It's Rishi

In the 1930’s-50’s, GM sponsored the Parade of Progress, which was an exhibition that travelled across the country. As described in a 1953 parade booklet, the purpose of the Parade of Progress was “to show how science and industry combine to contribute to the high American standard of living” and “inspire young people everywhere to work toward an even better America for through them will come the perfection of methods, processes and discoveries still to be made”. Each year that the exhibition toured, millions of Americans, from the big cities to the smallest towns, attended. It gave people much needed hope and joy during the depression-ridden 1930’s and celebrated the prominence and world-leadership of America in the years following WWII.

One of the greatest symbols of the Parade of Progress was the GM Futurliner. The Futurliner was essentially a humongous bus of which several were built to serve as exhibit-on-wheels. Just the sight of these mammoth vehicles brought excitement whenever they arrived in a new town. 12 were built in total but only 3 remain today. 1 of these 3 was sold today for $4 million (+ 8% buyer’s commission) at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale, AZ. To read more about the remarkable story of the GM Futurliner and the auction, click here. The Futurliner, and the Parade of Progress it was built for, is a truly great expression of American optimism and industry. I would love to see a Futurliner in person one day and also would enjoy talking to someone who attended a Parade of Progress several decades ago.