I felt good motoring down to the Petersen Museum this morning because I knew I would have plenty of company this month; unlike other months when it’s just me or me and a couple of other members. This Cruise In was the Club Event for April and I anticipated a good turnout since we were also going to tour the newly renovated Museum. As I pulled into the parking area at 7:25am I found Marty Hovivian and Kim Gaydich, Greg Aden and Dex Kaytis already parked and saving spaces for the Healeys still to come. As we waited for the coffee and bagels to be set up, we were joined by Jay Miller, George Merino, Peter Roses, Steve Gerow and Mike Scroggie. Steve Kirby pulled in followed by a Jensen- Healey belonging to Chuck and Dawn Lakowski. Next was a BRG BJ8 that had recently been purchased by a new club member, Lance Gentile, who resides in Santa Monica. And the Sinal car in the group was John and Daryl Hedblom’s black 100.
We headed for the coffee and bagels and then started checking out the wide variety of cars that were on display. Joining our group were Bob Farnsworth and friend from the San Diego club plus Greg and Jon Doherty (son and grandson of longtime member Mal Doherty), and Joerg and Marina Hubl and their son Alex.
They had all driven their other cars. A plus for us in the morning show was a turnout by the DeLorean Owners Club who had 20 cars show up. One car was totally tricked-out as the Back to the Future vehicle right down to the lightning collector sticking up from the engine bay. It was the People’s Choice winner. The Petersen Preservation winner was a 1956 Corvette Hardtop, really beautiful! The variety and quality of the cars on display is to be seen: a vintage Ferrari racer, a 1951 Chevrolet pickup complete with fox tail, a 1960’s VW camper, a new Aston Martin DB10, a small group of Lancias, a Lotus, a couple of “wasteland cars” complete with machine gun turrets, and a Tesla SUV with power gull doors.
Once the Museum opened for business we started our tour. The theme of the museum has radically changed tending more to the innovation, production, design, artistry and ecology of the automobile. Interactive displays are found throughout the museum and the story of the automobile is shown through the various cars on display. The French Art Deco room of cars just makes your mouth water and your heart go pitty-pat over the gorgeous pieces of art there on four wheels. After everyone Sinished in the museum we repaired one block down Fairfax Avenue to Tom Bergin’s Irish Pub where we slaked our thirst with British and Irish refreshment and tempted our taste buds with Mussels, Corned Beef and Fish and Chips. An enjoyable time with like-minded friends who love British cars.