Viewed As Part of a Regular Curator’S Display from February 8 Through March 31, 2019

Supplement to Sports Car Market SportsKeith Martin’s Car Market™ The Insider’s Guide to Collecting, Investing, Values, and Trends 2018 INSIDER’S GUIDE TO A VUTOMOTI E MUSEUMS PREMIERE ISSUE ■ Donald Osborne on What Makes a Great Museum ■ In-Depth Profiles of 31 Featured Museums ■ Directory of More Than 80 Museums INTRODUCTION / TABLE OF CONTENTS where the Past Comes to Life his Insider’s Guide to Automotive Museums is a dream come true for me. T I have long wanted a listing of the most significant museums in the U.S. in one easy-to- access digest. This guide fulfills that need. I’m keeping a copy in my glovebox. I love automotive museums of all types, from the rigorous, intellectually challenging Petersen and Revs collections to “I bought it because I liked it” private collections. The history of the automobile spans little more than 130 years, starting with the Benz Patent-Motorwagen in 1886. Thus in a single museum you can often follow the evolution of the motor car from the horseless carriage to the Bugatti Chiron. As you stroll through the museums listed here, reflect on what the cars on display tell you about the tastes of the owners who collected them. The cars and the people behind them are inextricably intertwined, as it should be with these four-wheeled chariots of passion. — Keith Martin, Publisher, Sports Car Market ■ FeATUreS 12 The Qualities That Make a Museum Great — Donald Osborne 18 Map of Major Automotive Museums in the U.S. FeATUreD MUSeUMS eAST 28 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 40 The Cobra experience Museum 20 The Buffalo Transportation 41 Fountainhead Antique Auto Pierce Arrow Museum 28 Packard Proving Grounds Museum 20 Newport Car Museum 30 Studebaker National Museum 41 LeMay—America’s Car Museum 22 Owls Head Transportation 30 The Henry Ford Museum 42 National Automobile Museum SOUTH (The Harrah Collection) 22 Simeone Foundation 32 The revs Institute Inc. Automotive Museum 42 Penske racing Museum 32 The elliott Museum MIDweST 44 Petersen Automotive Museum 34 Lane Motor Museum 24 Auburn Cord Duesenberg 44 Unser racing Museum Automobile Museum 34 National Corvette Museum 45 world of Speed Motorsports and Motorsports Park 24 British Transportation Museum Museum 26 Crawford Auto-Aviation 36 Permian Basin Petroleum Museum of the western Museum DIreCTOry reserve Historical Society weST 48 Detailed Listing of Major U.S. Automotive Museums 26 early Ford V-8 Foundation 38 Automobile Driving Museum Museum 38 Blackhawk Museum 27 Ford Piquette Avenue Plant 40 California Automobile Cover photo courtesy of 27 Gilmore Car Museum Museum The Blackhawk Museum ADVerTISerS INDex early Ford V-8 Foundation Museum.....................39 Owls Head Transportation Museum ��2 elliott Museum ��9 Packard Proving Grounds ��57 America’s Packard Museum ��16 Ford Piquette Avenue Plant ��53 Penske racing Museum ��37 Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum ��47 Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum ��59 Petersen Automotive Museum ��13 Automobile Driving Museum ��25 Gilmore Car Museum ��10 Petroleum Museum & Chapparral Car Gallery ��51 Blackhawk Museum ��4 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum ��55 reliable Carriers ��60 British Transportation Museum ��16 Lane Motor Museum ��43 Simeone Foundation Museum ��33 Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum . 5 LeMay—America’s Car Museum ��3 Sports Car Market ��31 California Automobile Museum ��46 Meguiar’s ��49 Studebaker National Museum ��58 Cobra experience ��17 National Automobile Museum ��35 The Henry Ford ��15 Collier Collection/reVS Institute ��6 National Corvette Museum ��11 Unser racing Museum ��23 Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum ��21 Newport Car Museum ��29 world of Speed ��7 8 INSIder’s GuIDE TO AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS www.sportscarmarket.com INSIDER INFORMATION Making a Museum Great What makes a museum speak to me is the same, regardless of the theme By Donald Osborne Courtesy of Petersen Automotive Museum The redesigned structure of the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, CA, is a work of art in itself love museums. Of course, being both a quite difficult. But my assignment here is passionate enthusiast as well as a pro- to share what I feel makes an automotive Ifessional in the field of cars, automotive museum “great.” So to that end, here is how museums hold a particularly dear place in the above criteria have been met in a few of my heart. the venues I’ve enjoyed spending time in What makes a museum speak to me is the over the years. same, regardless of the theme. I want to see Preservation and promotion things I’ve never seen before in person, find One of the chief missions of any mu- out a new fact about something I thought I seum is the preservation, promotion and knew well and visit for a bit with an object dissemination of historical information. I’ve admired for a long time. This is best done through the gathering of a The best museums do this effortlessly, collection that has been carefully curated to through the presentation of carefully as- communicate a clear and consistent story. sembled and curated collections, well- A prime example of this for me is the researched and clearly presented special Simeone Foundation Museum in Phila- exhibitions, and a knowledgeable and en- delphia, PA. Based on the collection of thusiastic staff and volunteers who bring a sports racing cars donated to the foundation personal touch in connecting the displays by founder Dr. Frederick Simeone, this mu- with the visitors. seum consists of one of the most spectacu- I have been thrilled by visits to many lar collections of original historic racing automotive museums in the U.S., the U.K. cars of the 20th century. and Europe and, like naming your favor- Dr. Simeone is devoted to the preser- ite car, listing the ones I find the “best” is 12 INSIder’s GuIDE TO AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS www.sportscarmarket.com INSIDER INFORMATION vation of living legends, and most amaz- Culture and context ingly, demonstration runs regularly held in I get a lot of enjoyment out of visits to the large lot behind the museum showcase the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los the cars of the museum as they should be Angeles, CA. Now in its 24th year, the Pe- — loud and live. This is no fossil reposi- tersen is enjoying a well-deserved renais- tory, regardless of the irreplaceable objects sance following a massive renovation and found here. The Simeone Foundation Mu- redesign finished in December, 2015. seum brings new meaning to the term “in- What do I love about the Petersen? It teractive.” celebrates car culture as only a museum lo- The Simeone also boasts an amazing cated in Southern California can — a nexus library with period brochures, magazines, of people and their inescapable vehicles. I books, letters and other documents cover- appreciate it when a museum does a con- ing historic vehicles throughout the 20th sistent and credible job of contextualizing century. I have found it a vital source of in- exhibitions. formation for writing and restoration proj- It’s easy to park a car in a museum. It’s ects on which I’ve worked. less so to be able to tell a visitor, whether research and connoisseurship sophisticated and experienced or a neo- As archives go, if the Revs Institute/ phyte, why the car is there and why they Collier Collection in Naples, FL, only should care. The Petersen does it brilliantly, consisted of its document and photographic with a range of cars from classics to hot materials, I would rank it as one of the most rods, race cars to low riders. My taste in important, useful and simply entertaining cars is broad — I may not want to write a institutions around. When you add to that check for or live with some, but I appreciate what is arguably the most important assem- being introduced to and coming to appreci- blage of antique, vintage, classic and col- ate cars I might not have otherwise. lectible automobiles on the planet, you’ll As I wrote near the beginning of this agree that it is a must-see destination. piece, it’s tough to limit myself to just a Here the keywords are connoisseurship, few. I’ll conclude with a short list of some rarity, historic significance, preservation, of the other museums I’ve spent memorable responsible restoration and research. An- hours in and why. I hope you have the op- other collector might have purchased the portunity to visit them too. legendary Briggs Cunningham Collection, The Mullin Automotive Museum dusted the cars, hung a sign, unlocked the Oxnard, CA door occasionally and called it a day. Exquisite cars, furniture and sculpture The one-of-a-kind Miles Collier tell a fascinating story of creativity and couldn’t conceive of

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