American Dream Cars of the 1960s

Throughout the 1950s, American automobile manufacturers developed some of the most extravagant concept cars. While many of these efforts were styling exercises and prototypes, a great many were visionary, featuring futuristic (if not dream-like) scenarios including self-driving cars, flying and nuclear-powered cars. With enormous resources behind them, car designers had an open checkbook to visualize the future.

The 1960s ushered in a new era. Our nation was going to the moon, commercial jets were completing transatlantic flights and computers were dawning. Yes we were dreamers, but educated and skilled to make those visions a reality. So much so that outside of corporate offices and government research centers, clever upstarts, independent professional entrepreneurs and rogue engineers launched some of the most sophisticated independent Dream Cars showcasing the future of the automobile. What follows are three examples of 1960s American Dream Cars, each from very different sources; one from a professional industrial designer, another from a professional automotive engineer, and one from a privateer with no professional automotive background.