In honor of Indiana’s bicentennial, three automotive museums — the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum, the Studebaker National Museum and the Kokomo Automotive Museum — have teamed to present an exhibition titled, Hoosier Made: World Driven.
Each museum has its own unique exhibit to showcase Indiana’s automotive history: the Studebaker National Museum features the “brass era” featuring pre-1915 automobiles, the Kokomo Automotive Museum showcases automobiles from the “jazz era” of the late teens, while the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum spotlights classics from the 1930s classic era.
Museum goers are encouraged to pick up a “passport” at any of the three museums to be stamped at any two for free admission to the third.
The collaborative exhibit runs through October 3 at each museum.
Exhibits:
The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is working on a new exhibit and looking for a mobile or do you mean Mobil? gas station display from 1954-1961 and rare color Corvettes to display. Examples include a 1957-59 Inca Silver, 1960 Cascade Green, 1977 Corvette Chartreuse, 1990 Competition Yellow, 1994 Copper Metallic, 1996 Dark Purple Metallic, 2000-2001 Bowling Green, Aztec Gold, and 1998 Navy Blue Metallic. Interested owners or recommendations are encouraged to submit information through the museums website.
The museum also features an IndyCar exhibit in celebration of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Held in the museum’s exhibit hall, the display features a number of racing through the years and is set to run through October 14, 2016.
Running through September 11, the California Automobile Museum features “The Pickup Truck: Where utility meets the everyday.” The new exhibit looks at the transition of the American pickup truck from a work vehicle to a personal vehicle with examples from the 1920s through modern day.
The AACA Museum has a new exhibit, “Early Off-Roaders,” to run through October 15. The exhibit celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Ford Bronco in addition to the 75th anniversary of the Jeep.
Located in Nashville, Tennessee, the Lane Motor Museum opened a new exhibit, “Macchine Italiane: A Tour of Italy’s Motoring Spirit,” which runs through May 22, 2017, featuring more than three-dozen vehicles — race cars, motorcycles and bicycles that demonstrate Italian design and engineering from 1936-2012, with cars that range from the Fiat 500 to the exotic Lamborghini Urraco.
Car shows (with and without coffee):
This Saturday, June 25, Muscle Car City, in Punta Gorda, Florida, holds the “Disabled American Veterans CH 82 Car Show,” from 9 a.m. till 1 p.m. Dash plaques are to be given to the first 50 attendees. Show car registration is a $10 donation. The following day is the museum’s monthly flea market from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
On Sunday, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles holds its “Breakfast Club” cruise-in on the third level of the museums parking garage. Starting at 8 a.m., participating cars are eligible for the museums Best in Show award, Peoples Choice, and the most historically authentic vehicle is to be awarded the Petersen Perfection award.
Also on Sunday, the Simeone Museum in Philadelphia hosts a Nissan and Infiniti tuner car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with cars in attendance such as the GT-R, G37, 240SX, Silvia, Skyline, 370Z, 350Z.
The Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine holds “Cars and Coffee” on July 9, from 9 a.m. to noon.
The Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan, plans Cars and Coffees for August 27 and October 15.
The National Corvette Museum celebrates its 22nd anniversary in conjunction with “R8C Museum Delivery” over Labor Day weekend. The anniversary and R8C include car shows, seminars, road tours, and the Corvette Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. Bob Bondurant, Ralph Kramer, and the late Donna Mae Mims will be inducted.
The California Automobile Museum in Sacramento, hosts “Cruise Fest on Fulton Avenue” on September 10. Cruising runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. but the festivities continue through 8:30 p.m. The event is free to attend and features live music, breweries, vendors, and food trucks.
And it’s not just cars:
The LeMay- Americas Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, will show E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial on Saturday, June 25, as part of its drive-in movie series on the Haub Family Field. Parking for the show starts at 4:30 p.m. and the movie starts at dusk. The event is free but does not include Museum admission.
The World of Speed Museum in Wilsonville, Oregon, offers a “simulator race series” with the simulator set in “damage mode,” meaning cars will behave and sustain injury as in real driving. Participants get a practice run and qualifying run June 30, July 28, August 25, and September 29 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Drivers with top qualifying race times advance to the finals on October 27.
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum offers discounted admission to those who drive their classic cars to the museum on July 10 in celebration of Collector Car Appreciation Day.
Tickets are available to purchase for the 2016 Automotive Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Gala Ceremony. The black tie event is set for July 21 in Detroit, Michigan and honors inductees: Bertha Benz, Roy Lunn, Alan Mulally, and Raplh Nader in addition to Matt Simoncini as Industry Leader of the Year.
October 21-22, the Simeone Museum hosts Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan and two-time Le Mans-winning driver Tommy Milner for a two-day celebration dedicated to Corvette Racing. Highlights include dinner, a meet and greet, Demo Day, memorabilia auction, and autograph session.
Educational opportunities:
On Saturday, June 25, the Simeone Museum offers a Demo day featuring the sounds of the V12 with a 1933 Auburn V12 Speedster, a 1958 Ferrari 250 Testarossa, and a 1967 Bizzarrini P538 Spyder.
The Petersen Museum holds a lecture on June 28 with Larry Crane to discuss “Automobiles, Architecture, and Innovation in Los Angeles: A Retrospective on a Creative Future.” The discussion is set to take into consideration how sun, surf and speed conspired to accelerate the development of brick, mortar, and metal into the sculptural landscape of what became a city known for its creativity and innovation.
July 20, “E.L. Cord – The man, the myth, the legend” is the topic of discussion at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. Presented by the museum’s curator, Jon Bill, the discussion celebrates E.L. Cords 121st birthday along with birthday cake and punch.
The British Motor Museum is celebrating the British car starting July 23 and running through September 4. During this time, different workshops will be held Tuesday – Thursday each week with activities including building British cars with Legos, creating your own card Land Rover, Mini or E-type Jaguar and creating a car out of balloons.
Bobby Rahal, winner of the 1986 Indy 500 and the first Indy driver to complete the 500 miles in less than three hours, is slated to appear at the Blackhawk Museum on November 12 as part of the museums Speaker Series.
