Custom Car Building Inspiration at Petersen Automotive Museum Recently I found myself at the Petersen Automotive Museum to check out their newest exhibit, Supercars. Every time I'm there, I leave wanting to go home to my garage and become a mad car-scientist! There are so many things there to provide inspiration, you can't help it! From cars with interesting histories, like this 1974 Dale. A 3-wheeled car said to get 70 miles per gallon, it was used by its builder/con-artist Liz Carmichael (a transvestite whose real name was Jerry Dean Michael) to scam nearly $2 million dollars from would-be buyers! The car was a hoax and this is one of 3 prototypes built. More interesting car history is held by the 1948 Tucker. This model was Preston Tucker's personal car and one of only 50 pilot models produced. Nonetheless, the car had some very advanced features for its time as well as an interesting story to go along with - told in the movie Tucker: The Man and His Dream. The Petersen also has plenty of modern cars. Like this 2005 Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR. Who knew that SLR stood...

Exotic Car Exhibit At The Petersen Museum Every time I step into the Petersen Automotive Museum I learn something new and enjoy being amazed by works of art known as automobiles. The newest exhibit at the Petersen, Supercars, is no exception. If any automobile could be called art, the Supercar would be a top contender. What is a "Supercar?" I think the Petersen's curator, Leslie Kendall, explains it well: Like supercomputer, supermarkets, and supermodels, supercars represent an extreme. More than mere transportation, they offer a bold and extroverted means of self expression. Supercars have existed since the first decade of the twentieth century and while their mechanical and design specifications have evolved from era to era, they have always had in common immensely powerful engines, minimal passenger carrying capacity, adventurous mechanical specifications, and a commanding presence. Such attributes guaranteed that supercars always had far more power and performance than would ever be thought necessary for everyday motoring. That they have always been extremely exotic in appearance and impossibly rare makes them even more special. So while just looking at modern Supercars didn't seem very exciting to me at first...