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Come One Come All!

By WA LT TOMSIC
Photos provided by Hagarty Insurance

Inclusion rather than exclusion is the heart of our mission and vision.
A MERICAS C AR M USEUM is about cars all manner and type: large and small, new and old, foreign and domestic, the exotic and the plebian. Granted, to gain entry into the ranks of The Museums collection, a car must represent, in some fashion, historical and cultural significance, recognized aesthetic quality or break-out technical achievement. No such qualifications will be applied to our members, visitors or their cars!

It was as if I had wandered into a wormhole and popped out on a California dry lakebed circa 1953.

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Lets face it, were a tribal species.

We like to hang with those we perceive as kin and clan. We declare our tribal allegiance by how we act, dress, speak and live. Why else would an otherwise rational, intelligent human being shove a safety pin through their brow ridge or voluntarily submit to multi-hued needle jabs. And were not just talking about generations X, Y and Z. One need only consider the flocking tendencies of the more senior set. The power of the tribal drive is the only reasonable explanation for the existence of gated, golf course communities socially centered around clique-ridden club houses. OK, thats just my opinion but you get the point. If left unchecked, this human tendency to declare, Im with themand not you! can fractionalize to the point of absurdity. String theorists belong to either the 10 or 11 cosmic dimensions camp. American Flyer model railroaders wont recognize and accept Lionelists. Certain Harley types snub anything Japanese. Weve all been there when a 60 something hot rodder sneers at the

Weve all been there when a 60 something hot rodder sneers at the 20 something in the winged and blown rice burner.

The truth of this was brought home to me a few years ago. I was in Las Vegas covering the annual SEMA show. After an exhausting day plying the aisles at the convention center, I decided to take a shortcut back to my hotel. It took me through the parking lot of one of those older, slightly seedy casinos you never see in the Glamorous Las Vegas video clips. There before me stretched ranks of low-rent looking rodssoot black, flat headed, baby mooned, louver slit and tin riveted. It was as if I had wandered into a wormhole and popped out on a California dry lake bed circa 1953. Nothing about me sent the proper Im part of this message to the owner/drivers and their entourage. There I was, sixtyish, Nike logod, lugging bulging bags of SEMA flotsam. There they were, young, pierced and tatted. The guys: James Dean slouch, engineer boots, 4-inch cuffed Levis, plain white T-shirts, gel-slicked hair and odd little beardlets here and there. The ladies: pedal pushers and toreador pants, angora sweaters and cats eye shades, raven black hair and blood-red lipstick.

20 something in the winged and blown rice burner. Never mind that the tuned 4-banger would probably suck the chrome off about any small block powered 32 out there. Silly isnt it? In truth, we all can just get along. All it takes is a common bond with sufficient adhesive strength to overpower our compulsion to form ever more tightly focused and exclusionary subcultures. It also helps to realize that what motivated that duck-tailed, grease covered kid busting his knuckles back in 1956 is the very same thing that keeps todays buzz-domed tuner dude bolting on the latest power enhancing gizmajig. Were the same personbrothers and sistersunited by a shared love of cars, separated only by time and the superficial trappings of popular fashion.

I did the only thing I could think of. I started looking at the cars. They exuded a hard to pin-down, almost primal quality, something so brutally unadorned as to be compelling at a baseline level. Plywood floors, Navaho blanket upholstery, exhaust pipes that could have been filched from an oil pipeline. It was anti-art car noir! I liked it. I started asking questions. The first of which was, Do you resent the term rat-rod. Ill never forget the answer, delivered without an ounce of sarcasm, Naw man, rats are cool. Before I knew it, a can of Schaefer Beer (the finest bargain priced brew on the planet) was shoved in my hand. The gulf had been bridged, the bond forged. I was now just another car guy. Would I ever own one of these babies... probably not. Will I ever deny or dismiss their curious appeal? Never! continued on page 8

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continued from page 7 AMERICAS CAR MUSEUM is blessed with an endless supply of this powerful bonding agentour love affair with the Car! Thats Car in a plural and encompassing sensenot classic car, sports car, tuner car, European car, muscle car, etc., etc. The love blanket covers all of these and more. The last thing AMERICAS CAR MUSEUM will ever become is a private club for prestige marque collectors. Nor will we be a true-believers onlyhangout for the rat-rod set, or the hot-rod set or any set. In fact, were designed to accommodate multiple enthusiast sectors from the club room suites of our Concours and Collector level to the meeting rooms and banquet facilities available to Americas Car Club members.

Were the same personbrothers and sisters united by a shared love of cars, separated only by time and the superficial trappings of popular fashion
We will, over time, mount exhibits that feature all of these intriguing permutations of automotive culture. We will occasionally host events and organize activities which center around a particular marque or type of car. At other times, these activities will welcome a broad spectrum of participants driving all manner of vehicles 2 and 4wheeled. An institution of this caliber

cant legitimately position itself as the center of car culture and then post a bouncer at the door. We certainly dont expect someone who bleeds Ford Blue or has dedicated their life to the prancing horse to suddenly fall in love with say, 50s vintage European micro-cars. But what we will attempt to do is present each automotive variant in such a way as to establish its place in history, its social and cultural context and the why and how of its appeal to aficionados. If love doesnt necessarily bloom from the encounter, perhaps deeper understanding and some degree of respect will. Understanding and Respectnot bad precepts for any museum to foster and promote!

AMERICAS CAR MUSEUM

exclusively vehicular and inclusive of all things so labeled. Come one. Come all.
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