It’s been a long wet winter but fortunately skies are beginning to clear and temps are rising”¦time to start thinking about getting that car out of the garage and on the road. First step, get it looking its best with a good washing. Like everything else, there’s a right way, and a really right way. The car care experts at Griot’s Garage know how to do it right. Follow this step-by-step approach and you’re sure to have your prized ride looking its best.
In 1985, I acquired a 1958 Studebaker Silver Hawk. Restoring it was the pride and joy of my life until my kids came along. But trying to install a wire harness under the dash while seven months pregnant with my second child proved too challenging so I decided to wait until my “˜baby days’ were behind me before finishing her up.
In between that time, I volunteered for school activities like cookie drives and Christmas plays, the Cub Scouts then eventually the Boy Scouts. I found my joy again as a Boy Scout merit badge counsellor for: Automotive Maintenance, Traffic Safety, Model Building and Design and as a volunteer at ACM for these programs.
April is recognized throughout the entire country as National Volunteer Month. For many organizations the celebrations focus around National Volunteer Week, which is April 23 – 29. While those are great openings to propel volunteers into the spotlight, America’s Car Museum aims to offer recognition all year long by providing numerous benefits and opportunities. After all, volunteers provide over 27,000 hours per year to assist ACM in enhancing the visitor experience in a myriad of ways out on the Museum floor, as well as behind the scenes. They should know that their dedication won’t go unnoticed and unappreciated.
For their valuable time and efforts, ACM volunteers can expect to receive complimentary admission and parking, a Family Membership if they contribute over 100 hours in a calendar year, discounts in Classics by Pacific Grill and the ACM Store and plenty of opportunities for learning and socializing. For many, it is the last two benefits that ultimately have the most impact. The chance to learn more about a topic of interest and meet others with those same interests is as priceless as volunteer time is to ACM.
While traditional training does occur for exhibits, safety and more, learning opportunities go beyond ACM’s doors and even the automobile. ACM offers offsite tours of private collections and businesses, like our recent foray to Cats Exotics in Lynnwood and last year’s visit to Butch Dennison’s shop in Puyallup. We’ve also traveled to the Museum of Flight, the Museum of Glass and other seemingly unrelated venues. The value of visiting other museums is to witness how other organizations and volunteers orchestrate the guest experience. There is much to be gleaned by seeing how others succeed.
Sharing a meal or joining in a celebration can add significance to our lives and a feeling of belonging to something larger than us. ACM Volunteers are invited to participate in potlucks and recognition celebrations, like the annual Volunteer Appreciation Party (which is usually during National Volunteer Week, of course!). These are wonderful opportunities to meet volunteers that don’t work similar days or shifts. ACM staff also participate in these events so it is a great chance to chat, have fun and maybe meet a few new faces.
If you want to get more out of volunteering and join a great group of people who appreciate all that America’s Car Museum has to offer, we hope you will consider us as an option. There is always room for more good people who want to share their love of automotive culture! Click here to learn how to get involved.
ACM’s newest exhibit, “Tools of the Trade – Powering the Working Class” tells the story of the steadfast work vehicles that formed the backbone of American commerce in the first half of the 20th century.
By Scot M. Keller, ACM Curator of Exhibitry
One of the questions asked most by museum guests, the media and friends are “What’s the most (fill in the blank) expensive, rare or historically significant car in the Museum?” That’s one of my favorite questions because it gives us the opportunity to explain our philosophy when curating exhibits at America’s Car Museum.
An easy answer would, of course, be our stunning, century-old, 1917 Crane Simplex once owned by John D. Rockefeller, our brilliant 1930 Duesenberg Model J, a visitor favorite, or maybe our 1983 Mercury Grand Marquis station wagon.
A foreword by Walt Tomsic, Managing Editor – OpenRoad Magazine.
Contributing Editor of OpenRoad and former Executive Editor of Motor Trend Matt Stone provides this fascinating look at consummate car guy Steve McQueen. Hollywood has produced a number of stars who were also quite adept on the race track”¦ James Dean, James Garner and Paul Newman to name a few. But of all the movie celebrities known for their love of automobiles, motorcycles and racing, McQueen was in a world all his own. Continue reading “McQueen’s Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood”→
In 1960, General Motors styling was toned down from what some considered at the time, the design excesses of 1959. Chevrolet’s controversial “batwings” were flattened and Cadillac’s ever growing tail-fins started to shrink. Pontiac’s grille changed from split to horizontal, and the “Vfins” were gone.
The name Bonneville was first seen on a 1954 GM Motorama concept car called the Bonneville Special. It wasn’t until 1957 when the name appeared again on a production car introduced mid-year as a convertible performance model with a 310 horsepower fuel-injected V8 offered at the price of $5,782. Limited to one car per dealer, only 630 were sold. The following year, Pontiac marketed the Bonneville line as both luxury hardtops and convertibles. By 1959, Bonneville had replaced the Star Chief line as Pontiac’s top series.
For the 1960 model year, the Bonneville line was available in 2-door and 4-door hardtops, as a convertible and a 6-passenger Safari station wagon. 1959 and 1960 were the years Pontiac introduced the “Wide-Track” in which the front and rear track were nearly 5 inches wider. Bonneville’s had distinctive front fender scripts, Bonneville lettering on the deck latch panel, beltline moldings ending in three dashes of chrome at the rear and V-shaped crest on the lower front fenders.
This example is maroon with maroon and ivory leather interior and was ordered with power steering and brakes, power top, power windows, power front seat, “Wonderbar” radio and a “Safeguard” speedometer that came equipped with an excess speed buzzer and warning lamp. It is powered by a 389 cubic inch V8 with 303 horsepower matched to a 4-speed Hydramatic transmission. The base price for the Bonneville convertible was $3,478, and less than 18,000 convertibles produced for this model year.
Your ticket to America’s Car Museum is already a great value, granting you access to 12 rotating exhibits, 300 vintage vehicles and more, but did you know there’s a variety of ways you can add mileage to your ACM experience? From multi-museum access to admission discounts, taking advantage of these offers can help you get the most for your time and money while experiencing the best Tacoma has to offer! Here are six ticket packages and deals to add to your itinerary.
Day at the Museum Pass | $20 Adults / $16 Youth
If you want to get the full ACM experience for the best price, this the pass for you! No day at ACM would be complete without a spin in the CXC professional-grade racing simulators, and this pass gets you behind the wheel for a great price. Consider this: Regular adult admission to ACM is $18 and racing simulator rides normally cost $8. With this pass for $20, you get to feel the speed in the Racing Zone for only $2! Did we mention you also get an ACM license plate frame to take home with you? Priceless!
ACM and LeMay Family Collection at Marymount Pass | $25
Now officially a part of ACM’s permanent collection, this 2012 Mustang is retrofitted with Dynacom’s 1967 fastback replica body retro tted onto 2012 Ford Mustang GT chassis complete with its 5 liter, 412 HP, Ford V8 engine and automatic transmission.
West Coast Customs, which you may recognize from the popular 2000’s show “Pimp My Ride,” dubbed this car the “MicroStang” when they helped create it with Microsoft. The purpose behind the design, also called “Project Detroit” was to showcase new Windows-based technologies of the time and to envision the possibilities surrounding vehicle technologies of the future. Continue reading “Meet the MicroStang – Newest Addition to the ACM Collection”→
By Walt Tomsic – Managing Editor of OpenRoad magazine.
OpenRoad saw its first issue mailed to members back in 2005. We’re now entering our thirteenth year of publication. That’s a lot of OpenRoads with a lot of cars featured, road tours recounted and guest editorials written by some of car culture’s most recognizable figures. From time to time, we’ll be selecting items from past issues to share here on Motor Mouth. For our first post, we’ve gone back to an AutoBiography article that appeared in the fall issue, 2012. The car is a 1951 Studebaker Champion Custom Starlight Coupe designed by Raymond Loewy.
Click here to read the full article as it was printed in the 2012 issue of OpenRoad magazine.
Mike Garland of Carlisle Events drove the Nomad when The Drive Home stopped in Pennsylvania | William Hall photos
The Drive Home II, the second-annual promotional winter road trip cooked up by LeMay-America’s Car Museum and The North American International Auto Show, rolled into Detroit’s Cobo Hall Saturday evening after a 2,100-mile journey fraught with challenges.
Three classic cars – a 1957 Chevy Nomad, a 1961 Chrysler 300G and a 1966 Ford Mustang – began the trip from Boston on December 28. Trailered behind the support vehicle was a fourth car, a 1917 Crane-Simplex Model 5, formerly the property of J.D. Rockefeller.
The itinerary took the cars south from Boston to Jamestown, Rhode Island, where the big Chrysler’s front brakes started to howl. Suspecting the rear brakes were out of adjustment causing the front shoes to overheat, the team enlisted help from a local enthusiast and his garage lift to pull the drums and check out the system. Sufficiently adjusted, they pressed on to a late-night arrival in New York City.
You are now being redirected to America’s Car Museum’s partner organization (America’s Automotive Trust) for the completion of your transaction. To continue, please click on the link below.
You are now being redirected to America’s Car Museum’s partner organization (America’s Automotive Trust) for the completion of your transaction. To continue, please click on the link below.
You are now being redirected to America’s Car Museum’s partner organization (America’s Automotive Trust) for the completion of your transaction. To continue, please click on the link below.
production car introduced mid-year as a convertible performance model with a 310 horsepower fuel-injected V8 offered at the price of $5,782. Limited to one car per dealer, only 630 were sold. The following year, Pontiac marketed the Bonneville line as both luxury hardtops and convertibles. By 1959, Bonneville had replaced the Star Chief line as Pontiac’s top series.
