1955 GMC L'Universelle - Department X

The relationship between Pontiac and GMC goes back much farther than their merging in 1996. Pontiac has occasionally collaborated on projects with GM's truck division since the '20s-the most widely known example was in the 1955-59 period, when Pontiac V-8s were installed in GMC trucks. The two divisions' products were often sold side by side at the same dealerships, so the combining them into one marketing unit was a natural progression.

In January of 1955, GM debuted its '55 L'Universelle show van at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, at the opening of that year's Motorama. Though not a conventional "dream car" as one would normally find at the Motorama, it nonetheless shared the same level of innovation as the one-offs displayed by the General's other divisions. Moreover, the bronze-colored van shared many of the same Harley Earl-inspired design elements used on both production and non-production GM cars of the time.

Body Design
Up front, a pair of frenched headlamps with chrome bezels were set in slightly from the front corners, giving visual width. Between them was a horizontal grille that picked up the contour of the headlamps on its outer edges. At the front corners were vertical turn signals with Pontiac-inspired mini "Silver Streaks" that extended down to the "Dagmar" projections of the wraparound bumper. Between the bullet-shaped protrusions was a slender bumper bar and rolled lower pan. A stylized "GMC" badge stood above the grille, just below the panoramic windshield.

In addition to some Pontiac and Cadillac-inspired design cues, one could find other divisional influences. The forward-sloping B-pillar called to mind the Chevy Nomad/Pontiac Safari and the side cove formed by the sweeping front fender line could also be seen on the '55 La Salle II Motorama cars. The latter would soon become a Corvette styling icon. A lot of '55 production Chevy could also be seen, from the rear quarter and taillamp design to the rear wheelwells. Its large ribbed stainless steel lower body moldings would soon find favor in production Cadillac and Pontiac offerings. The vertically ribbed lower rear pan and recessed license plate housing were used on several other Motorama cars of the era such as the '53 Cadillac LeMans.

Perhaps the most dramatic design features of L'Universelle was its twin side doors, which opened up in a "folding gullwing" fashion, giving unfettered access to the cavernous rear cargo area. They gave a cutting-edge feature to this innovative idea truck.

Interior Design
L'Universelle's interior was designed to work around the powertrain, which was situated in essentially a front mid-engine location. Being a truck, it was not as flamboyant or luxurious as its Motorama brethren, lacking air conditioning and other conveniences. Nevertheless, it was appointed in a fashion similar to the production GM cars of the '50s, which is to say that it was a bit more upscale than the typical commercial vehicle. A single bench seat gave a rather upright seating position and was covered in a vinyl with expanded vinyl seating inserts. Its dash was fairly simple in design. A floating gauge cluster housed a 100-mph speedometer, with water temperature and fuel gauges on either side. "Idiot lights" for the generator and oil pressure were directly below the speedometer and the transmission gear selector was below them. The tri-spoke steering wheel was a two-tone cream and bronze design with a ribbed center button and integrated horn ring. To the left of the steering column were controls for the headlamps, windshield wipers and heater. To the right was the AM radio housed in a concave panel trimmed in stainless steel mesh, a Harley Earl favorite.