This promotional film from 1954 celebrates an important milestone for General Motors: the production of 50 million vehicles. And quite a celebration it was, too—have a look.
This past week, a rather impressive milestone passed at General Motors as the company reported the production of 500 million vehicles. There was barely a celebration to mark the achievement, only a modest announcement by GM president Mary Barra. Still, the event did remind us of an earlier milestone celebrated on November 23, 1954, when the the company marked the production of 50 million units.
GM pulled out all the stops for the 1954 celebration. Commemorative coins were minted (common finds to this day in antique shops) and GM president Harlow Curtice had a special gold 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air built, which is shown in the lead photo above. The hardtop featured custom gold lacquer inside and out and more than 600 trim parts plated in 24K gold.
Elaborate ceremonies were organized at GM facilities across the country, with the most lavish reserved for Flint, Michigan, just north of Detroit, the traditional home of the Buick and Chevrolet divisions. As this film shows, all of Flint participated in the celebration. The city and the company seem thoroughly intertwined here. It put us to mind of the famous (and famously misquoted) 1953 observation by GM president Charles Wilson: that what was good for the country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. Enjoy the film.
Wonder what ever happened to that car? Seems like I read somewhere, maybe here, that it had been found and was being restored, but I don’t remember for sure. Sure wouldn’t mind having a copy of it, that gold looks great on the 55 Chevy, one of the best looking cars ever put out by GM IMHO.
Reportedly, the car is owned by a NC collector but he passed away a few years ago. I don’t know if the family kept it. At one point GM offered to restore the car, it is said, but he declined, fearing it would be lost or damaged.