Justin Bieber's next car is featured in the lobby of GM's Heritage Center.
There’s an old adage that says, “When in the Motor City, do
as the gear-heads do.” Perhaps I’m paraphrasing, but when the Free
Enterprise Tour rolled into Detroit, we found the ultimate car show at
tour sponsor General Motor’s Heritage Center.
Made up of approximately 600 vehicles, GM’s North American Heritage Collection showcases over a century of concept cars, race cars, and milestone production cars. We were treated to a private tour and found 10 rides that would make for a killer Sunday drive.
10 Cars for a Killer Sunday Drive
Cadillac was started in 1902 by Henry Leland and was named after the French explorer who discovered Detroit—Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac (names just aren’t long enough these days). The 1903 Cadillac Runabout (pictured here) and Tonneau were the first Cadillacs put into production.
This 1931 Cadillac 452A was the first V16-powered car to reach production status in the U.S. And we’re pretty sure that Gatsby bought this in yellow.
The 1933 Cadillac 355C belongs in a gangster movie car chase.
This replica of a 1950 Cadillac Series 61 race car looks a little heavier than what we saw in Charlotte, but it moves fast enough to require hood latches.
Mystery at the museum? This 1953 Cadillac Le Mans concept car is one of four built, but the whereabouts of only three are known. The missing Le Mans was last spotted in Oklahoma on November 8, 1953—then the trail ran cold. Car enthusiasts would be lucky to find it: Auto Week estimated the car to be valued between $400,000 and $2 million.
Experiencing Shark Week withdrawal? Take a cruise in this 1961 XP-755 Mako Shark, a Chevy Corvette concept car. Rumor has it that styling and design head Bill Mitchell had a Mako mounted on his office wall and was so enamored with its coloring, he ordered his design team to replicate the coloring exactly. After a few failed attempts, the team stole the fish off the wall, got the coloring right, and returned it—and Mitchell was none the wiser.
There’s a reasonable chance this 1963 Chevy Nova was your first car or the first car you handed down.
“Next Saturday night, we’re sending you back to the future!” Okay, that was a DeLorean. But one of the Chevy Express concept cars did appear briefly in Back to the Future II.
Coming to a dealer near you in 2054! These electric concept cars might never make it to production, but they could inform the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles.
Too tired to drive? Let this modified Chevy Tahoe, nicknamed “BOSS,” do the work for you. BOSS took home the top prize from 2007’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge, a competition for American driverless vehicles.
Made up of approximately 600 vehicles, GM’s North American Heritage Collection showcases over a century of concept cars, race cars, and milestone production cars. We were treated to a private tour and found 10 rides that would make for a killer Sunday drive.
10 Cars for a Killer Sunday Drive
Cadillac was started in 1902 by Henry Leland and was named after the French explorer who discovered Detroit—Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac (names just aren’t long enough these days). The 1903 Cadillac Runabout (pictured here) and Tonneau were the first Cadillacs put into production.
This 1931 Cadillac 452A was the first V16-powered car to reach production status in the U.S. And we’re pretty sure that Gatsby bought this in yellow.
The 1933 Cadillac 355C belongs in a gangster movie car chase.
This replica of a 1950 Cadillac Series 61 race car looks a little heavier than what we saw in Charlotte, but it moves fast enough to require hood latches.
Mystery at the museum? This 1953 Cadillac Le Mans concept car is one of four built, but the whereabouts of only three are known. The missing Le Mans was last spotted in Oklahoma on November 8, 1953—then the trail ran cold. Car enthusiasts would be lucky to find it: Auto Week estimated the car to be valued between $400,000 and $2 million.
Experiencing Shark Week withdrawal? Take a cruise in this 1961 XP-755 Mako Shark, a Chevy Corvette concept car. Rumor has it that styling and design head Bill Mitchell had a Mako mounted on his office wall and was so enamored with its coloring, he ordered his design team to replicate the coloring exactly. After a few failed attempts, the team stole the fish off the wall, got the coloring right, and returned it—and Mitchell was none the wiser.
There’s a reasonable chance this 1963 Chevy Nova was your first car or the first car you handed down.
“Next Saturday night, we’re sending you back to the future!” Okay, that was a DeLorean. But one of the Chevy Express concept cars did appear briefly in Back to the Future II.
Coming to a dealer near you in 2054! These electric concept cars might never make it to production, but they could inform the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles.
Too tired to drive? Let this modified Chevy Tahoe, nicknamed “BOSS,” do the work for you. BOSS took home the top prize from 2007’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge, a competition for American driverless vehicles.
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