On my last birthday, we had just finished going out for Cuban food and were heading home. I knew when I got home and finished unwrapping things my Birthday Would Be Over and I was just really enjoying driving around with Martin. So we drove around for a while aimlessly in our area, listening to good music and looking at Christmas lights. Then we turned a corner and came across a beautiful Art Deco behemoth in the darkness and said What the hell is THAT??



To be exact, it was Bob Valdez's Futurliner.

Let me retrace, though.

The GM Futurliners were a group of stylized buses designed in the 1940s by Harley Earl for General Motors. They were used in their Parade of Progress, which traveled the US showing new cars and technology. The Futurliners were used from 1940 to 1941 and again from 1953 to 1956. A total of 12 were built, and 9 are still known to exist as of 2007.

Out of the 9 known to exist on the entire planet, seven have been restored. Of that seven, only one has been converted to a motorhome. And that is exactly the one we stumbled upon while driving around L.A.

I love this city.

Okay, you're pretty tired of text now. You want to see the awesome Art Deco motorhome...



We obviously got these a few days later when there was more light. Although we took pictures that night, too, because we were NOT going to leave without photos of this thing.

In this one you can see the steering wheel in the dead center...



The back reminds me of the Rocketeer's helmet. And this is where you enter...









DAMN this thing is pretty. If you follow the first link there are shots of the interior if you want to see more of it. I wish we could get entrance to take some ourselves. Beautiful beautiful vehicle.