Gilmore Car Museum of Hickory Corners, Mi, Unveils Next Chapter of Automotive Design with  “Defined by Design: Part 2”

Photo courtesy of Gilmore Car Museum

Press Release Courtesy of Gilmore Car Museum

New exhibit explores 54 years of automotive design, from the muscle car era to the dawn of the modern automobile.

HICKORY CORNERS, Mich. | What did Americans want their cars to say about them?

That question drives the next chapter of “Defined by Design: Featuring GM Motorama Marvels from the Joe Bortz Collection,” opening at the Gilmore Car Museum this fall. Following an exclusive Member Preview Night on Friday, October 9, the new exhibit will open to the public on Saturday, October 10.

The public opening will also feature a book signing at noon with author Patrick Kelley, author of Imagine Too! Journey into the Future of Automobiles.

Part 2 of Defined by Design examines the evolution of automobile design from 1960 through 2014, exploring how design shaped, and was shaped by, American life on the road.

Curated by the Gilmore Car Museum, Defined by Design explores 120 years of automotive design, innovation and American history. The exhibition’s centerpiece is a collection of extraordinary GM Motorama concept cars and design marvels from the Joe Bortz Collection, vehicles that offer a glimpse into the future as imagined by some of America’s most influential automotive designers.

But the story doesn’t end with the chrome, tailfins and Space Age optimism of the 1950s.

Part 2 asks what happened when the future arrived.

From the muscle car era and changing consumer tastes to fuel crises, new technologies, shifting cultural values and the increasingly global automotive industry, the decades after 1960 transformed both the automobile and the way Americans thought about it.

“These cars tell us much more than what designers thought a car should look like,” said Nick LaCasse, Executive Director of the Gilmore Car Museum. “They tell us what America thought the future was going to look like, and sometimes, they got it remarkably right. Other times, they got it completely wrong. That’s what makes this story so fascinating.”

Visitors are ultimately left to make their own judgment: Which designs stood the test of time, and which ones didn’t?

Public Opening and Book Signing

The new exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, October 10, 2026. As part of the opening, Patrick Kelley, author of Imagine Too! Journey into the Future of Automobiles, will be at the museum for a special book signing.

Kelley’s book explores the imaginative world of future automobiles and connects closely with the ideas at the heart of Defined by Design, where concept cars and forward-looking designs reveal how automakers envisioned the road ahead.

The public opening provides visitors with their first opportunity to experience Part 2 of the exhibition following the members-only preview the evening before.

EVENT DETAILS

What: Public Opening of Defined by Design Part 2: Featuring GM Motorama Marvels from the Joe Bortz Collection

When: Saturday, October 10, 2026

Where: Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, Michigan

Featuring: Book signing at noon with Patrick Kelley, author of Imagine Too! Journey into the Future of Automobiles

Member Preview Night

Gilmore Car Museum members are invited to an exclusive after-hours preview of Part 2 on Friday, October 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event includes an exclusive first look at the exhibit, light snacks, a cash bar and a short presentation by Executive Director Nick LaCasse.

About the Gilmore Car Museum

The Gilmore Car Museum is North America’s largest automotive museum, dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history, heritage, and social impact of the automobile. Situated on a 90-acre historic campus in Hickory Corners, Michigan, the Museum welcomes more than 130,000 visitors annually and features hundreds of historic vehicles, multiple partner museums, educational programming, and nationally recognized automotive events.