American Dreaming – A Film on Auto Design from 1946 to 1973

The post-war period from 1946 to 1973 has often been identified as the highpoint of American automotive design, an era when rapid economic expansion fueled a growing middle class and the field of automotive design reached maturity. Following World War II, the auto companies had access to huge factories that had previously been used for wartime production. In response to growing demand, domestic automakers used the factories to expand in just about every way possible and that included pushing the envelope of automotive design to new heights. That many of the most popular and successful automobiles ever produced sprang from that period of design is well recognized today. Now, two American filmmakers want to highlight the people who created those great automotive designs and the design process itself in a new documentary film titled “American Dreaming.”

Filmmakers Greg Salustro and Robert Edwards are working with cinematographer Jim Toscano on the documentary that will focus on American car design from the late 1940s through the start of the safety and emissions-regulated 1970s. Despite the success of the cars designed during the era, the actual design process of automobiles was never really promoted to the American public. The public only got to see the end results of car designers’ visions, and not the people involved in design or the process itself. The design sketches and scale models were the private property of the studios, and most were destroyed soon after their completion. The full-length documentary film will try to clarify the high points of the auto design profession as well as examine some of the promising designs that did not make it to production. American Dreaming utilizes interviews with the artists who designed Detroit’s automobiles as well as art curators, historians, and collectors, to make the point that great automotive designs are also great works of art.

Professional auto design stylists typically worked for several years in advance on each production vehicle, and all of the drawings and sketches they produced were the protected property of the parent companies. Unfortunately, those companies also destroyed most of the styling drawings because they didn’t want them to get into the hands of their competitors at the time. The artwork that does remain today is quite rare and the public has never seen most of it. The filmmakers have said they want the audience to see the work and discover the designers and stylists behind it to ensure that they receive recognition for their work during their lifetimes. The result is a film full of insightful interviews and interesting features of automotive sketches and scale models.

Although the 70-minute film is currently in production, a release date has not been set. Salustro and Edwards estimate that it will likely take another year before the project is finished. Because the filmmakers lack the final $100,000 needed to make the film a reality, the auto enthusiast community has been encouraged to help out at the “American Dreaming” Facebook page where they state “Thanks so much to everyone who has been supportive of our project. We need your help to tell the stories of these great automobile artists. Go to the nonprofit, Chicago Filmmakers website and click “donate” to help fund the project. Thanks again!”