The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, promises to take visitors back in time May 18 when it hosts the Gilmore Pre-1942 Showcase Car Show and Swap meet from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
“Not your ‘typical’ car event,” the museum says. “It’s actually authentic time travel back to the early days of motoring. Here you’ll see vehicles produced during the first 50 years of the automobile in motion as they drive around the museum’s historic campus.”
In addition to cars cruising among the red barns and vintage dealerships that comprise the campus, a race around the Gilmore oval track is planned between a High-Wheel Motor Wagon and a 1902 Curved Dash Oldsmobile.
The day also features the largest reunion of 1909-1925 Cole Motor Cars, vintage-style carnival games (with prizes), visits by Doughboys returning home from World War I, a women’s right to vote march, and more.
Enzo Museum examines ‘timeless’ design themes
“Timeless Masterpieces” is the title of an exhibit at the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy, and the historical and social context for the design of the cars were addressed recently in a special program featuring Flavio Manzoni, head of design for Ferrari, and Daniel Collin, Ferrari enthusiast and chief executive of the Amira Diamonds Group.
Themes discussed included “the creative threads shared by the luxury industry, such as the value of craftsmanship and the increasing importance of personalization, which lead to the creation of unique and bespoke products,” the museum said in its news release.
“The ‘timeless’ concept was chosen as the starting point for the debate – a fundamental element in the design of a Ferrari and common to all the most eloquent designs,” the museum added. “The necessity of creating an enduring masterpiece has been universally recognized by the Prancing Horse’s designers over the years, and they have consistently succeeded in overcoming the limits imposed by their respective eras to create objects of eternal beauty, which outlasts changing fashions and evolving tastes.”
Indy museum offers talking Tom Carnegie bobbleheads
For more than 60 years, Tom Carnegie was the voice of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and became famed for phrases including “And heeeee’s on it!” and “It’s a newwww traaaack recorrrd!”
To celebrate the late announcer’s 60th anniversary with the track in 2005, talking bobbleheads bearing his image were created and became popular Speedway souvenirs. A trove of those bobbleheads, some autographed by Carnegie, has been donated to the Speedway Museum by the Carnegie family and Exodus Promotions head Bruce Richardson, and are being sold at the museum to benefit the museum.
Police museum unveils restored ’49 patrol car
The Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum used the LeMay – America’s Car Museum as the backdrop this week for the unveiling of a restored 1949 Ford Washington State Patrol car.
“This 1949 WSP Ford ‘Shoebox’ sedan is considered historically significant as the vehicle is one of the very first ‘police package’ vehicles produced by a manufacturer, coming factory-equipped with a powerful Ford ‘Flathead’ V8 engine, heavy-duty brakes, 16” wheels, a spotlight and a steel reinforcement plate on the roof to accommodate lights or large antennas.”
Appearing at the opening was 93-year-old retired trooper Fred Schenk, who was issued a ’49 Ford patrol car as a state patrol rookie. He said the car handled well “and could do 106 miles an hour on the flats.”
The car was restored by police museum volunteers. The car will be displayed at the Greenwood Car Show in Seattle on June 29 and also will visit other events in the area.
Vauxhall Heritage Centre sets June 9 ‘Open Day’
British automaker Vauxhall has a collection of 75 vehicles at the Vauxhall Heritage Centre in Luton, England, and has announced the collection will be open to the public this year from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on June 9. The facility is open for visiting only one day a year. Last year, more than 5,000 people took advantage of “Open Day.”
Featured will be the 50th anniversary of the Bedford CF van and the 40th birthday of the British-built Astra model.
In addition to the company’s cars, Vauxhall clubs will display their vehicles.
The event is being held the same day as the Luton Festival of Transport at Stockwood Park, where round 1,000 vintage vehicles are expected to be on display.
Muscle Car City adds dinner to its menu
Muscle Car City in Punta Gorda, Florida, has opened its StringRays Bar & Grille during the dinner hours, from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and from 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Special events this weekend
“Colors of Speed — 50 Years of the 917,” a special exhibition of 10 of the famed Porsche racing cars, opened May 14 and runs through September 15 at the Porsche Museum in Germany.
The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, hosts the C4 Gathering from May 16-18.
The Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan, offers free admission on May 17 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, opens two new summer exhibits on May 17 — Studebaker Cool: 114 Years of Innovation, and Harley-Davidson: History, Mythology and Perceptions of America’s Motorcycle. Both exhibits run through October 20.
