(first posted 3/12/2013) There are a lot of great car museums here in the U.S., including the Studebaker Museum, in South Bend, Indiana, and the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum, in Auburn, Indiana. Out on the West Coast, we have the amazing LeMay Collection and the Petersen Museum in L.A. But for Mopar mavens, there was one at the top of the list: the WPC Museum, in the heart of the Motor City. Sadly, it was closed to the public on December 31, 2012. Fortunately for you, though, we had a man in the field…
No, I was not the lucky man to visit this wonderful museum; our own Richard Bennett made the trek to Auburn Hills and took these most excellent photos. He did provide a bit of context, however:
The museum was opened in 1999, and has featured a revolving collection of various Chrysler cars, both production models and concepts. The centerpiece of the museum was a spiral in the center of the building, two stories tall, with cars placed on staggered tiers. When I visited in 2008, the spiral turned slowly; this last time it sat still. Some of the highlights included a Chrysler Turbine car; one of the first Chrysler cars; the first minivan; and a number of concepts. My personal favorites were the Tom Gale-era concepts from the 1990s and early 2000s. Sadly, they had taken many of them out by this time.
So, let’s take a virtual tour. JPC, if you start to get too excited, breathe into a paper bag. Okay, let’s get underway…
Not too far from the main lobby was a lovely beige Airflow. (The Airflows) were a failure, despite their space, efficiency and even safety–remember that vintage film of the Airflow going over a cliff? Remarkable.
But the public didn’t go for it, and the more traditional Chrysler Airstreams quickly outsold it. A real shame, as I love the lines of these cars. So did much of Europe: Just off the top of my head, I can recall the Peugeot 402 and Volvo Carioca. Yes, there was a Volvo Airflow! Chrysler attempted damage control by tacking on a more traditional nose, but I like originals like this one, with that graceful curve from bumper to windshield.
Here we have the 1941 Newport dream car, a companion to the ’41 Thunderbolt retractable hardtop. A handful of each were built, and a Newport actually paced the last prewar Indy 500.
One nice thing about Chrysler is they take their acquired companies to heart: Jeeps, AMCs and, I believe, even a Hudson or two were all in attendance at the museum. Another cool touch were dioramas, like this one featuring a WWII Jeep.
Let’s be honest, how could the WPC not have a 1946-48 Town & Country? This is one of the most collectible cars of the immediate postwar period; take one look at this beauty and you can understand why. Too bad the two-door hardtop T&C never went beyond a few prototypes–it would have beat GM’s Roadmaster Riviera and Coupe de Ville by three years.
The design of the “jukebox” radio, speaker and clock is a prime example of industrial art. As beautiful as it is, I imagine you got some glare driving down the road with the top down, but it would be worth it just to pilot one of these beauties. I still have a maroon, 1/24th-scale T&C by Danbury Mint on my desk at home; it was a Christmas gift in 1993 or ’94.
This lovely blue convertible is a 1951 New Yorker, and just about my favorite car that Richard captured. Sure, the bottle-green T&C is wonderful, but you see them in car books and online on sites like Hemmings so often that you tend to get used to them, if that’s possible!
The Kelsey-Hayes wires help, but I think I was particularly drawn to the dark-red Highlander plaid interior. And the fan-type instrument clusters on these really stood out, too.
Here we have a dream car from the early ’50s, the so-called “Thomas Special.” As I understand it, several were made; in fact, in recent years a green one has made the rounds at Pebble Beach and other concours events. If it looks a bit like a big VW Karmann Ghia (it rides a New Yorker chassis), it’s because it is one of many Mopar dream cars built by Ghia of Italy.
A lovingly well-preserved 1986 Town & Country convertible was also in attendance. If its pristine condition was not enough, it also sported the seldom-seen alloy wheels. While these can’t compare to the original T&C shown earlier, I have to admit I love these things, perhaps due to John Candy’s metallic avocado-green version in the classic John Hughes film Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Say what you will about Lee’s mini-Mark Broughams, the Mark Cross interior on these Town & Countrys was pretty snazzy. Do you suppose the radio plays “Mess Around” by Ray Charles? It should!
Here we have what has to be the most pristine Reliant coupe in existence. I am unsure if this one is a prototype, but it is clearly an early version. And what’s that behind it?
