A lot of people are aware of my fondness for what used to be known as "Dream Cars," styling exercises that gazed into the future of motoring, and were like a crystal ball. They, even, don't always have the best fate. The second picture is the 1961 "Jacqueline" Cadillac, bodied by Pinin Farina in Italy. As they were being unloaded in Detroit, the story goes that one of the 100 that were made fell off the platform as they attempted to remove it from the ship, and went to the bottom of the Detroit River. Below that is the 1956 Chrysler Norseman, bodied by Ghia in Italy, and, unfortunately, sent to America on, heh, the Andrea Doria; on, yes, THAT trip, the one where it collided with the Stockholm and sank off the coast of Long Island. Tough Break. The top picture is design legend Raymond Loewy's take on the '59 Cadillac. For a man whose iconic creations included some cars you'd actually WANT to be seen in, this one doesn't strike me as a great improvement over your run-of-the-mill '59 Caddy. Cadillac also apparently created a few "interesting" concepts in the 1950s, including the 1956 Maharani, a Fleetwood Sixty Special-series four-door designed for clientele in the Middle East; it was finished in maroon, with a gold-colored roof panel. The interior was the REALLY special part, upholstered in snake skin and satin print with mouton fur carpeting. Yow. The 1956 "Gala," also known as the "Wedding Car," was finished in pearlescent white and silver, with the interior upholstered in satin, white pearl leather and mouton fur. The front doors had small umbrellas with rhinestones on the handles. The '56 Palomino was a Series 62 Convertible, upholstered in Palomino hide on the upper door panels, seat backs and floor mats. And is it just me, or are we killing off a LOT of critters here to do some upholstery work?! You be the judge. I guess it was the 1950s. The other interesting item here was my spotting of a pretty-much-exact replica of the 60's TV Batmobile (which, coincidentally was based on a 1955 Lincoln show car, the Futura.) Upon quizzing the owner, who was quick to come and see what I was doing by his car, I found out he built his on a '79 Lincoln chassis. None the less, the detail involved in his effort was absolutely amazing. Hats off to whomever in Plymouth built this beauty. Another aside to the tale of the Lincoln Futura was its co-starring with Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford in "It Started With a Kiss," before its Batman days. And, of course, there's the tale of the Dodge concept vehicle that began life named the Copperhead due to its Copper Fire Orange Paint that was supposed to make it visible at night, only to be re-named Dodge Concept Car, after Chrysler was sued over use of the name. By whom, I don't know. The latter name just doesn't have the same ring to it, though. More stories as I find them.