Tupelo, Mississippi, is known for more than being the birthplace of Elvis Presley; bisected by the Natchez Trace Parkway, the city that was once the site of a Civil War battle is now home to an outstanding automobile museum.
Opened in 2001, the Tupelo Automobile Museum was founded by Frank Spain, who scoured the United States to amass its collection. Several billboards north of town advertise the museum as the largest car museum east of the Mississippi River. I was unable to verify if that claim is based on the number of cars or the size of the building, which measures just over 12,000 square feet. The collection itself comprises vehicles from nearly every continent.
I am presenting the more remarkable cars in roughly chronological order, and placing more emphasis on the pre-World War II cars for two reasons: first, you might not have heard of them; and also, the likelihood of finding one curbside is nearly nonexistent.
1886 Benz
Advertised as the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, this was the first automobile designed to be propelled by an engine.
Karl Benz’s wife, Bertha, was a determined woman who greatly contributed to the success of the Benz. Taking one of the first cars made, she and two of her teenage sons left their Mannheim home to visit her parents in Pforzheim. Along the way, she was her own mechanic, cleaning the carburetor with her hat pin and getting ligroin (laboratory solvent) from a pharmacy to use as fuel. She spent three days at her parents’ home, then drove back to Mannheim, for a round-trip total of just over 120 miles.
1899 Knox Porcupine
The Knox Automobile Company was based in Springfield, Massachusetts. This particular car is somewhat of a mystery; the Knox company existed from 1900 to 1914, producing a grand total of fifteen cars for inaugural year 1900. This is presented as an 1899 model.
This air-cooled automobile earned the name “Porcupine”, due to the number and shape of the engine cooling fins.
1904 Reo
Founded by Ransom E. Olds, the Reo automobile came into existence in 1904. Alternately spelled “REO” and “Reo”, the firm ceased automobile production in 1936 to focus on trucks. In 1957, Reo became a subsidiary of White.
1904 White
The White Model D was a steam-powered car produced from 1901 to 1905. The company was founded by Rollin White, who was prompted to do so by his disappointment in a steam-powered Locomobile. Rollin’s father, Thomas White, had founded the White Sewing Machine Company, and until 1905, the cars were produced in a corner of the elder White’s sewing machine factory. After World War I, White transitioned to the exclusive production of trucks.
1905 Delaunay Belleville
Built in Saint-Denis, France, the Delaunay Belleville was one of the world’s most prestigious automobiles of its day, boasting both Tsar Nicholas II and King Alphonse XIII of Spain among its purchasers. The Delaunay Belleville was strictly a four cylinder-powered machine through 1908, until the introduction of the first French built six-cylinder in 1909. Delaunay Belleville had converted to truck and military production by the late 1920s.
1907 Ford Model R
A Model N with more trimmings, the $750 Model R was produced from April-October 1907; around 2,500 were made in total.
1906 Queen
The chain-driven Queen was produced by the Blomstrom Motor Company, in Detroit, from 1904 to 1907.
1908 Glide
Annual production of the Glide usually totaled less than 500 during its 1902-1920 run, part of which could be explained by sparsely scattered dealerships among a handful of states, and one in Quebec. The Glide was powered by a Rutenber engine (as was this 1916 Luverne), and built by the Bartholomew Corporation, in Peoria Heights, Illinois. Their advertising jingle was “Ride in a Glide, then decide.”
1911 Brush
Of the roughly 10,000 Brush autos produced between 1907 and 1912, most were runabouts like this one-cylinder example. Brush autos did pose a challenge for those unfamiliar with them, as their engines ran clockwise and crank starting was decidedly different. Founded by Alanson P. Brush, the company manufactured Brush cars in Pontiac, Michigan before its 1910 merger into the United States Automobile Company.
1912 Cartercar
There were two models of Cartercar available in 1912, both of them with four-cylinder power: the Model R, with 4,160 cc, and the 5,437 cc Model S; which model this one is is undetermined. The Cartercar’s friction drive was very much a early version of today’s CVTs.
Cartercar was purchased by General Motors in 1909; in 1915, the brand was eliminated altogether in order to open a factory for production of the Oakland.
1913 Minerva Knight
Founded by Sylvain de Jong sometime around 1902, Minerva started out building motorcycles, but within two years the Belgian company was producing luxury automobiles. The Minerva was considered by many as comparable to Rolls-Royce in terms of quality and prestige. Minerva owners included the kings of various Scandinavian countries, as well as Henry Ford.
