Traveling around the country, car historian Bill Porter remains awestruck at the enthusiasm Americans hold for their cars – old or new. Porter is also past chief of General Motors Advanced Design Studio where he was responsible for the original Pontiac Firebird.

Speaking to The Saginaw News, Porter said that same enthusiasm will bring car lovers to the Saginaw Art Museum’s current exhibit, “Designing an ICON: Creativity and the American Automobile.” The exhibition highlights nearly 100 rare drawings from American automobile designers of the early 1960s-70s.

With support from the Louisville Visual Art Association, the show includes examples from rough sketches through to finished drawings. Some of the sketches can be recognized as actual production cars, but there are some that still look spectacular, even decades after their original expression.

The Museum is supporting related activities, including a cruise this weekend whose participants will be able to meet several of the featured designers at the museum. Later in September, Bill Porter will make a presentation at the museum, entitled “History of the Musclecar Era.”

The exhibit is running now through October 3, 2010. For additional information, visit the Museum’s web site.