I wonder how many cars Ford has given away? This 64 was given to Nelson Rockefeller at the '64 New York World's Fair

Rockefeller served as the governor of New York from 1959 to 1973, and was also Vice President from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford.

https://fordauthority.com/2026/03/ford-nationals-will-feature-1964-ford-mustang-gifted-to-nelson-rockefeller

the electromechanical navigation system in the Ford Aurora I station wagon concept car at the 1964 Worlds Fair

https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/cars-of-worlds-fair-1964-new-york-worlds-fair

A Great Big Beautiful Car Show is the largest exhibit ever put on by the Walt Disney Archives, and just occurred at the D23 Expo! (you might recall that I used to go to the D23 in 2013, 15, and 17)

The above was in the terrific movie (I recommend it for it's great comedy) Cruella

there were 30 vehicles at this exhibit

 

let me illustrate the difference between cell phone cameras, and serious, expensive, cameras

this video does nothing but give a 7 minute speech on the D23 Expo, it does not show the cars in this exhibit. 

This was built to resemble the Mustang display outside the Ford’s Magic Skyway pavilion at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, using one of the actual original Mustangs that went through the Ford Pavilion and was actually a ride vehicle

The cars in the exhibit range from racing Fords and Ferraris to fan-favorite love bugs, fabulous pink convertibles, and Flubber-powered Model Ts—giving visitors an up-close look at dozens of vehicles from the Archives’ collection. 

A “Worlds Beyond” area showcases fantastical vehicles from distant lands, such as Rey’s speeder from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and a transport rover from Prometheus (2012) a Czechoslovakian military tank that’s been dressed up to ‘space age.’

https://ktla.com/news/california/iconic-vehicles-from-film-and-television-come-out-of-the-garage-for-d23/

https://www.micechat.com/394267-d23-expo-first-look-what-you-need-to-know/

https://d23.com/drive-in-to-a-great-big-beautiful-car-show-at-d23-the-ultimate-disney-fan-event/

https://d23.com/gallery-every-car-from-a-great-big-beautiful-car-show-at-d23-the-ultimate-disney-fan-event/

Recently, since Covid, they have the D23 just 2 weeks after Comic Con, but a decade ago, it was a couple months later. 

I posted about the Sinclair exhibit at the 1964 Worlds Fair a while ago, and I just came across the photos of those dinosaurs getting made in Hudson New York by Paul Jonas

I posted the article on the 1964 World's Fair exhibit in 2016 http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/02/that-cool-old-dinosaur-mascot-great.html

https://photobygibson.com/archive/

Test drives at the '64 Wolds Fair?

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-shots-from-days-gone-by.428585/page-6433

Not many advertising full page ad photos make a car this impressively fun looking

This car was born under a 4 leaf clover and blessed by angels I'm guessing... coming along at the perfect time to launch with the drag racing, road racing, and SCCA racing that was making a huge impact in car mods and upgrades.

To launch at the 64 Worlds Fair is also amazingly good timing

https://voiture-jaune.tumblr.com/image/188539754150

With a name as distinct as Rolly Crump, you either remember the name, or just haven't heard it yet. He is one of the last original Imagineers and architects of Disney World, and of the Disney marquee at the 1964 World’s Fair

this is the famous Gypsy Cart designed by Crump, and made by Thomas Kuntz @haxanthrobo with the help of @horriblyeclectic who made and hand painted the banners and tent for it, based on Crump's original drawing from the late 60s

He started as an assistant animator in the Disney films “Lady and the Tramp” and “Sleeping Beauty,”
 the became an imagineer, and helped design the rides at Disney World, helped develop Walt Disney’s World’s Epcot, worked out effects for the Haunted Mansion with Disney’s master illusionist Yale Gracey, and worked on It’s a Small World Disney marquee for the 1964 World’s Fair. That's right, he built an exhibit draw (if that's the right word) for the last well known Worlds Fair!

He also designed the tiki gods and goddesses for the Enchanted Tiki Room.

and was a key architect in the 1967 Tomorrowland redesign

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-ms-rolly-crump-20180907-story.html
https://www.toopics.com/p/1994717562282638360_1593669963

The Giant Uniroyal Tire on I-94 in Allen Park, was the 1964 Worlds Fair Ferris wheel, and when put on permanent display, they simply removed the Ferris wheel

Thanks Marc!

https://www.facebook.com/Local4/videos/10156614676581002/
https://www.clickondetroit.com/features/history-behind-michigan-s-uniroyal-giant-tire-on-i-94

the Chevrolet display engines and transmissions made for the 1964 Worlds Fair

Introduced approximately in 1972, the Turbo-Fire 350 as it appeared in the Camaro Z28 only carried a net rating of 245 horsepower for a couple of years – 1973 and 1974 – and it was in the latter of those years that the engine benefited from High-Energy Ignition, which dates this particular points ignition cutaway to 1973.

okay that one rolled on the x axis. Fine. You get good look at it. But this next one is WOW... made for the Worlds Fair, so it was out to impress a lot of people, but how have I never heard of it until now?

It is the only non-Corvette to receive a Special Bloomington Gold Certificate when displayed in the Special Collection June 2001. It's now in the Yager Family Museum in Illinois http://www.mygaragemuseum.com/memorabilia.html

the front half of the engine moves to the left and then spins around!

General Motors prided itself on having the most spectacular displays around, and for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, they were going to pull out all the stops. Their showcase, the 230,000 square-foot Pavilion, dominated the Fair, and from the top, it literally looked down over Chrysler while the facade towered above Ford and their Magic Skyway. Inside, GM created the vast Futurama II. In such a hall of wonders, this small display, innocently labeled “Turbo-Jet 427 V-8 Engine,” could have been overlooked. If you had been drawn to the Corvette, however, you would have first recognized that nothing like this X-3 engine was available in the 1964 Corvette—and then realized what an extraordinary cutaway it is. Built with incredible attention to detail, both the engine and attached transmission rotate. Its real trick, however, is that the two halves slide apart for a look at the internal rotating components.

Via  http://carzhunt.blogspot.com/2015/12/rm.html

but a full amazing gallery at http://www.rmsothebys.com/ny15/new-york---driven-by-disruption/lots/chevrolet-turbo-jet-427-v8-engine-and-transmission-cutaway-model/1078216

the next one isn't as amazing, but it was caught on video instead of photos.

that cool old dinosaur mascot, great marketing idea that few, if any, other oil companies have ever achieved

after they were no longer useful for advertising, the company tried to get them into the Smithsonian, or anywhere that would take them. Most found homes in different places, but one was STOLEN! Never recovered! So, some one has a Ornitholestes in their back yard

these dinosaurs were so successful at promoting the oil company, they were the only exhibit at the forward looking world's fair, that focused on the past

50 million people visited that exhibit, it's estimated, and that made it one of the most popular exhibits. Then they hit the road on a tour of American shopping centers

http://gombessa.tripod.com/scienceleadstheway/id32.html
http://aoghs.org/oil-amanac/sinclair-dinosaur/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/electrospark/page9

https://photobygibson.com/archive/collections/archive/City-of-Hudson-1960---1964/