In 1956 the convergence of beautiful new highways, the idealization of suburban commuter lifestyle, and aircraft technology inspired General Motors to create the Firebird II. By 1953, European styling dominated North American fashion trends from clothing to hairstyles to car design; Cadillac capitalized on this trend by creating a car that was apple pie on the outside, but sheer Italian on the inside: the Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia.

At the end of the 1950’s, GM’s legendary designer Harley Earl created a concept car that hit the right note, at the right time, striking a design balance between space travel and aircraft that could capture the imagination of any aspiring cosmonaut: the 1959 Cadillac Cyclone XP-74

Ford celebrated its 50th birthday in real design style with the 1953 Ford X-100 prototype, with its tinted sun visors and arrays of switches and levers that felt more like an aeroplane cockpit than a car. Dizzy with the new world of air and space travel, even seeing the 1963 Chrysler Turbine glide down the street was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Only three exist today!

The 1953 GM XP-21 Firebird was the first gas turbine car, inspired by the much-admired and new technology of aircraft. Entirely unsubtle, it was truly a jet plane on wheels, and proved General Motors could reach far outside the box. But not every concept car was meant to leave the research lab. The 1955 Mercury D-528 Beldone was never even given a proper name, and lived a life of being poked and prodded like a laboratory rat.

The 1956 Buick Centurion was designed to show that General Motors could keep pace with the zeitgeist of the times, air travel. This car looks like it could fly! While GM was looking upwards, Chrylser looked across the ocean. Designed with Italian car maker Ghia, the Plymouth Explorer is an example of the best of American and European styling.