Delivering results was the problem. After a promotional blitz and much chest puffing, the Davis made a quick flash in the pan before fading into obscurity.
We finally reached my personal favorite of the visit, the Cisitalia 202. A car so taut and modern, it looks decades newer than its 1946 construction would suggest. A Pininfarina effort, very influential in post-WWII automotive styling.
It’s a car that’s best savored in person, where one can appreciate how the simplicity of its lines is perfectly accented by careful and subtle sculpting.
The 202 was one of eight vehicles chosen for the New York Museum Of Modern Art “Eight Cars” exhibit of 1951. CC already gave the Cisitalia its praises, so you might as well look into that post.
Let’s take a look at our next automotive icon, a Jaguar XKSS, the road version of the famous D-Type. Being LA, it’s only natural that this car once belonged to Steve McQueen. Uh, oh, I’m getting awfully close to movie territory here…
The XKSS comes from a time in Jaguar’s history when the company seemed to do no wrong. Besides its racing success, the carmaker was climbing steadily on its way to worldwide fame. Plus, not many companies were as adept at creating cars that mirrored the brand’s name. How could this feline shape be called anything but Jaguar?
I’ll leave you all with one last icon. Brass-era cars don’t appear often at CC (how many can you find by the curbside?), and there were a few more at the Petersen, but I think a Tin Lizzy is the appropriate icon to close this post with.
Note: There was a ‘Car in Movies’ vehicle in this post after all. The D-528 appeared in Jerry Lewis’ ‘The Patsy’ film and various TV shows.
Further reading:
Concept Classic: 1953 Cadillac Ghia Coupe – The Rita Hayworth Of Cars
Museum Classic: 1946 Cisitalia 202 GT – The First Modern Fastback
Curbside Couch Potato: 1947 Davis Divan
Cohort Outtake: Jaguar D-Type – On The Go, But Not On The Mulsanne Straight
There’s a lot of what became Corvair in the back of that Biscayne.
Great post; I love fifties dream cars, both for their far-out designs and the attitude they reflected – both the Depression and the War were in the rearview and the future seemed limitless in its possibilities. And, as a bonus, so many of them were that gorgeous shade of light green; which always reminds me of Carribbean seas.
Thanks for the tour! I believe the address is Wilshire BOULEVARD. Nice to see DREAM cars from that era. Have seen photos of GMs Motorama,but nice to see the these photos. Harley Earle was riding high at that point. Exner was about ready to send Chrysler into space with his fabulous finned fantasies that actually saw production. Looking back on the era and FORWARD LOOK, it was the best of times for the auto industry AND the American people. Last car show I attended was 91 Chicago. Only interest was Fleetwood Brougham and Lincoln Town Car (with very basic interior and no chrome bumpers. The emphasis was already on trucks, SUVS and crossovers. Now my forays are to Vintage shows. Wonder if today’s major shows will feature Dream SUVS 🤔? That would be my NIGHTMARE. But thanks for this nostalgic trip! Those WERE the days.
I really want to go someday, Los Angeles is yet another city where I’ve only been through the airport on my way somewhere else.
Never seen a Cisitalia in person, but they seem tiny in photos so they must be even more so in real life.
I’d want to take the vault tour, and see the Bosley coupe and Niekamp roadster.
I was surprised the museum itself hasn’t received its own CC until now! The surrounding neighborhood has been going through renewal with the remodeling/expansion of neighboring LACMA and (long overdue) extension of the subway to the beach… the Petersen’s facelift was one of the earliest of these projects.
Coincidentally, the building itself opened in 1962, as a US branch of Japan’s Seibu department stores but closed after only three years… I suspect if they tried again they might be more than a little successful but the imports and public perception of Japanese quality were yet to mature.
The museum also is also infamous for being the location outside of which is where Christopher Wallace, the Notorious B.I.G, was murdered in a drive by shooting following an awards ceremony being held there.
Although the bug eyes of the Biscayne are questionable, there’s quite a bit to like in it otherwise. The rear end predicted a whole raft of future Chevy rear ends: the ’60 Corvair, the ’61 Corvette, and the ’61-’62 Chevrolet.
As to the Plymouth Explorer and the relationship of Exner to Ghia, I’m quite convinced that Ghia’s designs influenced Exner a whole lot more than the other way around. There’s just nothing in his pre-Ghia period that suggests otherwise. The Italians, starting with Pininfarina (and the superb Cisitalia) were creating a new design language in the immediate post war era that was just vastly more compelling and advanced than anything coming out of the US. It’s just natural that Exner would see this as the way forward.
There has been endless controversy over just how much credit to assign to Exner versus Luis Segre for the series of cars that came from their collaboration. Undoubtedly Exner was increasingly taking the lead, but only once he had mastered the Italian design language.
Was the Mercury D58 the first to have the reverse slant rear window?
The Cisitalia 202 is an object of veneration. And of course massive imitation. I still see its influence, as in the Mustang Mach E, among others.
