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S1 E4 1959 Cadillac Cyclone, 1977 Buick Phantom

Instructional & Educational

PG

24 minutes

Dec 31, 2011

Blaze a trail with a space-age car from legendary GM designer Harley Earl that captured the imagination of aspiring cosmonauts. Then get a look at a concept from Bill Mitchell, another GM visionary, that was inspired by America's information age.

Season 1, 12 Episodes

Mystery Cars - 1956 Buick Centurion, 1954 Plymouth Explorer

1956 Buick Centurion, 1954 Plymouth Explorer,

Look to the skies for inspiration for Buick's 1956 Centurion concept car, which borrowed heavily from aeronautical design. Later, learn how the ocean influenced an elegant marriage of American and European styling in Plymouth's 1954 Explorer.

Mystery Cars - 1953 Gm Xp-21 Firebird, 1955 Mercury D-528 Beldone

1953 Gm Xp-21 Firebird, 1955 Mercury D-528 Beldone,

Behold a jet plane on wheels: the 1953 Firebird, General Motors' first car powered by a gas turbine engine. Then look inside the mysterious Mercury model that was poked and prodded like a lab rat for more than 10 years before its debut.

Mystery Cars - 1953 Ford X-100, 1963 Chrysler Turbine

1953 Ford X-100, 1963 Chrysler Turbine,

Mark 50 years of Ford with an ingenious car that boasted more than 50 engineering innovations and an interior that looked like a plane cockpit. Then glide under the hood of a turbine-engine car made available to just 50 members of the general public.

Mystery Cars - 1959 Cadillac Cyclone, 1977 Buick Phantom

1959 Cadillac Cyclone, 1977 Buick Phantom,

Blaze a trail with a space-age car from legendary GM designer Harley Earl that captured the imagination of aspiring cosmonauts. Then get a look at a concept from Bill Mitchell, another GM visionary, that was inspired by America's information age.

Mystery Cars - 1956 Gm Firebird II, 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia

1956 Gm Firebird II, 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia,

Make way for the second GM Firebird model, re-engineered in the era of Eisenhower highways and suburban bliss. Then learn how Cadillac capitalized on America's love for European styling with a car that was apple pie on the outside and pure Italian on the inside.

Mystery Cars - 1962 Ford Mustang Prototype, 1959 Gm Firebird III

1962 Ford Mustang Prototype, 1959 Gm Firebird III,

Witness the birth of an American icon: the Mustang, a low-cost sports car designed to get Ford back into auto racing. Then get a look at the third iteration of GM's Firebird series of jet-engine cars, which resembled a personal spacecraft on wheels.

Mystery Cars - 1954 Buick Wildcat II, 1938 Buick Y-Job

1954 Buick Wildcat II, 1938 Buick Y-Job,

Veer into the fast lane with Buick. See how its youthful Wildcat II stacked up against gold standard Corvettes, then look back at one of its earliest pioneering vehicles, which shared the aircraft industry's Y designation for highly advanced work.

Mystery Cars - 1951 Gm Xp-300, 1951 Gm Le Sabre

1951 Gm Xp-300, 1951 Gm Le Sabre,

Gaze at the luscious curves of Buick's postwar luxury car, which hid a bounty of peacetime engineering under the hood. Later, check out the company's most important show car of the 1950s, made with luxe metals and boosted by a muscular supercharger.

Mystery Cars - 1953 Gm Futurliner Bus, 1963 Ford Thunderbird ‘Italien'

1953 Gm Futurliner Bus, 1963 Ford Thunderbird ‘Italien',

Delight in the 30-foot-long Art Deco coach that led GM's Parade of Progress traveling exhibit, giving viewers a sneak peek at new technologies. Then examine how Ford capitalized on America's love for all things Italian with its sleeker 1963 T-Bird.

Mystery Cars - 1953 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5 and the 1954 Dodge Fire Arrow II

1953 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5 and the 1954 Dodge Fire Arrow II,

Feast your eyes on Alfa Romeo's stunning 1953 auto-show entry, unleashed on an unsuspecting crowd in Turin, Italy. Examine how Chrysler captured the spirit of Italian craftsmanship in a car that oozed exquisite, trend-setting design sensibility.

Mystery Cars - 1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T 7, 1954 Dodge Fire Arrow Iv

1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T 7, 1954 Dodge Fire Arrow Iv,

Be transported by the second take on Alfa Romeo's B.A.T. series, featuring aerodynamic design and unique tail wings that look like a flying bat. Later, get weak in the knees for the luscious, handcrafted fourth version of Dodge's Fire Arrow series.

Mystery Cars - 1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 9, 1955 Dodge Fire Bomb

1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 9, 1955 Dodge Fire Bomb,

Take flight with a tribute to the space race: the sculpted last edition of the B.A.T. series, made by Alfa Romeo and Italian design house Bertone. Then explore the transatlantic partnership that put a V8 Hemi engine in a sublime Italian-crafted body.

Details

Mystery Cars

Instructional & Educational

PG

2 Seasons

24 minutes

Concept cars were snapshots of how America perceived its automotive future. But what happened to them? Most were destroyed, some just plain vanished. This new series attempts to solve the mystery behind the iconic cars.

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