1939 GM Futurliner

Originally manufactured for the 1939 New York World's Fair, the Futurliners were later featured in GM's Parade of Progress and promotional caravan traveling a 150-stop route across the United States and Canada. The Futurliners and 32 support vehicles were driven by 50 college graduates, who also staffed the exhibitions along the route.

Typically arranged at each stop around a large tent and an information kiosk, each Futurliner featured a self-contained stage and a prominent deployable light tower. Each vehicle featured a particular subject. The mobile exhibition covered jet engine technology, agriculture, traffic engineering, stereophonic sound, microwave ovens, television, and other innovations. In 1955 a miniature automobile assembly line display named A Car Is Born was constructed for one Futurliners. A display titled Our American Crossroads was also used in 1955. This display was narrated by Parker Fennelly and featured a detailed animated diorama that transformed to show progress in road and infrastructure improvements from 1902 to 1953.

Interrupted by World War II, the vehicles were refurbished by GM, and the Parade of Progress resumed in 1953. The reborn parade was discontinued in 1956 for the last time, displaced by the increasing popularity of network television—one of the very technologies the Futurliners themselves had once promoted.

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