There were American copies made of the Cisitalia. I believe the molds were pulled from Petersen’s car, the example he owned at the time. The fiberglass copies were also produced in some elongated wheelbase versions and others with slightly different proportions. The modifications (in my opinion) lost the tautness and perfection of the original. The point being that the Cisitalia’s fine lines and overall design result were not an accident, but instead they were likely carefully worked and reworked to get them “just right”.
I know. They were popular during the great fiberglass home-built sports car era. I’ve read and seen pictures of several of them. It was a bit too small for most of the chassis and engines used under it, hence the modifications.
I trailered one of my cars up there, a few years back, for a car-related event in the attached elevated parking garage behind the museum. The museum complex itself is spectacular. But it is nestled in an an area full of tent cities along the sidewalks. These days, I would likely Uber or taxi to the museum, and not risk driving through the surrounding area. The parking itself, in the elevated garage, would not be a problem.
The entire experience for me was bittersweet, evoking a Dickensian stepping over the street urchins to to go see the beautiful works of civilization (I know that’s not exactly the case here, but it has some similarities). The situation is no fault of the Petersen, but it does stink to high heaven, that things are as they are.
The Ghia cars like the Cadillac and the Plymouth Explorer share a common look. Exener’s other Ghia concept cars probably got more input from him, as they have the more massive chrome grilles, seen later on the Chrysler 300s as well as the fender top mounted, free standing tail lamps and the infamous deck lid circular simulated spare tire. To be fair, many sports cars of the period carried the actual spare in/on the rear deck, as it was much better for weight distribution. The Continental spare is terrible for that, but it allows for a usable trunk.
The Cistalia is best seen in person, it is very small, but so well proportioned. A true work of art. It really displays the virtues of simplicity and clean design. It obviously led the way to the integrated body designs that eventually became the norm in the late Forties and 1950’s.
Harley Earl’s “Y” job is a beautiful design, that for years was never shown from the rear view. When I saw 360 degree pictures of it I learned that it sported a boat tail! Nice of Bill Mitchell to put part of his predecessor’s dream into production with the Riviera. Earl’s follow up “Lesabre” was totally jet aircraft inspired, but the gullwing Dagmars and forward canted fins were later seen on production Cadillacs.
I heartily recommend a trip to the Petersen Museum, I’ve been there many times. Allow for a whole morning or afternoon for unhurried viewing, as well as with the Academy Award Museum right across the street. Trying to squeeze these two attractions into a couple of hours will be frustrating. The Vault tour also has a revolving display, I’m sure there are even more treasures secreted deeper in the building.
We were there in October, 2019, and the entire top floor of the Petersen Museum was dedicated to the late, great, Jessi Combs, who was killed in a motorcycle crash a little over a month beforehand, on 27 August, 2019, during a World Land Speed Record attempt at the Alford Desert, Oregon. It’s people like that who make you realize how little you’ve accomplished. She did more in thirty-nine years of living than I’ll ever do! Gone far too soon. R.I.P., Jessi!
It’s been years since I visited The Peterson, maybe it’s time to go again .
-Nate
That car doesn’t add up; those headlamps didn’t exist in 1953. The 5.75″ quad round sealed beam setup was not yet in development in 1953, let alone finalised/standardised or commercialised, and even the 7″ single round headlamps didn’t get aim pads—the three pips at the lens perimeter—until 1956 (the sealed beams on this car are 1971-up items, quite different to the quad round lamps that first came out in ’57).
With Ghia’s involvement, headlamps other than American standard-sized units could certainly have been the original equipment, but they would not have been built to the quad round sealed beam dimensions (which didn’t yet exist) and so the sealed beams presently on the car wouldn’t fit.
So I guess this car got a facelift of some kind a few years after it was first shown, or if it was built with quad lamps, sometime along the line its headlamp fixtures got changed to accommodate American sealed beams.
First off, if you look closely at these headlights, it’s quite obvious that the outer ones are larger than the inner ones.
But: there’s more than one of these cars that were built, and one of them does have four same-size headlights (image below, if it attaches).
There’s some mystery about these cars, including the odd fact that there are no existing vintage photos of them when they were new. Given the small but not insignificant disparities between the existing cars, it seems fairly safe to speculate that the headlights were updated in more recent decades. And that quite likely, the original had the classic 7″ headlights with smaller driving lights to the inside. Or?
Let’s try this smaller image:
Here’s a better shot of the headlights of the same car as in this article. The difference in size is more obvious. But that’s not to say they are the originals either.
If the car in this post has two sizes of headlamp on each side, then half of my hey-wait-a-minute applies only to the inboard headlamps, still leaving plenty of room for a raised eyebrow-and-a-half. And I can’t help throwing a bit of shade at whoever put generic later-production sealed beams in this car. It’s just not that hard, even today, to find era-correct ones.
Ask Leslie Kendall