The outrageous concept cars of the 1950's Motorama Auto Shows not only captured the imaginations of the motoring public, but they also provided competitors a snapshot into the direction that a major brand may be headed.  Such was the case for Ford's head of Advanced Styling, Alex Tremulis, to bring his camera along to the 1956 Motorama that showcased the pinacle of 1950's designs from each of the major car companies.  Below are some of Tremulis' detail shots of fins, fenders, scoops and chrome that would be catalogued in the mind of the designer to someday later be retrieved, tweaked, and incorporated into various other visions of the future.   There are plenty of photos and stories of these concept cars that can be found on the internet, however, these rare color shots give you a sense of what Tremulis felt was important or innovative for each of these important cars.  You're seeing exactly what he saw through his viewfinder.  Enjoy the ride...

The 1956 Motorama would be the last one held under the direction of the great Harley Earl.  There were no Motoramas held in either 1957 or 1958, the year that Earl handed over GM's design reigns to Bill Mitchell, so this marked the end of an era in car design.  So it's fitting that this show was complete with a theatrical stage revue as well as a short film called Design for Dreaming to introduce GM's vision of the future.

It's interesting to note that all of the non-GM cars (Mercury, Chrysler, Packard) that Tremulis photographed that day were built by Ghia. 

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All photos copyright 2013 The Alex Tremulis Archives

In 1939 cars were becoming much more than just a means of transportation, especially in the entertainment industry, where to get the part you had to look the part.  Cars became more of an expression of the owner and were often customized with exotic bodywork and vibrant colors.  The trend did not escape Eleanor Powell, one of Hollywood's top box office draws.  She saw an opportunity to start a car customizing business catering to Hollywood's elite, and set up shop on the famous Rodeo Drive.

Alex Tremulis may have come to the attention of Eleanor Powell through one of his customized Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg's for Chicago department store magnate Maurice L. Rothschild.  According to newspaper accounts, Rothschild was delighted with Tremulis' remodeled and streamlined automobile.   In any case, Tremulis  got a phone call from someone claiming to be Eleanor Powell. 

As Tremulis tells it:  "It was a red-hot box office name at the time so I answerd 'Sure it is'.  I figured it was one of the office girls, or maybe one of Chrissie's friends, so I kidded along and said: 'Well, honey, I'm glad you called.  I've been expecting you...' and I guess she was used to having this happen when she called people for the first time.  So she asked if I was the same Tremulis who had been with Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg and I said I was.  She said to meet her at the Drake Hotel in Chicago where she was staying, that she had a proposal to make.  I met her at the hotel and she explained her custom auto company operation and said that if I was interested, her public relations and partner in the company, Sid Luft, would be by the next day to fill in the details."

Sid Luft (left) was once an amateur boxer and bar-room brawler and had the nickname "One-Punch Luft." He was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force and in the early 40's was a test pilot for Douglas.  (source: wikipedia)

Tremulis:  "Sid Luft had  been her public relations man and she wanted to get him started in the  customizing business. Luft and I talked about the plan which would have me design and direct the building of custom cars.  It sounded great.  He had tried several other things, but now was  concentrating on customizing Cadillacs. The first one he built was a very nice  custom Cadillac, but instead of selling it he started running around with the  car. Pretty soon it got used, so when Eleanor Powell came to Chicago she hired  me to go to California to put Sid’s business on a business basis. So I came to  California."

At left is presumably the 1939 Cadillac  Convertible Coupe picked up from Feferman Motor Sales and driven from South Bend to Hollywood.  Luft's letter calls out for a Series 60, but this may in fact be a Series 61.  That's 25 year old Alex Tremulis standing next to his work in progress. 

At left is what appears to be the completed project.  The car was originally intended for Eleanor Powell, however she may have sold it a short while later to Bill Burlingame of National Cash Register in Cincinatti.  Apparently it was Burlingame who took it to the Trocadero Nightclub where it caused a sensation.


Tremulis: "I was surprised the next day to get a telephone call from Jimmie Fidler, the famous Hollywood reporter.  He said he had seen Burlingame in the car he had purchased from Miss Powell and wanted to know what that color was called.  I asked him what time he had seen it, and he said it was about 9:00PM.  "Oh, we call that Night White", I told him.  He made a big thing about it in his column and over the air.  Soon we got a call from the big Don Lee Cadillac sales agency wanting to know if we could furnish them with the formula of that Night White paint.  I told them we couldn't let the formula out of our hands, but that we'd either paint the cars ourselves or sell it to them already mixed.  I had to rush around and mix some paint in hopes it would look like the same stuff we'd used on the original Night White car.  I had used some orange, maroon and purple in very small percentages and soon hit on the right proportions.  We sold a lot of Night White to the Cadillac agencies in the area and we did a lot of $150 paint jobs by farming them out to paint shops nearby for $50.  Many people came in with a wide variety of cars to be lowered, have fender skirts added, get louvered or to receive a touch of fancy detailing.  The cars ranged from the most elegant ever manufactured down to sporty '32 Ford roadsters."

A closeup of the front end provides an agressive and imposing appearance.  It's clear why such a car in the Night White livery had created a media storm.

The front end treatment Tremulis imparted on the Powell Cadillac does bear some resemblance to another one of his customs.  At left is a 1938 Lincoln K V16 that Tremulis along with Bob Koto and Ralph Roberts customized while at LeBaron.  Perhaps some inspiration had been taken from this car?  Photo compliments of concpetcarz.

Fast forward from 1939 to the 1960's.  The car had changed ownership an unknown number of times and its famous history was almost forgotten.  But that didn't stop its former owner from attempting to track down its origins, and in 1971 he contacted  the all-knowing Strother MacMinn in hopes of an answer. 

At left and below, Schneider's car in the 1960's. By then, the Night White had been resprayed in favor of a darker hue, but the unique design elements that went into its creation remained.  (Photos by Roy Schneider, Cadillac Database)

MacMinn probably could tell who had done the job in an instant, and certainly would have heard his friend Tremulis' stories of Eleanor Powell's Custom Motors, so the wheels had been set in motion for the original story to get back to its former owner.  Tremulis recounts its history in the letter at left.

At present, it is unknown if the car's provenance with Eleanor Powell, Sid Luft and Alex Tremulis has ever caught back up to the car.  It's current whereabouts and current owner are unknown.

There may be as many as five more as-yet unidentifed cars that Tremulis had created during his tenure with Eleanor Powell.  On July 28, 1943, an article was published in the Ravenswood-Lincolnite newspaper about Alex Tremulis' wartime designs.  The article also gave a short bio, a clip of which is shown at left.  Coincidentally, the Maharajah of Indore also purchased a customized Duesenberg designed by Tremulis' mentor, Gordon Buehrig.  In addition to these two cars, Tremulis wrote of two additional cars he built, possibly while at Custom Motors:  A Cadillac for Prince David Mdivani, and a Duesenberg restyled from the chassis up for Jules Stein. 

The usual clientele of Custom Motors called for some of the largest and most luxurious cars of the times, but they were about to get a visit from the other end of the spectrum.  In his American Bantam story, Tremulis describes his first encounter with one of the smallest cars in the world: 

We had a little shop across the street from the Luau Restaurant in Beverly Hills called Custom Motors. One day I was having lunch at the bar in the Luau when all of a sudden I saw a little American Bantam Roadster  pull up outside. There was a man in a polo uniform and two little polo sticks were sticking up out of his small little car. The chap comes in and sits down next to me. I looked at him and said, “Pretty ridiculous, big boy like you driving around in a kiddie car like that”. Of course he gave me a real funny look. He ordered a drink and then he said to me, “Do you know anything about those people across the street, Custom Motors?’ I said, “Yeah, I know them.” He said, “I’m looking for a guy by the name of Alex Tremulis, do you know him?” I said, “I know him pretty well”. He wanted to know when Custom Motors opened up, and I told him they were probably  out to lunch. He said, “I’m anxious to talk to Alex Tremulis.” So I told him to finish his sandwich and then I would take him over to meet this Alex. So we walked across the street and into the shop. I had all my drawings on the wall… some real wild stuff too. He gets impatient and says, “When do I meet Alex Tremulis?” I tell him,” You’ve already met him”. We laugh and then he introduces  himself. “I’m Roy Evans, President of American Bantam,” he said.

[The American Bantam story will be highlighted in an upcoming feature.]

Today, the site of Eleanor Powell's Custom Motors is still catering to Hollywood's fashionistas.  It's currently occupied by Georgio Armani of Beverly Hills.  If you are looking for some customized tailoring, you can be accomodated exactly where Eleanor Powell, Sid Luft, Alex Tremulis and the crew of Custom Motors custom tailored some of the finest automobiles ever created...

If you have any photos or other information on these Custom Motors cars from 1939-1940, please contact us:

1939 Cadillac Model 60 or 61 Convertible Coupe for Eleanor Powell, or Bob Burlingame (CEO of NCR),  or Roy Schneider

Duesenberg (unknown model) for Jules Stein (founder of MCA records)

Auburn, Cord or Duesenberg for Maurice L. Rothschild (Chicago area merchant)

Cadillac (unknown model) for Prince David Mdvani

Limousine for the Maharajah of Indore

Unknown for King Ghazi Ihn Feisal of Iraq (perhaps LeBaron?)

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