If that K-car is a little too pedestrian for you, this ’61 300G will fix you right up. Fins, chrome and lots and lots of power!
And check out that interior, with swing-out seats, soft leather upholstery, and a translucent steering wheel rim.
Found elsewhere was this tri-tone ’56 D500, quite striking in red, black and white. The D500 was Dodge’s mid-’50s performance car, much like the Plymouth Fury, DeSoto Adventurer and the venerable 300. Unlike its corporate cousins, however, the D500 was available, at least theoretically, for any Dodge, and did not include special paint or trim.
Of course, there was an original 1955 C-300 as well–this is the W. P. Chrysler museum, for crying out loud. You might have noticed that Christmas tree and other holiday decorations in some of these photos.
As Richard told me, “Because it was December, they had the museum decorated for Christmas, and the theme included trees that represented the decades, and they decided to feature women’s wear from the decades as well.” Kind of a neat idea! I wonder if they did Halloween decorations in October too? Maybe not, but there was a snazzy orange-and-black Turbine Car!
The Turbine Car was an amazing jump forward in Chrysler’s attempt to bring turbine power to Mopar showrooms. Fifty-five were built by Ghia of Italy and then loaned out to U.S. families between 1963 and 1966 for testing. Ultimately, it was not deemed practical for production, and most of the cars were crushed to avoid import duties on the Italian-built bodies. An interesting first-person experience of one man’s family getting one to try out can be found here; it is well worth a read!
A very nice ’56 Imperial Southampton was also on display–in jet black, of course. While the inaugural 1955 Imperial was quite an impressive vehicle, I prefer the ’56 with its edgier rear quarters.
Of course, Richard had to get a shot of the trademark free-standing taillights, which have been referred to as “microphone” or “lollipop” taillights over the years. Whatever you call them, there is no mistaking them on an Imperial. Their last year was 1962.
Bookending the Imperial was this one-off Cordoba. It made the car show rounds when new, and as I understand it, was given to Ricardo Mantalban afterward. After he’d driven it for a time, Chrysler apparently re-acquired it.
The interior was customized as well, with a unique silver-and-black leather interior (Was it soft Corinthian leather? Of course it was!). The floating-pillow upholstery reminds me a lot of the then-current New Yorker Brougham. You could never get a high-back split bench in a NYB, however–at least not in the 1976-78 period.
While the Cordoba never came with two-tone paint, this custom job reminds me a bit of the two-toning on 1975-77 Pontiac Grand Prix coupes. This may also be the last Cordoba on Earth without a vinyl roof!
Here is an example of the very first Town & Country. Unlike the big luxury wagons of the 1950s-1970s and the plush minivans of today, the original was more of a fastback sedan, with clamshell loading doors instead of a tailgate.
Inside, it was just as upscale as you’d expect, with solid wood door panels and leather seats. And I love that steering wheel!
Fast-forward a few decades and we have the woody Voyager, in this case the very first one Lee Iacocca drove off the line. This is most likely the nicest 1st-gen Chrysler minivan on the planet.
This one is clearly an uplevel model, judging from the nice upholstery, wood sides, sport wheel covers and whitewalls. They really put the “mini” in minivans; today’s Caravan and T&C are a fair bit bigger than these originals.
As Richard related, “In the basement was the area they called ‘Boss Chrysler’s Garage’, where they kept many muscle cars, trucks, Jeeps and AMC models. Some highlights included the Dodge La Femme, a car that was marketed to women, an early 70’s Plymouth Duster, a 1968 Fury convertible, and several Chargers.” First up was this amazing Plum Crazy-over-white Hemi ‘cuda. Let’s see what else is around down there!
Here’s a requisite Charger for you Bullitt fans to drool over. Nice to see one that hasn’t been given the Pukes of Hazzard treatment, huh?
Here’s a car I have always wanted to see in person–a Dodge La Femme. Chercher la femme? Au moins on est dans ce musée!
Whatever you think about Chrysler’s attempt at making a car designed to appeal to women, there’s no denying that the ’56 Dodge is a looker.
I’m sure our own JPCavanaugh will have a marked interest in this ’67 Fury III convertible. Alas, Richard took only this front view and a close-up of the hood ornament, but you can see a bit more of it in the Duster photo a few pics down. Besides, we just had an up-close-and-personal look at a ’67 VIP!
Moving away from the land yachts, there was this mint Shelby Charger. I always liked the “pepperoni” alloy wheels these cars had, which I believe were available on Dodge 600s as well. I had a blue, snap-together model of one of these Chargers back in the ’80s, and it may still be in a box somewhere. I’ll have to look for it…
How about a finny pick ’em up truck?
Or an Airflow prototype? I am getting a serious VW Type 1 vibe from this one.
Here’s a nice 340 Duster. With similar scoot for a lot less money, these sportier Valiants and their Dodge brethren were single-handedly responsible for the failure of the E-body Barracuda and Challenger.
This triple-black Charger is pretty menacing, especially with the hidden headlights. Although most folks go for the 1968-70 models, I really like these ’71s.
In a nod to AMC, which Chrysler gobbled up in 1987, a nice Eagle SX4 was on display…
…not to mention an AMX, one of my most favorite late-’60s cars. Is it me, or does the SX4 have some resemblance to this AMX?
Let’s just take one look at this nicely restored Charger drag car before heading back upstairs. The variety of cars at the WPC is pretty diverse, don’t you think? Something for everyone.
Well, our tour has come to a close. What could be more appropriate than a look towards Chrysler’s future, in the form of the 2005 Firepower concept? I recall seeing this at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show.
What I did not know was that it was based on the Dodge Viper and sported a 6.1-liter, 425-hp Hemi. Despite the rumors and hints from Chrysler involving production plans, they never came to fruition.
And with that, folks, we’ve come to the end of the tour. I’d like to express my appreciation to Richard for sharing his pictures with us. Although I was not able to visit this place before it closed, thanks to his photo tour, I almost feel like I’ve been there. Many thanks, Richard!
No fuselage cars? That must be why they closed.
I kid, but I feel bad for the many people who made this place happen, only to have the plug pulled rather abruptly. Does anyone know why?
I especially enjoyed all the interior shots – thanks for sharing, Tom and Richard.
I had understood that it was a funding problem. The Museum is still there and will be opened for special events. Richard undoubtedly knows more than I do, but I understand that the museum is a separate not-for-profit from the company. The poor economy in Michigan has hurt fundraising and the fact that the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village is the big auto-related destination museum in the area just did not bring enough regular visitors.
Yep, no fusies and only the one C-body Fury convertible in the basement.
The museum was operating at a loss for several years, and I believe was going to lose some aspect of it’s not-for-profit tax exempt status. Chrysler owns the building, and purchased the museum’s collection of cars, so it will remain intact for now at least, but no longer open to the public.
Oh boy, guys. I think maybe I need to take the day off and go lie down for awhile. This jolt of pristine classic Mopar may be more than I can take today. 🙂 Seriously, Thank you so much, Richard, for making the trip and taking these great shots. Family activities during the holidays prevented me from burning an entire day to make the trip, but you have given me some highlights.
I am about 2/3 through a bio on WPC, and he was quite a guy who built quite a company. The only shot missing here is probably of that original 1924 Chrysler, which has been called the first modern car, with its high compression engine (output/cubic inches comparable only to a $6k Dusenberg), hydraulic brakes, and easy-to-operate controls.
I would have loved to have seen that 1941 Newport in the flesh. I have always considered it to be a beautiful cars, perhaps one of the last ones that Chrysler made (without wood, anyway) before Exner.
The Turbine is also a gem. I have never seen a good color shot of the interior – beautiful. Oh, and Tom – that’s not orange, that’s “Turbine Bronze.” Great piece today, I may not get a lick of work done. 🙁
Oh, I know it’s Turbine Bronze. Call it artistic license 🙂
I painted my dad’s ’69 A-108 Sportsman in Turbine Bronze.
Do you mean this first Chrysler??? 🙂
Yessir, that’s the one. An incredibly advanced car for 1924, and the first one to really be the result of modern engineering.
Wish I had told them about a 1960 Chrysler 300F coupe in black I’ve seen for years in a used car lot near Flint before they closed;(
What a great collection of cars. That 67 Fury is my favorite, next the 86 LeBaron. As a retired CPA, I have seen non profit organizations suffer due to exorbitant salaries of their chief officers and management, while the working staff barely makes a living. Contracts for this and that are given to friends and family. The American way, I guess. I only mention this as a possibility. With a bad economy, donations and funding, as well as a diminished visiting public, all add to the dilemma.
I recall as a young graduate accountant, I applied for a job at a local branch of one of the MAJOR national non profits. The customary interview included discussing the position, the yearly budget, job duties, etc. I perfunctatorily looked at a few documents, which included a $ 40K salary for the top person at the branch. This person was very prominent in local business, and duties were minimal. When we discussed my salary, I would be starting at minimum wage ($ 3.35 per hour.), and expected to work a great deal of unpaid overtime. When I told the fellow I couldn’t afford to accept such wages, he replied that they were looking for someone community minded.
The Fat Cat in charge certainly wasn’t community minded with his $ 40K for very little work. My story, just food for thought.
Years ago, the summer jobs at Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village were similar to your experience. You had to be top of your class and speak some other language, only to work for next to nothing. That’s how you balance the books.
All too common, sadly…
Yes too sad, those people are usually there to add prominence or credibility for fundraising purposes. We had a major scandal in Charlotte about 5 years ago with the former executive director of the United Way. That was actually an administrative post so there was some real work involved but the person involved got into a row with the board, quit, then sued the organization for breach of contract (I didn’t know you got contracts for charity work…) and retirement provisions (again…) and after several years of litigation they settled for like $750,000.
Sadly, that is the way of it in a lot or organizations I think. There is a small sliver of people that operate in a parallel universe while most of the people are expected to follow orders with little or not input and provide most of the lift for relatively low compensation. I am not talking about hourly employees necessarily but fully white collar people. That is why I decided to get into a trade, while it is not the most glamorous it is a very specific skillset that cannot be easily duplicated.
Hypocrisy regarding money (and just about everything else under the sun) is universal and defies borders and ideology..
This is one reason I don’t give to charities any more.
This wasn’t a charity in any recognizable sense of the word. This was a corporate marketing tool and a hobby center. ‘Educating people about Richard Petty’ isn’t charitable.
The wheels on the L-body Charger are commonly referred to as “pizza” wheels, due the holes looking like pepperoni. The first minivan was actually donated to Henry Ford Museum, the one on display was owned by a Chrysler exec who restored it and loaned it to the WPC museum. I believe the Airflow was also on loan to the museum from the owner in Ontario.
My last visit was in August. It was well done and I never tired of looking at the cars, mostly the turbine car. The 86 Town and Country Convertible was one that I would have liked to take home. WPC museum will be missed!
I noticed that the Airflow in the photo had Ontario plates on it. Do you know whether it is an American-built/spec or Canadian-built/spec car? I don’t know if there is any notable difference between the American and Canadian versions of this model, or if they are essentially the exact same car.
I honestly don’t know. No mention was made of it.
That is (was?) a great meuseum let’s hope the cars won’t dissapear in private collections.
The 1941 Newport has rear view mirrors for the passengers!!!
This must be unique.
Lana Turner the Hollywood belle had one of these complete with
personal number plate.
Great pics of some great looking cars. I agree with the comment about the lack of any fuselage cars! Also, what no “61 Fury!!!!
Thanks Richard, and Tom for putting this together. I know it takes quite a bit of time to assemble a long post like this.
One of these years, I must visit Detroit. I’ve been wanting to see HF Museum and Deerfield Museum since I was a wee lad. I guess it’s not closing down.
It is well worth the trip; I’ve been there three or four times and it never gets old.
The Henry Ford is incredible, and huge, and not just a car museum! I’m sure you’d love it. They have a Chrysler Turbine, the GM Firebird turbines, a Tucker, the Kennedy Lincoln, Sikorsky’s prototype helicopter, a giant steam engine that used to haul freight through the Rockies, and that’s just what sticks in my head.
They also have the first American-built Japanese car, the first American-built Honda Accord.
Plus a HUGE display of early stationary steam power plants and some old Edison Electric generating equipment. When we were there several years ago, Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House was also on display. The Henry Ford is easily an entire day in itself.
I am very happy to defer to Brother BOC on most topics, so it gives me great pleasure to correct him on something. 🙂
The steam engine in the Henry Ford Museum crossed the Appalachians, not the Rockies. It’s a Chesapeake & Ohio Allegheny with an unusual 2-6-6-6 wheel arrangement. It is simply spectacular to look at, and a great exclamation point for all the other machines in its hall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-6-6-6
I stand corrected. Good catch! 🙂
I would be honored to be your Tour Guide 🙂
I made mention further down the thread, but I will throw out my shameless plug for my photo blog that features a lot of pics I took at The Henry Ford back in October…http://supremebrougham.blogspot.com/
I also made the trek to the WPC Museum in its final week before closing. This was the second time I have visited the museum, and I was able to take my family this time. I took lots of pics that I meant to post here but didn’t get around to it. I’m glad someone did. 🙂
Of the production cars, the ’61 300G, the ’56 Imperial, and the ’57 Fury (not pictured) would be my favorites if I could pick one to take home.
The Turbine would be my overall favorite, but you need pockets as deep as Jay Leno to actually own one of those privately, so I’m content to visit them. I’ve seen 4 of the remaining 9 Turbines so far, and hope to eventually see and photograph all nine. This is proving to be a bit difficult since they’re not all on public display.
I was a bit put-off by the Christmas trees, because they got in the way of a couple of pictures. I was most annoyed that there was one directly in front of the Turbine so I couldn’t get a good unobstructed shot of the front of it. Last time I visited, the Turbine was on the rotating pedestal so I was limited in the shots I could get of it then too.
> One nice thing about Chrysler is they take their acquired companies to heart: Jeeps, AMCs and, I believe, even a Hudson or two were all in attendance at the museum.
Yep, there was a Hudson and I’m sure there was also a Dodge Brothers car on display.
Here is the Fury…
Some of the cars were on loan and when the museum closed they were taken back. A friend of mine owned the white Imperial that was displayed.
Sadly, I have never seen the WPC Museum and frankly, they should have done a better job in promoting it. I go to Michigan regularly and its rarely on anyone’s list. Even the WPC or NCPC does not do much with it.
Hopefully Chrysler will do something like the GM Heritage Collection has done. They loan out their cars to the various major clubs for display with the clubs picking up the expense for the display.
Although the cars in the museum are basically near perfect example, you can always see good examples of car by attending your local AACA or another similar car show.
I visited in spring of ’09, on a cold rainy day. Though I had lived in the Detroit metro for two years, it was the first time I saw the museum (and the Tech Center) up close.
The museum was essentially empty. I paid my way and took my sweet time, enjoying every exhibit, taking pictures, and just generally absorbing the whole place. I especially enjoyed the “radial” tank engine on display.
The basement is amazing—full of incredible cars just sort of…sitting there, in stasis. Not particularly clean or maintained, just there.
I had to track down an employee to man the cash register in the gift shop.
It was, honestly, the best automotive museum experience I’ve had, followed closely by a very similar experience at the Sloan museum in Flint.
I spent much time at the Henry Ford, and enjoyed it as well…but it’s so much more tourist-y. A great place to bring non car types. I also highly recommend a visit to Fair Lane—anybody can just wander around the grounds of Henry’s estate. It’s great fun.
For sheer automotive overload, though, the Chrysler museum was tops.
A real shame to see it closing!
Thanks for the post. I’ve been to this museum and am really sad it’s closing.
Also, the black Charger is a ’72 and not a ’71.
Wow take me back any time, No Aussie Valiants either not that I expected to see one but what an amazing collection shame it closed but in a bad economy there cant have been enough punters maybe if they ask Sergio nicely it could become the Fiatsler museum so they display the proud heritage saved by Fiat.
I was thinking along the same lines — it would have been nice if they could have thrown in a couple of token cars from Chrysler’s overseas operations, like an Aussie Valiant, a European Horizon, or a late ’60s/early ’70s Rootes Group product. Most Americans aren’t aware that Chrysler ever had any overseas operations.
This segment was a great read, full of eye candy. Thanks!
Thanks Tom,love the La Femme, and not a toilet seat in sight!
My thanks to Tom for putting together such a wonderful piece that helped to capture what I was hoping to portray with my pictures.
These photos are only a small amount of what I took that day. I would have gladly shared more but I didn’t want to overload poor Tom, or his Inbox!
Aside from my disappointment in the museum closing, I really wish they had given more thought to positioning the cars in a way so that better pictures could have been taken. A primary example would be the Fury convertible, I simply could not get a good shot of it.
There was a wall where donors and such had their names on little plaques. The names were mostly Chrysler dealers, and while that’s all fine and good, there were just way too many empty spots on that wall. I would say that combined with the low cost of admission ($8) is what caused the museum to fail from an economic standpoint.
It’s lack of notoriety though, helped to make it a pleasant place to visit, because the crowds were so thin.
I would imagine that there would have been some Fuselage cars somewhere in the collection, but seeing how the cars were switched around periodically it’s quite possible that they just didn’t have any out on display. I was especially bummed that the Chrysler Atlantic concept from 1995 was put away, as that car was a stunner!
Michigan has such a wonderful treasure of museums and history. If one can get past the stigma of what “Detroit” means to much of the world, it’s a fascinating place to visit.
Since this past fall, I have also visited The Henry Ford, and the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, AKA the Last Hudson Dealership. In due time I hope to do a piece on that and share some lovely pics from there. As for The Henry Ford, I shall extend an invitation to all of you to see my photos from that day at my photography site, http://supremebrougham.blogspot.com/
Thank you again Tom, for such a well put-together piece today, and to Paul, for allowing us a place to share this.
All the best to all of you,
Richard.
Thanks to both of you for the tour. Made it to the Henry Ford in Jan. 2005 but did not know about the WP Chrysler Museum. Wished I would have. That was my only visit to Detroit when some friends where living up there. Looked at your pictures of it on your blog. Looks like a few new things added. Brought back memories of a Great but Cold weekend for this Mississippi Boy on all things Automotive. Went mainly to see the Auto Show but was truly blown away by the Henry Ford. Probably would have just died and gone to car heaven had I also seen the the WPC.
Richard, have you been to the Gilmore Museum in Hickory Corners, MI? That is another amazing place that’s good for a whole day. I was there once when they were holding their annual “Mopars at the Red Barns” show.
No I haven’t. Seeing how it’s more on the other side of the state, I have, sadly, never heard of it till now. I just took a moment and looked it up, now it’s on my to-do list 🙂
Great article. I do remember two-tone paint being available on the Cordoba; the ’79 catalog shows it.
Looks to have been a wonderful museum.
It’s too bad it opened up just as the turbulence hit (by then) DaimlerChrysler. The future was never guaranteed from the time the deal was done…not for Chrysler nor its mementos. Not even today, with so much dependent on Fiat and all of it in the hands of one key person.
A bloody shame. Had it had the time to establish, it could have weathered the storm, like the Ford museums. But it wasn’t in the cards.
Thanks Tom and Richard for assembling this wonderful article.
My personal favorite of the pictured cars is the ’56 Imperial Southampton. I’ve also heard of the taillights referred to as “gunsight” taillights. Somehow, even the Voyager looks appealing to me in such pristine condition.
Two questions, just out of curiosity:
Were there any trucks other than Jeeps?
Were there any Nashes?
They had a row of Dodge trucks in the basement. Sadly though, there were none from the latter part of the 20th century.
I just went through all my pictures, and I cannot find any pics of a Nash amongst them…
Thank you very much for the tour! I enjoyed it immensely.
Needs a ’90 Imperial.
Will this one do? Spotted it downtown last fall…
It works for me 🙂
Okay people, prepare yourselves for some thread overload, as I am going to throw in some more pics from this tour. No captions, so you all can contribute your various knowledge. Enjoy 🙂
Oh, I LOVE that Hudson! The colors are perfect.
Check out this dash…
That must be in the ’61 300G. The “Astrodome” gauge cluster with electro-luminescent lighting. A work of art. 🙂
It was.
Meep Meep!!!
Gotta love the 440 Six Pack… IIRC they were only available with all-drum brakes, when front discs were optional on some lesser models, which led to some grumpy comments in period reviews.
Looking lovely in pale yellow
How about this lovely old Plymouth hood ornament…
Here’s a different Plymouth hood ornament I snapped at a car show in Silvis last summer. Pretty neat!
Nice!
The rear of that Town and Country. Could this be the first CUV???
The Fury convertible
That looks lovely with the Magnum 500s and whitewalls.