Interestingly, the first Triumph was powered by a Minerva engine.
1915 Lozier
The Lozier shared a prime commonality with the White, both cars coming from companies founded by manufacturers of sewing machines. Henry Lozier went all-out in the making of his luxury car; in 1910, a new Cadillac cost $1,600, while a Lozier cost $7,750. This one is claimed to have cost $3,250. Lozier attempted a merger with the Ford Motor Company in 1915, which turned out to be Lozier’s final model year.
1915 Studebaker
Studebaker would offer two models for 1915: the four-cylinder, 108″ wheelbase Model SD, and the Model EC, which was powered by an inline six and rode a 121″ wheelbase. This appears to be an SD, of which 24,900 were built versus 8,750 of the larger series.
1915 Winton
In 1897, Winton became one of the very first American companies to sell a car. In 1903, a Winton earned the distinction of being the first car to traverse the continental United States.
Automobile production ceased in 1924, as Winton had transitioned to making engines; in fact, a Winton-produced diesel powered the Burlington Zephyr, the first diesel-powered American train. Winton was purchased by General Motors in 1930.
1916 Owen Magnetic
The methodology seen in current hybrid offerings is not new. The Owen Magnetic was a six-cylinder hybrid, produced from 1915 to 1922 and advertised as “The Car of a Thousand Speeds”. This 1916 model, built in Cleveland, Ohio, cost in excess of $3,000 when new.
1917 Chevrolet V8
This is an example of Chevrolet’s original V8 engine produced for 1917 and 1918. At 288 cubic inches, it produced 55 horsepower. Information accompanying this display speculated as to whether Chevrolet’s 1918 purchase by General Motors was a factor in the V8’s cancellation.
1920 Apperson Jack Rabbit V8
Apperson was a Kokomo, Indiana, based company that produced cars from 1901 to 1926. The Jack Rabbit speedster was introduced in 1907.
1921 Wasp
Karl Martin was an automotive designer and coach builder from Bennington, Vermont. Using a 6.4-liter Wisconsin engine, Martin gave building automobiles a shot with his Wasp. A sensation when introduced in 1920, it nevertheless was not a success. While there is debate about how many Wasps were built, the number is still minute; this example is one of the two Wasps left in existence.
1926 Hispano Suiza
1928 Hispano Suiza
Hispano Suiza was a Spanish automotive and engineering firm that specialized in making luxury cars and developing new technologies. In the early 1920s, Hispano Suiza held many patents for various items in high demand by its competitors. Hispano Suiza would be the first company to produce a practical cast-block engine.
At the time these two cars were built, luxury car production was shifting to the parent company in France.
1927 Stutz:
Founded as the Ideal Motor Company, Stutz would manufacture a total of 35,000 units, all in Indianapolis, during a production run of 1911-1935. A Stutz placed eleventh at the 1911 Indianapolis 500, and in 1927 a Stutz set a new speed record, averaging 68 miles per hour for 24 hours.
1928 Franklin
The museum had many examples of luxury cars that fell victim to the Great Depression; this Franklin is among them.
Franklin produced cars, all of them air-cooled, from 1902 to 1934, selling a total of about 150,000 during its thirty years in business. This picture is of a Franklin with an exposed engine, found at a local car show.
1929 Duesenberg
What is there to not like about this Duesenberg? For the second year of the Model J series, approximately 200 were produced.
1931 Lincoln
One did not see a Lincoln on the rental car lot in 1931. Any 1931 Lincoln is a rare sight, with 77 dual-cowl phaetons and only eleven phaetons manufactured.
1932 Nash
This ’32 Nash is included for having been awarded “best paint job” by Mrs. Jason and Spawn. Its lilac-and-Pepto-Bismol color scheme definitely was eye-popping, and provided quite a contrast to the many black cars on display nearby.
1936 Lagonda
Named for Lagonda Creek, near Springfield, Ohio, Lagonda was a British automobile company founded in 1906 by American Wilbur Gunn. After entering into receivership in 1935, the company was purchased by Alan P. Good, who was able to entice Rolls-Royce employee W.O. Bentley to come work for Lagonda.
In 1947, Lagonda would be purchased by David Brown and eventually merged into Aston Martin.
