Caption from LIFE. Stepping stones over a rippling pool provide the approach to a La Parisienne Pontiac hardtop.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
In Detroit this week, automakers are unveiling the cars of the future: vehicles connected to the Internet, all electric and hooked into networks of apps. The North American International Auto Show, which runs from Jan. 11 through Jan. 24, continues a long tradition of convening leading manufacturers and industry experts to analyze trends and wow auto enthusiasts with the newest models. But much has changed since the early days of car shows, one of which LIFE’s Walter Sanders captured for a photo essay in 1957.
The National Automobile Show, held at the now-demolished New York Coliseum, featured an older kind of pageantry. Before the days of high-tech, automakers drew attention with models posing as hood ornaments and “a thirty-minute musical revue” called “‘America on the Move,” repeated six times daily. A new vehicle model was rarely seen unaccompanied by a live human model, clad in a regal dress as she pointed out its features.
“The color motif of turquoise, gold and red-orange mirrored the jaunty mood of the automobile industry,” the magazine declared. It’s a mood that is, in some ways, reflected at this year’s show, as automakers celebrate a record-setting year in the sale of new cars. And though a new crop of models shows off today’s newfangled autos, they have to compete for attention with the shiny, new tech toys that attempt to steal the show—sometimes from the cars themselves.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Caption from LIFE. Honking sextet takes place before model instrument panels while crowd in Coliseum lobby awaits horn blasts that will open motor exhibition. Tooters from left are E.J. Bush, vice president of Diamond T Motor Car Co., representing manufacturers; Harold Churchill, president of Studebaker-Packard; General Motors' Curtice; Henry Ford II, president of Ford Motor Co.; L.L. Colbert, president of Chyrsler Corporation; American Motors' president, George Romney.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. In main arena, one of three floors, crowds roaming through the exhibits are shown in time exposure.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Living ornament, Jean Littleton, adorns hood of a De Soto convertible on a rotating platform. Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. A crowd gathers to see a heavy-duty Dodge, one of several trucks in the Power Giant line. The model explaining to a male audience that trucks come with push-button controls like passenger cars.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Attentive boy, William Postman, is invited by model to see $12,000 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Stepping stones over a rippling pool provide the approach to a La Parisienne Pontiac hardtop.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA model shows off a 1957 Ford model at the National Automobile Show at the New York Coliseum.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCars are exhibited on multiple levels, 1957.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesThe interior of a new Cadillac is equipped with a writing desk and typewriter (obscured), on display at the National Automobile Show in 1957.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA model introduces a 1957 Dodge truck as boys look on with interest.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA fountain on display at the New York Coliseum, 1957.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Favorite attraction for youngsters, a Mack fire truck, is explored by Jay and Felice Shulman.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. In ski clothes girls display a Pontiac station wagon loaded with equipment for a winter outing.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Happy try-out of a Chevrolet convertible is made by boy who sits on its power-operated seat.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Swarm takes over a truck. Boys are exploring the high cab which is above its diesel engine.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA young girl waits by the Lincoln display at the National Automobile Show in 1957.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesWomen admire the interior of a car on display at the National Automobile Show, 1957.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Sleepy sightseer, 3-year-old Kevin Coogan Jr. folds up in his dad's arms before Chyrsler 300C.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
