Thanks to a very good friend, I had the opportunity recently to tour the
GM Heritage Center. If you aren't familiar with it, the center is basically a museum for rare GM automobiles and related memorabilia. In some cases, the cars at the center are single surviving examples of cars that shaped the industry.
Last year, when it was announced that GM would be selling off some of the cars within its collection I was indifferent. In hindsight, as a step to keep the company alive it was the right move. However, after visiting the center it saddens me to know that a lot of very special cars had to be shed from the collection.
As I walked through the facility and read the plagues that accompanied each car, I was struck with the imagination of designers of the 30s, 40s, 50s, etc, sitting down with paper and pencil drawing the concept cars that were sitting in front of me in the museum. No CAD. No computer. No fancy calculator to even assist.
So a few people have asked me what car was my favorite in the collection. Wow. That is a hard question. I, of course, am partial to the Camaro so the concept car was a special one for me. The Buick concept car from 1938 (thought to perhaps be the first concept car) designed by Harley Earl was also right up there. So below are some pics of my favorites. There were just too many to pick just one. Enjoy.