1937 Alvis
Thomas George John founded the company that would become Alvis in Coventry, England, in 1919. The Alvis name was chosen because their original logo was quite similar to that of another company; years later, Geoffrey de Freville, who had created the Alvis name, explained that he chose it because it could be pronounced in any language.
Rover took over in 1965, and production of the Alvis ceased in 1967.
1939 Graham
A design applauded by many and purchased by few, the “Shark Nose” Graham was introduced in 1938 and labored along until 1940. Only 3,660 were produced in all series for 1939.
1948 Tucker
Who doesn’t know the story of the Tucker? When I first saw it, I was surprised it wasn’t locked up as tightly as many of the other vehicle, but as I thought about it, it made sense: leaving everything open allows one to get a more comprehensive feel for the car itself. Let’s take a mini-tour…
Here’s the engine. Check out the word “Tucker” painted on the intake.
The back seat area is shown with luggage to provide a better perspective on space utilization.
The front seat, set on an amazingly flat floor, looks quite inviting.
The trunk room is amazing. I didn’t completely capture the Christmas presents being stored there. Acccording to the data tag, this is body number 1028; does that make it Tucker #28?
1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser
With perhaps one of the best all-time model names for an automobile, this four-door hardtop is loaded with gadgets and power everything. This body style was the most-produced Turnpike Cruiser for 1957, with 8,305 finding happy homes.
1958 Toyopet Crown Deluxe
This Toyopet is claimed to be one of eight still known to exist. Like the Tucker, it is opened up to allow a better appreciation of itself.
The suicide doors occluded the rear view in the previous picture,
but you can see that it’s nice and blue inside.
I have read that many of the cars here are still operable, which makes me wonder about this one.
A number of cars from the 1960s and early 1970s were the usual Mustang-Charger-variety suspects; however, in keeping with its overall focus, the museum also displayed some lower-production American cars, including this Chrysler 300F.
Isn’t this engine bay a work of art? If I could have taken home any car here, this would have been it.
1982 Dodge Dart Electric
Based on the Dodge Omni 024, this is one of fifty electric cars built for various purposes by Dodge.
Here’s a better look under the hood.
1982 Maserati Quattroporte
This Quattroporte is of the third generation built from 1979 to 1990. Intended to compete with the Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9, the Quattroporte was a very limited production model, with a mere 2,100 built during that time.
Oddly enough, a few months back your author found another one in the wild; it awaits its own proper CC.
1984 Aston Martin Lagonda
This Series 2 was built from 1976 to 1990. With “folded-paper” styling rendered by William Towns, the Series 2 Lagonda was powered by a 5.3-liter V8 mated to a Chrysler Torqueflite transmission. This was the first car to use computer management and a digital instrument panel. Only 645 of these were built over a fourteen-year run.
2005 Ford Crown Victoria
Someone at this museum is an absolute visionary. In addition to the many luxury and performance cars in the museum is this Panther, dressed in full Mississippi Highway Patrol livery.
It makes sense to capture a Crown Victoria for a museum, since the vast majority of them are used in ways that don’t facilitate a long lifespan. These have been a part of the American landscape since this body style was introduced in 1998. Although you might scoff at the notion, I predict that someday these cars will be quite rare.
They even had a 2011 Corolla on display, open for intimate viewing; I found it more comfortable than the Camry hybrid that was also on open display. This Corolla was built in Blue Springs, Mississippi, and had been donated to the museum.
The collection is outstanding. If one must find a quibble, it would involve the presentation of information specific to each vehicle on display.
This is an example of the information provided. There were push-button speakers (visible in a number of these pictures), that offered an audio description for each display, but the volume was low and the words were simply lost in the expanse of the building. With scant on-site information available, I had to glean all the information cited in this article from various other sources.
In the lobby is a world map. Visitors are encouraged to mark the location of their home town with a push pin, which will then remain there for 30 days. Obviously, the museum has international appeal, since there are pins representing Tanzania, Kenya, and various locations in both Australia and New Zealand. As I was purchasing tickets, my wife struck up a conversation with a couple from Ireland. While I have no doubt about Elvis being part of the international draw, this museum is capable of standing on its own when it comes to attracting a vast array of people.
As an aside, admission for two adults and a child was $25 in total; admission to Graceland (in Memphis, Tennessee, a little over two hours away), would have been $33 for each of us. Given its Tupelo location, of course, the museum had to give a nod to the city’s most famous native.
