The Petersen Automotive Museum, Pt 2

While my visit to the Petersen was to see the Hollywood Dream Machines, no trip to a museum is complete unless I visit all the floors.  It follows that no website is complete without a story concerning those floors. Right?  The Petersen is a box of delights for anyone interest in art, beauty, and design.  No matter the vehicle, the Petersen Automotive Museum never fails to make it breathtaking.  I can’t possibly cover everything, so I’ll give some highlights.

Hot Rods and Customs

I’ll admit that this topic doesn’t sound interesting to me, but look again.  Lowrider genius, Mario De Abla Sr, took a simple Chevrolet Sport Sedan and created a marvel!

This car is a glorious red, but there’s more.  Every part of the car is intricately painted. The interior is red velvet!

But not all cars are decorative; some are fast!

Record-Setters at the Petersen Automotive Museum

From dragsters to Indy cars, the Petersen had several fast vehicles on display; my favorite tends to be Ferrari.

The sign that accompanied this car listed its statistics.  Next to the category for Best Race, it said: “Too Difficult to Choose.” I think that says it all.

While I could photograph this sort of car all day, I had to move on.

Alternative Power!

I received two surprises in the area dedicated to vehicles run with alternative power. The first was how old this technology is.

I think of hybrid cars as a current day invention.  I never knew they existed a hundred years ago!

What’s more, I think of electric vehicles in terms of cars only.  I had my eyes opened at the Petersen.

The museum had several electric motorcycles.  Many went extremely fast, say 200 mph.   Oddly enough, this isn’t a new thing.  E-bikes have been racing for over forty years.  Where have I been?

A visual wonderland

The Petersen Automotive Museum is a delight to the senses.  Whether your passion is cars, design, color, or artistry, the museum has something for you.  Plus, all these marvels are housed in an architectural wonder.  I hope you get a chance to explore it.  You won’t be disappointed.

To see more images from my recent visit, please click here.