Remembering 1965 at Motor Muster

This AMC Rambler Marlin was one of several 1965 models in Detroit Central Market. / Image by Matt Anderson

Sunny skies and perfect temperatures favored all who visited and participated in this year’s Motor Muster, which took over the streets of Greenfield Village the weekend of June 20-21, 2026. Nearly 700 cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and even a few boats gathered for our annual celebration of automotive culture from the mid-1930s through the late 1970s.

Those who have attended in the past know that each year we pick a special spotlight theme. It’s usually a particular make or model, but this time we went in a slightly different direction. In honor of Greenfield Village’s new Jackson Home, where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his allies planned the Selma to Montgomery marches, we chose to highlight the 1965 model year. Not only was it a year of tremendous social change, culminating in the passage of the Voting Rights Act: it was also a key year for automotive history. American manufacturers produced a record 8.8 million vehicles, and the Chevrolet Impala topped sales lists while the Ford Mustang continued to make headlines. At the same time, Ralph Nader put safety front and center with his book Unsafe at Any Speed, while President Lyndon Johnson signed an act establishing the first national standards for motor vehicle emissions.

The Henry Ford’s Pontiac GTO anchored the 1965 display in Detroit Central Market. / Image by Matt Anderson

Several 1965 cars took up residence in Detroit Central Market for the weekend. At the center was The Henry Ford’s own 1965 Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO. It was only the second year for the GTO, still technically an option package on the mid-size Tempest LeMans rather than its own model. But the GTO had ushered in the muscle car era, which continued until rising insurance premiums and higher gas prices ended the party in the 1970s. Other 1965 models in the market included a Ford Mustang, a Chevrolet Corvette, an AMC Rambler Marlin, and an Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2.

This 1956 GMC bus provided the backdrop for a Civil Rights-era Freedom Riders vignette. / Image by Matt Anderson

Commercial vehicles – delivery trucks, ambulances, fire engines, and the like—are always a part of Motor Muster, but this year’s show had an added attraction. Our friends at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, generously loaned a 1956 GMC PD-4104 motor coach painted in period Trailways livery. Buses like this not only revolutionized highway travel with their air-ride suspensions and air-conditioned comfort; they also carried countless Freedom Riders as they fought segregation in the south and helped register Black Americans to vote in the early 1960s. The bus served as the centerpiece for a Freedom Riders vignette on the Village Green.

Two hopped-up Model As represented hot rod culture in the 1950s. / Image by Matt Anderson

Elsewhere in Greenfield Village, other historical vignettes told stories of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, the American wartime home front in the 1940s, and the Bicentennial excitement of 1976—particularly fitting as America celebrates its semiquincentennial in 2026. New this year was “The Need for Speed,” a vignette focused on the growth of hot rodding in the 1950s. Two Ford Model As were staged by the J.R. Jones General Store, where costumed presenters answered questions and souped up their A-Bones with aftermarket performance parts.

Pass-in-review sessions featured cars like this 1951 DeSoto Custom. / Image by Matt Anderson

Pass-in-review returned for 2026. Throughout the weekend, expert narrators provided commentary not just on participating automobiles, but on commercial vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles as well. Spectators could take a seat in the bleachers on Main Street and watch a parade of cars pull through for a moment in the spotlight. Highlights included special appearances by a group of Thunderbird Jr. kiddie cars, and even a (trailered) boat from the special “Tailfins and Two-Tones: Outboard Boating’s Golden Age” display on the banks of Suwanee Lagoon.

A parade of Thunderbird Jr. kiddie cars, led by a Mustang Jr., made its way along Maple Lane. The battery-powered cars are loved by the young—and the young at heart. / Image by Matt Anderson

The weekend’s activities concluded late Sunday afternoon with our annual awards ceremony. While Motor Muster does not feature formal class judging like Old Car Festival, the show does include popular choice balloting. Visitors and participants alike were encouraged to choose their favorite vehicles from each decade. The results were then tallied, and first-, second, and third-place trophies were handed out in the ceremony. We also presented two Curator’s Choice prizes to original, unrestored cars. The full list of winners is available here.

All in all, it was a beautiful weekend of cars and camaraderie. We’ll look forward to doing it again in 2027.

Matt Anderson is Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford.