A new museum is set to open in Rochester, New York, as part of a business expansion that will redevelop the surrounding area. The museum, dubbed the Rochester Auto Museum, will feature cars from the Bob Bartosiewicz collection.
The collection includes the red 1958 Plymouth Fury from the movie Christine, as well as such rare muscle cars as a white, automatic 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible, one of just five made.
Bartosiewicz is the founder of CGI Communications and is funding the creation of the museum. With plans to open in May, he aims to show how the Flower City can lay claim to being the birthplace of the automobile.
New exhibits –
The Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California, is about to open an exhibit celebrating the French automaker Citroën. “Citroën: The Man, The Marque, The Mystique,” will feature cars from the entire history of the company as well as an in-depth look at founder Andre Citroën. The exhibit runs from March 11 through the Spring of 2018.
The Simeone Automotive Museum in Philadelphia is showing “An AC Cars Retrospective” exhibit made of more than 20 AC cars. The display can be seen through March 12.
The Studebaker National Museum has opened an exhibit, “Sublime Studebakers: The Raymond Loewy Era.” Studebaker became a leader in automotive design under Loewy, who worked with the company from 1938 to 1958 and returned to design the Avanti. The exhibit features archival images as well as original Studebaker design artwork and artifacts which can be viewed through June 4, 2017.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History opened an exhibit February 1 that displays objects that were used during the days of the Black American Racers Inc. The former owner and president Leonard W. Miller and former members of BAR donated clothing, race victory trophies and awards, as well as the iconic steering wheel from the Formula Super Vee driven by the late BAR driver Tommy Thompson.
Car shows –
This weekend, the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan will have the “hoods up” on several cars within the museum.
The Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California, holds Cars and Coffee on Sunday. The next Cars and Coffee event is set for April 2, and the museum holds the Northern California Corvette Associations 37th “A Legend On Display” Corvette Car Show on April 23.
On March 19, Muscle Car City in Punta Gorda, Florida celebrates its eighth anniversary with a car show. The show runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and offers dash plaques to the first 150 show car participants in addition to the opportunity to receive one of the 20 best of show awards to be presented. Registration is $15 and can be done online, or $20 the day of.
The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania will stage a “Cars 4 Critters” gathering April 22 to benefit homeless animals.
The Corvette Homecoming and Chevy International car show hosted by the National Corvette Museum is set for June 1-3 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Ken Lingenfelter has been named the event’s grand marshal and the show field is open to all models of Chevrolets and Corvettes. Celebrated anniversaries will be of cars produced in 1957, 1967, 1977, 1987 and 1997.
Cars in motion –
The LeMay Marymount in Washington State offers driver education in a Ford Model T with students touring the historic 88-acre Marymount Military Academy Campus while learning how to drive the Model T. Classes are offered from May through September.
Educational opportunities –
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Indiana is continuing the monthly program, “If These Cars Could Talk,” with a look at a 1937 Chrysler Airflow on Saturday at 2 p.m. followed by the third segment in the museum’s Curatorial Spotlight series with “Bonnell Souder” presented by Chelsea Dant from the Willennar Genealogy Center. The presentation will take place on March 21 at 6 p.m.
The Gilmore Car Museum continues its annual Lecture Series on Sunday at 3 p.m. with “Mackinac Island and Grand Hotel History” presented by Bob Tagatz, Resident Historian Grand Hotel Mackinac. Shortly after, William Hentges, Automobile/Aviation Button Collector, and Author, is slated to present “Quicksand: Speed Is Born” on March 12; “Around Nova Scotia by Locomobile” presented by David Lyon, author, and historian, on March 19; “Lincoln Carrera Pan-American Racing of the Early 1950s: The Ray Crawford Story” presented by Andrew Layton, a racing historian and author, on March 26.
The British Motor Museum holds a “Cars Through the Lens” photography workshop March 18, followed by “Lights, Camera… Cars” the following day. Each workshop will be led by Lara Platman, who will teach participants how to use their camera settings, basic light and composition, the rule of thirds, and other essential techniques.
The Blackhawk Museum continues its Speaker Series on March 25 with Marshall Buck, known for his expertise in building detailed custom cars. His presentation will be on “The Art & Craftsmanship of Automotive Model Building,” which will cover some of what goes into the making of one-of-a-kind scratch-built models, as well as making the masters for his limited-edition hand-built pieces. Following Marshal Buck in the museum’s speaker series will be Chris Bock, the Pebble Beach Concours Chief Judge, on April 8 to discuss “The World’s Greatest Concours.”
The National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada, offers a history symposium entitled “The 1970s: Activism: Voices for Change” on April 26 and 27, from 4-9 p.m., and April 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. The discussion will feature national speakers, historians, authors and local scholars will present on a wide variety of topics such as the Iran hostage crisis, foreign policy, the impact of the ’70s on our modern day world, the auto industry and even a humorous look at the decade’s culture, including fashion
Travel opportunities –
The National Corvette Museum in Kentucky heads to Seattle for an adventure-filled weekend July 26-30 with sights including Mount Rainier, the LeMay museums, Museum of Flight, Seattle Center (with Space Needle), Pikes Place Market and more. Registration is $1,890 for single occupancy and an additional $340 for double occupancy. NCM Members receive a $40 discount. The museum also offers a tour of West Virginia held August 27-29.
The AACA museum in Pennsylvania offers travel opportunities to Cuba from June 2-10; to England, September 1-10; and to Italy, November 3-12.
It’s not just cars –
This Sunday the Petersen Museum hosts the 2017 Valley Con, the largest model competition, swap meet, and exhibition in Los Angeles. Awards will be presented to aircraft, diorama, figures, armor, ships, automotive, science fiction, collections, and juniors. Regular museum admission grants participants 10 model entries.
The AACA Museum plans the “Second Chance Spring Auction,” April 8. The auction will be held from 8 a.m. to noon and features a flea market and car corral. That same day and again on April 15, the museum holds an Easter egg hunt from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The museum holds a Spring Fling Collectible Toy Show on April 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
April 1, the Kansas City Automotive Museum hosts the third annual Dancing with the Cars event, a fundraiser that includes a dinner buffet, entertainment, and a silent/live auction.
On April 23 the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania holds its annual Bulldog Beauty Contest from 1-3 p.m.
June 3, the LeMay stages “Fast & Furious, the 2017 Wheels & Heels Annual Gala.”
