{"id":1268,"date":"2011-08-09T19:52:42","date_gmt":"2011-08-09T09:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/?p=1268"},"modified":"2012-02-01T22:37:45","modified_gmt":"2012-02-01T12:37:45","slug":"los-angeles-2011-part-7-peterson-automotive-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/?p=1268","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles 2011 part #7 – Peterson Automotive Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If you have even a passing interest in cars then this stop should be mandatory on your LA itinerary. A large two level building covers not only the history of motor cars but also an extensive range of modern super cars, hot rods, movie props, motorcycles and even a Hot Wheels<\/strong> toy section!<\/p>\n

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1921 Model T Ford <\/p><\/div>\n

The lower level starts of with the forefather of motoring, the Model T Ford<\/strong> and the earliest Cadillacs<\/strong> evolving to the first race car complete with era specific dioramas. Strangely, possibly due to space restrictions, a very Vegas neon lit section displays a 24ct gold coated Delorian<\/strong> and 1994 model Bugatti GT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Gold plated De Lorean<\/p><\/div>\n

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1994 Bugatti GT<\/p><\/div>\n

Also speckled through out the displays are era related details, including the evolution of the petrol bowsers\/fuel pumps, corner store and workshop garages.<\/p>\n

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Era replica petrol\/gas station<\/p><\/div>\n

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Petrol bowser\/Gas pump evolution<\/p><\/div>\n

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Era replica Chevrolet showroom<\/p><\/div>\n

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"Elvis II" and "The Egyptian"<\/p><\/div>\n

The pinnacle of race engineering, the Indy car 625+hp V8 engine and car, and the future of cars and car designing round off the lower level.<\/p>\n

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2007 Indy car V8 engine <\/p><\/div>\n

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Car designs of the future<\/p><\/div>\n

Paintings and photos adorn the escalators to the top floor we’re you’re hit with another vegas style set up this time from the one and only Speed Racer<\/strong>. Shown here in MK5 form it was one of the props used in the live action movie.<\/p>\n

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Speed Racer MK5<\/p><\/div>\n

Other show stoppers include, the 90’s Batmobile<\/strong> – looking more like a top fueler up close than a “toy” with is Mickey Thompson slicks and all business cockpit; Green Hornet<\/strong>‘s Chrysler Imperial; THE General Lee<\/strong> from Duke’s of Hazzard complete with “authentic” front end – one of hundreds destroyed in the TV series; Magnum PI<\/strong>‘s Ferrari – warning! Standing too close will cause an unwilling desire for Hawaiian shirts and moustache rides; everbody’s favourite bug, Herbie<\/strong> – in Nascar mode, found in the days when Lindsey wasn’t a complete trashbag, and finally they even have Professor Fate<\/strong>‘s…err… six wheeler “car” from “The Great Race” movie.<\/p>\n

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90's Batmobile<\/p><\/div>\n

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Dukes of Hazzard - General Lee<\/p><\/div>\n

After a terrible segue of the history of alternative fuels, hello steam powered cars and the very first hybrid (it seems the smugness was prevalent even back then), the floor opens up to every teenage boys wildest dreams (before the internet). There’s no messing about with the first car being the seminal Bugatti Veyron<\/strong>, then a Maserati MC12<\/strong> and Mercedes CLK GTR<\/strong>. Germans and Italians go at it like Ford and Holden (only with more style and character) with their dream teams, Porsche 959<\/strong>, Lamborghini Countach<\/strong> and Ferrari F40<\/strong> and F50 Spider<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Bugatti Veyron<\/p><\/div>\n

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Porsche 959 and Lamborghini Countach<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ferrari F40 and F50 Spider<\/p><\/div>\n

“Grease Lighting<\/strong>” sits by its lonesome, probably in shame for looking so hideous. Unsoiled by the abomination outside, the hot rod section its all chopped, dropped and blown with more custom jobs and glitter paint than a Hollywood A list party.<\/p>\n

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Grease Lightning<\/p><\/div>\n

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Hot rod - Peterson Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

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Hot rod - Peterson Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

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Hot rod - Peterson Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

Further along, needless to say the Hot Wheels<\/a> exhibit was a personal favourite. Easy over a thousand different models on display along with the very first incarnations and processes on design and construction, some of which making its way into the full size productions.<\/p>\n

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Hot Wheels exhibit<\/p><\/div>\n

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Hot Wheels exhibit<\/p><\/div>\n

The top level is rounded out with a look at competition drag racing, top fuelers and dragsters and a small exhibit of about 15 motorcycles for those organ donor types.<\/p>\n

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Drag car simulator<\/p><\/div>\n

If you didn’t drive, take a quick pop out to the parking garage for a few bonus vehicles. One being some kind of rocket car. Everyone loves rocket cars!<\/p>\n

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Skeleton Bike<\/p><\/div>\n

Afterwards, check out the extensive range of merch and a crazy skeleton motorcycle in the gift shop. If you’re feeling a bit peckish, or are craving the classic American diner experience then a stop in to Johnny Rockets<\/a> is a must. Service is fast and friendly, meals are reasonably priced and thankfully not overly clich\u00e9d covered in grease and you get a smiley face in ketchup! Enough to put a smile on any petrolhead’s dial (:<\/p>\n

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Johnny Rockets LA<\/p><\/div>\n

Travel tip: Check the opening times! Allow approx. 2 hours for a relaxed look, more if you want to read all the plaques and info snippets. Also keep an eye out for free parking or discounts paired with Johnny Rockets.<\/em>
\n
\nPhoto tip: Wide angle and high ISO is the way to go. Wide angle lens to fit in full shots of cars, especially if there’s a few people about and high ISO for the usual dimly lit exhibits. Most are manageable but there are some sections that are a bit darker.<\/em><\/p>\n

Next up we wind down LA by hitting the ‘burbs for one last shop.<\/p>\n

Complete Peterson Automotive museum photos here<\/a><\/p>\n

Los Angeles 2011 part #1 – Arrival, Melrose Trading Post<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #2 – West Hollywood shopping, Mulholland Drive<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #3 – Downtown shopping – Fashion District<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #4 – Downtown shopping – Japantown<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #5 – Steel Panther @ The House of Blues 17\/5\/11<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #6 – Hollywood sign, Farmer’s Market<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #7 – Peterson Automotive Museum<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #8 – Greater LA area shopping<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #9 – Hollywood sight seeing with Orbic Air<\/a>
\nLos Angeles 2011 part #10 – Driving in Los Angeles\/California<\/a><\/p>\n

Complete Los Angeles 2011 photo gallery here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have even a passing interest in cars then this stop should be mandatory on your LA itinerary. A large two level building covers not only the history of motor cars but also an extensive range of modern super cars, hot rods, movie props, motorcycles and even a Hot Wheels toy section! The lower […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[574,388],"tags":[1204,1203,1193,1189,1200,1191,1196,1216,1217,1215,1190,1195,1201,1192,1219,1202,1206,1197,400,594,1185,1187,1198,1221,592,1214,2777,1207,1205,1212,1213,1188,1186,1208,1183,1194,50,1210,1220,1199,1218,1184,1209,488,770,391,1211],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1268"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1268"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1852,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1268\/revisions\/1852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}