I thought this little Jeep was kinda cute…
I remember that butterscotch shade. 1973…the local Jeep dealer had a Commando that shade…took all year to unload it. We were over there a lot, with the old man’s Wagoneer…the dealer was an AMC dealer. He didn’t know anything about the Buick V8 in our 1969 and didn’t want to learn. Nor did the Buick man have interest or pity.
But…a different era, for sure. I’d love to have one like this one today.
One of the Dodge trucks…
The center of the basement was made to look like a racetrack. This Saratoga caught my eye…
I have a thing for hood ornaments and emblems. This is the hood ornament from the Fury convertible…
The Cordoba emblems were made with actual coins that were struck just for the Cordoba…
This Plymouth Prowler was the only car that you were allowed to actually sit inside of…
Any idea what year the Prowler is? thanks!
Nothing like crystal.
Wow, I love Mantalban’s Cordoba! That 2 tone scheme and lack of padded vinyl top really improve the look.
I was fortunate enough to have been there twice, to have been in the presence of so many iconic cars was well worth the effort to get there.
If I could go shopping, I’d take the Turbine car, of course, followed by the Fury.
Given the opportunity I could live in the Henry Ford Museum. Much more than just cars there, definitely a must see.
A big thanks to both Richard and Tom. Living in Ohio, I’d intended to get up there before they closed. Now, a correction on the Dodge La Femme. The one shown is clearly a 1955. Have previously mentioned I’m from a Mopar family and a lifelong Mopar guy, though I have long liked and appreciated most all cars.
To further identify some of the cars in the first picture, the roadster directly above the Chrysler FirePower concept is the Plymouth Pronto Spyder concept, a car which I had really hoped they would have put into production. Have never owned a convertible or true sports car, but that is one I would have purchased. And, the small silver car higher up is the Dodge Slingshot concept.
An excellent writeup of the sadly now closed museum. This checks a lot of the boxes for me of cars I am hoping to see this summer at Moparfest in Kitchener. Thanks for reposting this!
I am embarrassed to admit that I have only been to 2 or 3 auto museums here in the states. And even though I have been overseas several times, I haven’t visited any car museums while there. (The closest I got while I was in Japan was inside an auto accessories store.)
But, but, I am a huge Mopar fan and the pictures here have really whetted my appetite, so to speak, about visiting this museum….and now it is closed.
BTW, I spent a few weeks in the mid 70s at a Magnavox factory school in Fort Wayne and kick myself for not getting out and visiting any of the museums in that area.
Greenfield Village’s “Motor Muster” (cars from 1933 to 1977) starts tomorrow. Last winter I was talking with Matt Anderson, Transportation Curator of The Henry Ford. He said he was working on a special exhibit for the Muster about V8 engines. He had a Ford flattie and borrowed an SBC from the GM Heritage Center, but he said “I need to get something from Chrysler”. I mentioned that the Auburn Hills museum had a cutaway Hemi. While the museum closed permanently over a year earlier, FCA had said they were going to hang on to the artifacts, so that hemi should be laying somewhere. I’ll find out tomorrow if he got his hands on it. Weather forecast for this weekend is temps over 90, humid and thunderstorms. This year, I can’t buy decent weather on a weekend when there are outdoor events I want to go to.
Tom’s report of the demise of the Chrysler museum was somewhat premature as it reopened on a sporadic basis.
There was a stunningly nice day in October of 16, so I mosied up for a look-see. A few weeks later, FCA announced the museum would close permanently that December and the building repurposed as the North American headquarters of Alfa-Romeo and Maserati.
That would be interesting Steve.
Surely there is somewhere in Detroit that could be used to showcase the local industry (in a way that complements the Henry Ford Museum), it seems such a shame that neither GM or Chrysler’s heritage is accessible.
That would be interesting Steve.
I asked the curator whether he got that hemi from FCA for his exhibit as I didn’t see it. Nope, his contacts at FCA said all the artifacts from the museum are packed away and they aren’t digging out that engine for him. The entire exhibit was a bit of a bust as apparently GM reneged on providing an SBC. So what was there was a 60hp Ford flattie on a stand, and a Chrysler and 55 Chevy from the Ford Museum’s collection that contained a hemi and an SBC.
Halloween? Just remove everything except the ’37 Chrysler and the ’62 Dodge. EEEEEEEK!