HomeNews and EventsHere’s a preview of the newly expanded CCCA Museum

Here’s a preview of the newly expanded CCCA Museum

Our weekly roundup of car museum news and notes

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Although its official grand opening is scheduled for August 27, the expansion of the Classic Car Club of America Museum already is open for visitors. The CCCA facility is one of several such club-based collections housed on the grounds of the Gilmore Car Museum campus in Hickory Corners, Michigan.

Like most of the buildings on the campus, the newly expanded CCCA Museum is a vintage barn-style structure. The expansion features 11,000 square feet of display space for vehicles and for a new Art in Motion interactive exhibit which joins several vehicles and a display on designers in the original rotunda.

1938 Packard 12 takes a place in the expanded museum
1929 Lincoln Model L and 1939 Buick Salon Tourer
1926 Wills Sainte Claire T-6
1929 Cord L29 limo, and note megaphone near driver’s left ear for instructions from inside the passenger compartment

The official grand opening begins August 27 with a driving tour to historic Marshall, Michigan. The ribbon cutting and “grand salon” celebration take place August 28 at the expanded museum. 

Then, on August 30, a driving tour begins to Traverse City, Michigan, with dinner at the Hagerty car collection. On August 31 and September 1, the tour goes to historic Mackinac Island, where cars are banned and travel is by horse-drawn carriages. The group heads back to Traverse City on September 2 and on to Hickory Corners on September 3.

Harley-Davidson museum expanding

Harley-Davidson 'The Garage'
Artist conception of the museum’s new ‘Garage’ | Harley-Davidson Museum photo

The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee has broken ground for a new “Garage,” an 8,000-square-foot event space designed to host corporate events, weddings and more with floor-to-ceiling views of the Menomonee Valley. The facility, on the museum’s 20-acre campus, is expected to be ready for events in spring 2022.

Bookings can be scheduled through 1903 Events.

ACD offers outdoor movie nights

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in northeast Indiana has added three outdoor movie nights to its summer calendar. Sharing an overall theme of the “Duesies & Movies” series are The Princess and the Frog (July 17), Dick Tracy (August 21) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (September 18). The drive-in style movies will be shown on a large screen in the museum’s education plaza with sound via a dedicated FM channel. Admission is free.

Corvette museum milestone

John and Gina Engel are 14,000 Corvette buyers to take delivery at the museum instead of at their local dealership | Museum photo

When John and Gina Engel recently took delivery of their 2021 Chevrolet Corvette coupe at the National Corvette Museum, it marked the 14,000th such museum delivery of America’s sports cars. It also marked the Engels’ first visit to the museum. 

The museum-delivery option (R8C) was introduced in 1995 and currently costs $995, and includes special treatment for the day including a VIP tour of the museum and an orientation to the vehicle. Museum delivery can be arranged through all Chevy dealerships selling the Corvette.

Special events this weekend

The Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario, stages its Third Thursday Zoom lecture at 7 p.m. on July 15 and will feature Sando Piszar, vice president of GM Canada, on “The Future of the GM Oshawa.”

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum hosts the 4th annual Philadelphia Concours d’Elegance on July 17.

The California Automobile Museum in Sacramento features Kimberly Reed Edwards’ new book, Sacramento Motorcycling, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on July 17, with the author speaking on the area’s early motorcycling pioneers. 

Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, California, hosts Harold Osmer and his Where They Raced: Turn 3 book from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on July 17.

It’s “Simply Vauxhall” on July 17 at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, UK, where Vauxhall vehicles will gather for a show. The following day, the museum hosts its “Simply Ford” showcase.

Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter and his 1952 Cunningham C3 will be the featured guests July 18 at a special cars and coffee at the Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine.

Mark your calendar

Stahls Auto Collection in Michigan stages its Autos for Autism event July 22 with Wayne Carini among the featured guests and with a tour of Jay Leno’s garage as a prize.

On July 23 it’s Princesses On Parade and a Fairytale Brunch at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. the event runs from 9:30 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, California, hosts Bruce Meyer and features Ken Gross’ latest book, Duece! 1932 Ford Hot Rods and the Bruce Meyer Collection, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on July 24.

It’s “Simply Japanese” on July 25 at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, UK, where cars from Japanese automakers will gather for a show. Inside the museum, a very early 1935 Datsun Type 14 sedan will be on display.

The inaugural North East Motor Sports Museum rally-tour Around the Lake is scheduled for July 31. The event begins at the museum in Loudon, New Hampshire, and will take scenic roads to the Vintage Racing Stables car collection in Sanbornton. The event is limited to 1972 or earlier vehicles.

The Mustang Owners Museum in Concord, North Carolina, is organizing a road trip to the Woodward Dream Cruise in the northern Detroit suburbs. Cars will gather in Dayton, Ohio, on August 17, visit the Gale Halderman Museum, and then head to Dearborn, Michigan. 

With so many events canceled during 2020, the British Motor Museum at Gaydon will turn the Gaydon Land Rover Show scheduled for July 31-August 1 into the 50th-plus-one anniversary for the off-road automaker. “We’re looking forward to having a belated birthday celebration,” said show manager Tom Caren.

It’s “Simply Audi” on August 1 at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England.

It’s Supercar Weekend August 7-8 at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, England, where more than 900 of the world’s highest-performance vehicles are set for show, for demonstration runs and for “sound-off” competition.

1966 Triumph T120
1966 Triumph T120 | Museum photo

Opening August 19 at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland: “Year of the Motorcycle,” a traveling exhibit from the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Alabama. The showcase will be the first for 2-wheelers at the Ohio museum. When the traveling exhibit departs, the Crawford will unveil its own “Open Road: The Lure of Motorcycling in Ohio” exhibition. 

It’s AutoFest 2021 on August 22 at the Newport Car Museum in Rhode Island, where the Mass Cruisers Auto Club (that’s Mass as in short for Massachusetts) stages a showcase featuring more than 500 vehicles.

The annual Saratoga Motorcar Auction at the Saratoga Automobile Museum in upstate New York is scheduled for September 24-25.

The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, resumes its annual “Night at the Museum” fundraiser on October 6 with a theme of “Cars and Country Music.” Troy Engle and Southern Skies will perform at an event that also will be the kickoff to “Fall Hershey.”

Does your local car museum have special events or exhibitions planned? Let us know. Email [email protected]

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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