Check out the Futurliner #10 - one of twelve built by GM for the Parade of Progress in the 1940s. This one restored by a team of people with fists full of cash. If youve ever seen it in person, you know how gorgeous it is. To read the rest of this post on The Jalopy Journal, click here.
It might take a bit for the video to consistently play... It was just uploaded to youtube minutes ago. Sorry bout that...
Got it to work, that's pretty cool (kinda reminds me of the snow cruizer that was driven off the boat in antartica and it was discovered that the smooth tires didn't work so well on the ice). Does anyboby know how many are left or if any of the original ones still exist?
First time I ever saw a Futureliner, it was love at first sight. Maybe GM can retro some new busses like these, like they did with the HHR / 50Burb combo? (hint hint, nudge nudge) Imagine a fleet of Greyhounds.......... shit, I'd never fly again!
did you miss this last year? http://www.autoblog.com/2006/01/22/gm-futurliner-rewrites-barrett-jackson-record-books-hammers-to/ 4.1 million
Very cool! Fiat, at least one exist, it was up for grabs at a BJ auction recently...went for over 1 milion IIRC (not sure of the exact figure)...but for sure over 1 mil easy.
Ouch! Yep, I tend to miss what goes on at Barrett-Jackson as I shop at more "down market venues" (like junkyards).
yeah i agree with the comments about the build, i was out there and most of the talk was with the changes, instead of a period correct and what goes with that, i myself like a correct function and build with the limits of the engineering at the time an item was originally built after all it is only original once!!
They had this one at the Coopersville, MI car show a couple years back. For a couple bucks donation you could sit in the driver's seat. For such a tall vehicle you would think that it would have a lot of room. My head hit the ceiling. They were selling dvds, posters, magnets and that type of stuff to raise money for the restoration. I bought a video of their restoration which was kind of interesting. It was really nice in person. I want one.
I've seen one in person too...at the design center in Warren, MI. It was magical t watch, we were all in the Production 1 Studio, (studi faces north over looking the lake) and it was morning then all of a sudden this giant red and white chrome thing came around the corner of the Design Dome. The driver I remeber was just pumping that steering wheel to slowly turn those massive white wall tires to make the turn. The Morning sun gleaming off the chrome...magical. That was a few years ago. Wish I had gotten to see it in person when it was new. Thought I'd share-
Wonderful clip, Ryan; thanks for putting it up. I've read stuff about the two remaining Futureliners for the last few years, but I hadn't previously seen anything about the exhibits inside them. I like that two of them were devoted to the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild and the Soapbox Derby; both were wonderful GM-supported programs for kids in the '50s. Too bad those exhibits (and those programs) no longer exist! Yeah, I know, there's still some kind of Soapbox Derby, but it ain't the same.
Ryan, thanks for posting about this interesting vehicle. Dman, I too paid a couple bucks and sat in the driver's seat at AACA museum. It's not very roomy, but is damned cool.
<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">How exciting to see this marvelous video. I have been fascinated by these machines since I first saw some pictures, I didn't dream I would ever see this history lesson. Thank you for another presentation that makes this board the finest ever. In awe!!--Sololobo/Roadburners of Omaha </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Some guys down in Holland restored one so that's probably the one you saw in Coopersville. In fact I think one of the guys lives in Coopersville
There are a couple of unrestored ones quietly rusting away somewhere according to what I've read. Very ambitious projects.
there is one at the auburn, cord, duesenburg museum in auburn in. while i was there they decided to take it to the local cruse-in. cool seeing it drive through town. they where charging a dollar to sit in the drivers seat.........it was worth the dollar.
Just joined up to this madness so I could share some pics of the Futurliner that I took a couple years ago at an antique truck show at the Kruse auction grounds in Auburn. Took a lot of shots of some great old trucks but the Futurliner was the star of the show! Now we'll see if I can figure out how to get the pics to show up... I'm thinkin' these might be the world's biggest whitewalls!
When I attended General Motors Institute in 1962 in Flint, Michigan there was one of those in a junk yard along Dort Highway. If I remember correctly the asking price was $500 or $1000 dollars. the engine had been removed and the interior had been gutted. I remember climbing up into the driver compartment, you were about a story off the ground sitting up there. It disappeared before I left school and have no idea where it went. The talk was that it had been scrapped and I can believe that as it wouldn't have been bought by anyone for restoration at that point in time, but you never know. If I had known then what I know now it sure would have been an interesting project and one hell of a retirement fund booster. Frank