Obviously, not all of Elvis’s cars wore a Cadillac badge.
Good god, there’s only 8 of those Toyopet Crown’s? I know of one sitting under a carport about 3 miles from me.
My friend likes to try and stump me by describing an unusual car he can’t ID, and I’ll always pull it up online in about 30 secs, I could not for the life of me figure out what he was describing, suicide doors, tiny, 50’s looks. Had him drive me by where he saw it, yep, a red Toyopet Crown.
They have to be more common. 8 left of the original batch imported new to the USA I can believe, though.
I live in Tupelo, MS and I was part of the team that purchased the 1958 Toyopet and drove to San Francisco, CA to pick it up and bring it back and I have done extensive research on this car. “1 of only 8” — the Toyopet was the first Japanese car to ever be exported to the US. Only about 287 were sold from the first effort by Toyota when they arrived in California in October of 1958.
There are only about 8 1958 Toyota Crowns known about….yes, one may be (as mentioned) in a barn somewhere…but if someone wants to see a 1958 Toyota Crown or a Custom Crown Deluxe (it came in two models), there are only about that many that have been found and restored….
Here is what is so special about the “Tupelo Toyopet” (www.TupeloToyopet.com) – it was previously owned by the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco. We have two original registrations showing this. It is also the only known (and let me phrase this correctly) — the only “known” “complete” left hand drive 1958 Toyota Toyopet Custom Crown Deluxe in the world. Toyota has one in their Torrance, CA museum but it does not have the clock and it does not have the radio and (to be honest) it is a Toyopet Crown, not the Custom Crown Deluxe (although they put a “Deluxe” name plate on the back of it.
Toyota has one in their museum in Japan but it is a right hand drive. A popular Toyopet enthusiast “Frenchy” Dehoux in Arizona (who actually rebuilt the engine in our Toyopet – and yes, it runs) owned one and is an expert on the early Toyopets. .
This car is ultra-rare but has no $$$$$ huge value when it comes to the rarity. This was Toyota’s first effort in the US. Japan’s first effort in the US. It was a miserable failure. It shook, was too slow and for the price, the US market offered better cars. It was excellent in Japan, but on the highways of the US with their faster speeds, the Toyopet shook violently once it got up to highway speeds….many took their Toyopet back and received a full refund.
According to the Toyota Archivists we interviewed on camera in Torrence when we went to pick up the car, Toyota legend is that they pushed the cars over the edge of the ships into the Pacific on their way back to Japan.
But the incredible story here is how their first failure in the US did not stop them and now here just outside Tupelo, Mississippi, is TOYOTA’s newest manufacturing plant that now makes the most popular car in the world – the Toyota Corolla.
…it’s a great story. One day my plan is to enhance the display at the Museum. This car was purchased by the community. And resides at the museum.
I made an effort at one time to chronicle this incredible story about our car – you can see more at http://www.TupeloToyopet.com
Thanks.
I’ll take the 1960 Chrysler 300F convertible. I would also be keen on seeing more of the 50’s and 60’s cars, like the Avanti beside the 300F.
BTW, it’s a 1984 Aston Martin Lagonda, not an Austin Martin. You probably know this and it was just a slip of the fingers, since you got the name right when describing the 1936 Lagonda. 🙂
Thank you; the change has been made.
Here’s the Avanti and it’s a supercharged ’64 model.
Hit the wrong button… let’s try this again.
Oh, my – a duplicate of the Avanti of my childhood owned by my original Car-Mentor Bill down the street. I loved that car, a Supercharged 4 speed.
Oooh supercharged, and I really like the colour too. Appears to be “Avanti Red” which is actually GM Honduras Maroon.
I see a 1st gen Corvair on the other side of the Avanti. Now you’re going to tell us that’s a Monza Spyder?
For whatever reason, I didn’t get a picture of the Corvair. However, there was this Dodge sitting nearby.
Dammit, now you’ve got me questioning why I didn’t put more cars in here. Oh yeah, I was tired of researching them all!!! 🙂
Now that’s a great looking car. It does seem that fin cars show up more often with fender skirts in the south – odd, since not one of them was offered from the factory with fender skirts. Of course I like the 300F as well – it reminds me of the 60 New Yorker 2-door hardtop I had.
I had heard of this place and wondered about it. Thanks for the tour!
