I read in the paper an article about the Pate Museum of Transportation closing by this Christmas.
"...the million-dollar collection includes a 1937 Rolls-Royce Sedanca, a ’41 Cadillac convertible sedan, a ’53 Buick Skylark convertible, a ’29 Packard touring car, a ’50 Soviet limousine, a ’35 Aston Martin Mark II, even the ’62 Checker cab that Lee Harvey Oswald hopped in after he shot President John F. Kennedy."
I'm a car nut. I've always been a car nut ever since I saw an ad with a Maserati I thought was a dream. It was then I realized cars could be a work of art. Car and Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend - I read them all and loved it. Not only was there aesthetics to consider but the ingenuity of the engineering. There's nothing I like better than seeing what the human mind can come up with given free reign and I found such an outlet in the automotive world.
In the early days of coachbuilding, a chassis was constructed then sent out to one of the masterworks for a body designed to give the ultimate in modern beauty and luxury. Legendary names such as Hispano Suiza, Pierce Arrow and Rolls Royce. Most did not survive the Depression and cars turned more towards mass production ideals after the war though Ferrari kept alive the idea of dream cars giving us a tradition of "super cars" that lasts to this day.
I was also drawn into the world of racing, especially Formula One, the most balls out of any series. I also loved the 24 hours of Le Mans and the mythic battles the between Ferrari, Porsche and even Ford at one time. It's true that racing improves the breed as technology has trickled down to the ordinary every day car. To some cars are mere transportation - but that's to miss a whole world of thought and creativity.
[It was not an ideal place for taking pictures. The aisles were narrow thus angles to the cars were limited as well. Plus other people had the nerve to be there while I was as well]
The crown jewel of the collection was this Pierce Arrow, one of the most famous marks of its day:
The Pierce-Arrow was a status symbol, owned by many Hollywood stars, corporate tycoons; royalty of many foreign nations had at least one Pierce-Arrow in their collections. In American luxury cars it was rivaled only by Peerless and Packard, which collectively received the accolade Three P's of Motordom.
This Packard convertible was stunning. What a snazzy piece of work it was. You really have to see it in person to appreciate it. Shame cars today do not carry this profile. Very handsome!
The two Rolls were side by side. First an open tourer, second a sedan. I was really jonesing to drive all these cars I saw!
This Cadillac was a beast! You could just feel the hulking amount of massive metal it entailed. I can't imagine what it would be like to drive a machine so seemingly unwieldy.
This Daimler had a presence too. A piece of stout German engineering designed for the long haul.
They also had some oddballs. The first one is called "The Longhorn". I forget what make the second one was. I just kept imagining it being used in a ZZ Top video.
Obviously, I'm just hitting a few highlights here. There was also a dazzling Corvette Stingray and a 57 Thunderbird and many other gorgeous pieces of work to behold. If you live in the DFW area try to get there before it closes. I know of no other car museums anywhere close!
No comments:
Post a Comment