Now this bus might draw some riders.... pretty cool design...

 

1950 GM bus sells for $4 million

Futuristic concept vehicle fetches record price at Arizona collectible car auction.

January 22, 2006: 12:41 PM EST

 

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - A futuristic General Motors bus from 1950 sold for $4 million at a collectible car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., Saturday.

 

For more info, click the link

 

http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/22/Autos/funonwheels/gm_futurliner/index.htm?cnn=yes

looks train-like on wheels

The National Auto and Truck Museum of the U.S. (www.natmus.com) at Auburn, Indiana, owns one of these. It was acquired derelict and has been undergoing restoration near Zeeland, Michigan for the past few years. It is nearly complete.

 

There are many detailed photos of the restoration process at http://www.futurliner.com/

That's wild, but I bet it would be horrible to ride in, or to drive.  It has almost no window space. 

That's wild, but I bet it would be horrible to ride in, or to drive.  It has almost no window space. 

 

<babble><ramble>

Futurliners weren't built to transport passengers. They were built as part of GM's Parade of Progress that ran until 1954, and were traveling presentation platforms. The sides hinged upward to reveal a performance stage on one side and technology displays on the other. Light bars raised up from the top to illuminate the area, and the PA system was powerful for its time. At least in some cases the driver and the person who ran the display and made the stage presentations were one and the same. They often traveled as part of a convoy of GM cars and other display items.

 

The statement in the article that only three survive is apparently off the mark. NATMUS has located nine, with two of those beyond restoration and being cannibalized for parts.

 

The Futurliners were powered by GMC overhead-valve inline six cylinder gasoline engines with 302 cubic inch (about 5 L) displacement that also drove a 220-volt AC generator for the lights and sound system on display. It was a rugged, reliable engine and a powerful performer for its time. The 302 six powered much of GM's heavy truck line as well as military 6x6 trucks. It was also a bolt-in replacement for the 216 Chevy in-line six used in all the passenger cars from 1937 - 1953, and swapping around with GMC factory parts, putting a hot grind on the cam and borrowing a dual-carb side-draft manifold from the 1954 six-cylinder Corvette could yield a street racer that would blow the doors off the Corvettes of the late fifties.

 

I bought one of those engines out of a wrecked 6x6 in 1959 and was rebuilding it for installation in my 1938 Chevy 2-door, in the guise of a simple overhaul, when somebody ratted me out to my dad. He terminated the project and made me sell the engine.

</ramble></babble>