The Maserati and the Lagonda are BOTH on my short list of dream cars I would love to have in my collection!
This building looks a lot nicer than Henry Austin Clark’s sadly departed and wildly eccentric collection. But I doubt this museum has either a 1906 Pungs Finch Limited or a Mayflower double decker bus.
Back to the actual collection, Nash always had bright colors in the 30’s but Pink is definitely out there, and they definitely get points for adding the Crown Vic and Corolla to show what the streets really looked like.
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Nice write up. Its on my list to see but all depends on availability of cheap flights.
A very nice place, from your description. Of the Indiana cars you mentioned, large parts of both the Stutz and Duesenberg factories are still standing. I ought to take some pictures and do an automotive history piece. Also, there is a small museum in the Stutz building, which I have never gone to visit. I need to do that. But I still hold out some hope of eventually finding a Stutz outdoors to do a proper CC on The Car That Made Good In A Day.
A very nice piece, as well. You probably put a lot of work into this if you had to dredge up some info on all of these obscure cars. Thanks for that!
I remember seeing the 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser for the first time in the Sunday Lowell, MA Sun one chilly fall morning. It was coral and ivory with gold anodized accents. My 9-year old mind was totally blown. There was something happening everywhere on the body, surface excitement for the terminally bored. I thought, OK, we’ve reached the apogee of automotive design, all you other guys can pack up your crayons and go home.
The Turnpike Cruiser was parked about two cars away from a ’54 Mercury Sun Valley; what a difference three years can make.
You are right on the surface; I pointed it out to Spawn, who was uncertain on which part to look at.
I had a similar experience, Kevin, I first saw this Turnpike Cruiser at the local Santa Monica Lincoln-Mercury dealer with my dad on his annual new car introduction jaunts. To my 10-year old eyes, this car was a tour de force, light years removed from the plain jane ’54 Ford Customline that he was driving at the time. It was, and still is to me, one of the pinnacles of Ford design of that time, right along with the ’57-’59 Ford Skyliner retracs, the ’57 T-Bird, the Continental Mark II’s. It was a fascinating age of automotive design, every new model year was another trip to the candy store for this kid.
What a great museum. I’m going to have to read up on the 024 Electric. Very cool. I also enjoyed the rare and unique brass cars. do you know if the Benz was real or a replica?
Are any of these cars regularly driven? Many look to have been static displays from long ago…
I wondered the same thing about the Benz, but there was nothing to either confirm or deny the question. However, given the rarity of a number of the other cars there, I would wager its the real thing.
A source I came across said most of the vehicles were operable.
Totally astounding job, Jason! Thanks!!
I was going to ask if that was a Benz or a Rube Goldberg. 🙂
Mrs. Benz must’ve been quite the lady to travel 120 miles with all of those exposed rotating gizmos. (And keep it all running.)
Thank you for this article and great pics Jason. The collection contains some very rare and unique autos. Love the ‘Shark-nose’ Graham. I didn’t know that few Lagondas were built. I remember been very impressed the first time I saw it. Hopefully, they’ll be able to invest more into the signage and presentation of these classics. Including some dioramas. I thought the Studebaker Museum did a an excellent job in this regard.
Regarding Chevrolet and the V-8:
First off, GM did not acquire Chevrolet. Chevrolet (and Billy Durant) actually acquired GM, as Chevrolet was designed to be the mechanism for Durant to get back into the CEO’s seat. During the teens, Chevrolet actually made a couple of different cars, the 490 which was designed to go up against the Model T, and the V-8 which obviously had higher aspirations. The original 1911 Chevrolet was, if my memory is still good, a six; the four cylinder 490 (named for its price) came along in 1914, then the V-8 showed up in 1917.
If anything, for its first decade, Chevrolet was not specifically designed to be the automobile for the blue-collar everyman. Ford had that one wrapped up tightly at the time.
Obviously, one brand was going to be rather well stretched to cover all that market. Add in the 1919/1920 post WWI depression that hit the auto industry rather hard, and at one point GM was on the verge of terminating Chevrolet on the basis that nothing could compete with the T’s price at the time. The marque was saved due to Sloan’s “a car for every price range” policy, and the decision to not compete with the T directly, but instead sell for a couple of dollars more with a higher quality car.