The Saratoga Automobile Museum in upstate New York hosts its spring auto show Saturday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Britain’s National Motor Museum at Beaulieu hosts both its silver-anniversary spring autojumble (swap meet) May 18-19 and a 60th anniversary celebration of the Mini.
LeMay Collections at Marymount in Tacoma, Washington, offers Model T drivers education classes May 18, June 8, July 7, August 4 and September 8.
Muscle Car City in Punta Gorda, Florida, stages its monthly car show May 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Brooklands Museum in England hosts a Spring Motoring Breakfast and cruise-in car show on May 19 from 8 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. The event is open to cars more than 30 years old and to “more recent collectable cars.”
Mark your calendar
The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, hosts weekly Wednesday evening cruise-in car shows throughout the summer.
The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee hosts its weekly Bike Nights cruise-in and live music event every Thursday during the summer months from 5 to 9 p.m., with a cruise-in and live music.
The IMS Museum presents the 21st annual Indianapolis Historic Racing Exhibition on May 23-25 when around 70 Indianapolis 500 racing cars are expected to return to the track for exhibition laps and to be displayed in the museum parking lot inside Turn 2. The event is open to cars that raced at Indy between 1911 and 1994.
Rapid Response, a documentary movie exploring motorsports safety, makes its world premiere May 24 at the Indiana State Museum’s IMAX Theater in Indianapolis.
The California Automobile Museum in Sacramento hosts a Memorial Day Car Show on May 27.
The Museo dell’Automoibile di Torino in Italy opens a new exhibition, “Over the Future – 30 Years of IED in Turin” on May 29. The exhibit, which celebrates the IED design company and the cars it has styled, runs through September 2.
The Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario, offers a free downtown automotive walking tour at 1 p.m. on May 31 to explore why Oshawa became known as Canada’s Motor City.
The Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard, California hosts its monthly “Muscles & Mojo at The Murphy” car show on June 2 from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m.
The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut, will stage its second “Barracudas, Sting Rays & More Show Cars from the Sea” car show on June 8.
Britain’s National Motor Museum and the Montagu home at Beaulieu will host a major exhibition of sculpture from May 25 through July 14. “Sculpture at Beaulieu” will feature more than 350 works by more than 60 sculptors.
LeMay Collections in Tacoma, Washington, stages LeMay Motorcycle Days from June 13-23 with 200 motorcycles on exhibit and with rounds of motorcycle soccer.
“Daredevils: A Century of Spine-tingling Spectacles,” a special summer exhibit, opens June 15 at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.
The Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California, will stage its annual Father’s Day car show on June 16.
Author Dan Albert will discuss his book, Are We There Yet? The American Automobile Past, Present, and Driverless, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. June 22 at the Simeone Foundation Automobile Museum in Philadelphia.
The Miles Through Time museum in Toccoa, Georgia, hosts its second annual car show from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on June 22.
The Lions Drag Strip Museum in Rancho Dominguez, California, holds its grand opening June 22.
The Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard, California, hosts its seventh annual vintage trailer show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 29, with more than 40 vintage trailers and campers on display.
LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, will be the finish line for the 2019 Great Race and plans to celebrate with a “Shine Time” car show on June 30.
“The Car. The Future. Me” is the title of an exhibit scheduled to open July 13 at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, UK, to explore “futuristic car design and (to) challenge your idea of how we will interact with the cars for the future,” the museum said.
The Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan, inducts new members Sergio Marchionne, the late chief executive of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; Janet Guthrie, the first woman to qualify as a driver in the Indianapolis 500; Richard “Dick” Dauch, co-founder of American Axle Manufacturing; and Patrick Ryan, creator of the first auto dealership finance and insurance department, on July 18 in Detroit.
The North East Motor Sports Museum in Loudon, New Hampshire, will honor NASCAR champion and New England native Joey Logano at a special event July 19.
Hale Farm & Village in Cleveland hosts a car meet on July 21 featuring, among others, cars from the Crawford Auto-Aviation Collection.
On August 3, the British Motor Museum will be the site of the Classic Mini Mosaic world-record attempt that is expected to draw more than 600 classic Minis. The following day the museum will be the site of the National Metro & Mini Show.
The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, inducts racer Briggs Cunningham, Corvette designer Tom Peters, and Dollie Cole, Corvette enthusiast and widow of former GM president Ed Cole, into its hall of fame on August 30.
“Legends of Speed,” a showcase of nearly two dozen historic racing cars, opens November 2 at the Phoenix Art Museum.
Does your local car museum have special events or exhibitions planned? Let us know. Email [email protected].
