Photos: When GM's designs ruled the road

Behold the world's first concept car, according to GM: the 1938 Buick Y Job. The brainchild of Harley Earl--that's the gent behind the wheel--the two-passenger sports convertible had disappearing headlamps and the convertible top automatically hid itself behind the passenger compartment. "It was the first car developed with an eye less on commercial production than on gauging public reaction to new technologies and designs," according to GM's Century of Innovation site.