As to the 80’s Lagonda: A gorgeous automobile, completely let down by the totally electronic dashboard. Stop and think about it for the moment. The first digital readout instrument cluster was built by a British firm. With parts supplied by Lucas. Brain hurting yet?
This is the kind of CC submission that puts me in absolute nirvana. Way too little time is given to the pre-Depression autos out there. And there were some magnificent cars.
This is the sort of information I had sought on the early Chevrolet years. I knew there was a period of time where Chevrolet was trying to find its niche, so your statements fill in a lot of blanks.
We share thoughts on the pre-Depression autos; sadly, so few are found outside of car shows or museums and this is why I focused so heavily on them. Really, how many here had heard of a Queen, a Glide, or a Cartercar? About 2/3 of the displays in the museum were pre-WWII. My appreciation for them has grown significantly the past several years.
Now, if you really want an experience, try driving one. Anything 1932 or so onward is pretty straight forward and modern. Aka, all the controls are where you expect them to be. Before that, however, life gets interesting.
Regarding early Chevrolet history: If you ever have a chance to pick up a thick pamphlet (65 pages or so) entitled “The Chevrolet Story”, grab one. This was a promotional item given out by Chevrolet dealers every year at new car time back in the 50’s and 60’s (at least those are the ones that I see) – doesn’t matter what year of publication, as they just reprinted them every year changing the latter few pages for the new model year, and the cover.
It’s awful light on details, and other than the admission that Chevrolet almost folded in ’21/’22, is incredibly uncritical. They even mention the Copper Cooled Chevrolet (THE worst turkey in the history of the marque, makes the Vega and Citation look like W123 Mercedes in comparison) without admitting they screwed up. A real party line publication.
However, it does give you the basic chronology so you know what to look for in fleshing out the timeline. Everything I wrote above comes from memory of having read those pamphlets hundreds of times over while I was a child. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced what copies I’ve had, although I’m currently in a major months long clean-out of the attic, so who knows what I’ll find.
An absolute refreshing change after way too many broughams, musclecars, and fugitives from American Graffiti.
Must be a hometown boy or something, otherwise why Tupelo?
“why Tupelo”. A very large majority of these cars were privately owned by a gentleman named Frank Spain. He started and owned the local NBC television affiliate WTVA. His cars were all stored in warehouses in downtown Tupelo, Mississippi. When the city began to redevelop the downtown area, a public-private partnership was created with the Spain family. Frank died (oh man…I can’t remember – 10+ years ago?) and his main goal was that his collection would never be broken up – like many of the cars he purchased were – broken up collections from collectors. His collection will forever remain together and is a joint venture with the Spain family and the City of Tupelo.
Of course – Tupelo is the Birthplace of Elvis Presley and the location of TOYOTA’s newest manufacturing plant also.
Thank you Jason… appreciated.
Many thanks for the tour , really enjoyed it.
Great read. I’ll just add that I like the fact that there’s a luxury car from Vermont called the Wasp.
A strange idea to name a car after the most aggresive and annoying of insects.Wasps the skinheads of the insect world!
Hudson also made a model called the Wasp, and even the “Super Wasp”
In the early 80s I was working in Blackpool Lancashire and saw the only Maserati Quattroporte I’ve ever seen in the metal in nearby Fleetwood at a funeral directors!That Aston Martin Lagonda is an ugly brute and must be one of the worst looking cars ever built.I love the 300F,not everyone likes a pink car but this is gorgeous.
I don’t believe Chrysler offered such a pink shade in 1960, and I doubt that the museum would show a car with a drastically incorrect colour. I believe the 300F is a 1960 metallic colour called “Terra Cotta”, and that a combination of the lighting and camera settings have brought out the red in it so it looks especially pink.
I’m repainting one of my Chryslers in a metallic maroon. The underhood is done, and when I photograph it in my garage with the fluorescent lighting and the camera flash, it comes out in a hideous pinkish-red shade. (Well, you might not find it hideous. 🙂 )
The lighting does make a lot of difference in how paint colors show. I found that out when I showed my 58 Plymouth convertible with some of the other WPC Club local members’ cars in a shopping mall at Federal Way.
The convertible is slightly on the orange side of red, and the mall’s lighting made it look sort of brick red. On the other hand the pink and white 56 Plymouth next to it absolutely glowed in that light, and won the “people’s choice” prize from mall viewers.
This is the introduction video for the Tupelo Automobile Museum which gives some history about the founder: