More About the 1956 Mercury XM-Turnpike Cruiser

When I was growing up, Seattle had yet to emerge as a world-class city.  Perhaps that was why the General Motors Motorama show never arrived and hardly any Detroit dream cars showed up otherwise.  The only two I remember seeing were the Chrysler C-200 and the Mercury XM-Turnpike Cruiser.  I wrote about the Turnpike Cruiser in 2015, and more images of it have appeared since then, so I thought it was time to revisit it.

Also, it seems that the car still exists and was set to be restored, according to this 2018 Hemmings article.  Some photos of the pathetic (though apparently restorable) wreck are shown as well.

Both "dream" and production cars of the mid-1950s were prone to sporting jet fighter / science-fiction rocket details.  So it was to some extent with the XM-Turnpike Cruiser.  But, for the most part, the design could have entered production.  The car itself was no powerless "pushmobile," being built on Mercury engine and chassis components.

I've always rather liked the design.

Gallery

The Mercury XM-Turnpike Cruiser.

The scooped out rear fender area feature was used on 1958 and 1959 production Mercurys in reduced form.

This photo shows the car painted red.  Most color images have the car painted a variation of pink.

Aside from those rocket pods below the bumpers, the front is a nice simple design.

The rear is jazzier thanks to those side scoopouts as they wrap to house the taillights.

Showing the original color scheme.

Those roof panels that open when the doors do is a dream car feature that almost certainly would not have reached production.

Now for three 2018 views of the Turnpike Cruiser via Hemmings.