Museums & Classic Car Collections in LA

There are not a lot of people that would equate Los Angeles with drag racing, but the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, just a 45-minute drive east of downtown, would … prove them wrong. There are numerous hot rods and customs on display, but the real show comes courtesy of the all of the race cars and land speed record vehicles available on site, and we can only hope a 12-second Caravan or 24 Hours of Le Mons exhibit is in development. As the name suggests, it was the brain child of the recently departed founder of the NHRA and is dedicated to "detailing the impact of motorsports on our culture" and the West Coast's role as the historic center for hot rod and custom racing development. [link]

Toyota is celebrating 50 years of motoring in the United States, and although the company is accused of making cars that won't break down but take all of the fun out of … driving, they have a unique history of automotive engineering. Available to tour by appointment only, the museum chronicles Toyota's start as builder of quirky small cars and pickups to its present day status as the world's top-selling automobile company. That includes a replica of the Model AA, a 2000 GT, and perhaps the most talked about car in the world today, the Prius. [link]

This is without a doubt the "must see" automotive museum if you're traveling to Los Angeles County. It holds a number of ongoing exhibitions such as the signature Ferrari … showcase, featuring, among others, a 1955 Barchetta gifted from Enzo Ferrari to Henry Ford II. Included in the rotating exhibitions available now are lowriders and microcars, but I don't think you'll be seeing any donk'd Isettas. And if you're traveling with a group that's sick of seeing all the cars, LACMA is within walking distance. [link]

A lot of car "museums" feature restored classics -- and let's be honest, everybody goes ga-ga over a good-looking GTO, Charger, or Cyclone -- but finding a collection of … antique cars is a lot more difficult. For those that swoon over names like Knox, Pierce Arrow, Duesenberg, and Austro-Daimler, do yourself a favor and make the drive to the far reaches of the Valley to peek at the Nethercutt collection. Spread out among two venues, it will take you back to a time when the most difficult choice people had when buying a car was steam or gasoline power. [link]

If you're the type of person who treats each stoplight like a drag race, calls your car Eleanor if it ever gets you in trouble, and always requires the person in your … passenger seat to refer to themselves as "Goose," then you need to stop at this classic car collection. The museum is dedicated to things that go fast or at least are designed to make you think they go fast. At times you feel like they stopped collecting cars around the time Crockett and Tubbs made cocaine and Ray Bans as ubiquitous as popped collars at a Long Island dance club, but there's plenty of Italian, German, and American muscle on hand for you to appreciate. [link]

While it may be labeled the "premiere Car Museum - Banquet Facility in the World," you don't have to plan a wedding in order to visit. There aren't a lot of cars here, so … it shouldn't be the centerpiece of any classic car tour, but we do appreciate the type of people who believe a 1957 Chevy Nomad deserves a spot among vintage Corvettes, classic race cars, and a Lotus Mk10. [link]

With so many people making a lot of money in this town, there are dozens of places that cater to the car collector with more money than sense or style. That's where … places like Heritage Classics come in, which has its own inventory of classics but also specializes in getting your hands on top-quality examples of rare cars, even if it means restoring the vehicle themselves. Technically, they aren't open for tours, but that shouldn't stop you from renting a high-end car of your own and pretending you can afford to buy anything in the garage with the loose Amex cards you found in your couch cushions. Make sure to check out their current inventory (my favorite: a 1961 Brougham by Pininfarina made for Jackie Kennedy ) so you don't drool all over the cars when you see them for the first time in person. [link]

Any amateur car buff knows to stop and gaze when they see a $250,000 Italian exotic drive by, but it takes a special kind of car nut to appreciate the greatness of a … malaise-era Cadillac. There is simply no better place for fans of acres of chrome, deadly tailfin designs, and 170 hp 6 liter engines. And if you are a little more picky than somebody who falls in love with a 1989 Fleet De Elegance, you'll have your share of 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s classics to get you hot and bothered as well. [link]

At half of the Astor Classics Events Center (the other half being a communications and radio museum), you'll find a number of classics from the 1920s through the 1960s as … well as the requisite examples of generic Americana such as old Coke machines and vintage gas pumps. While this is not the place to find ultra-rare cars, you will see a lot of well-restored classics such as first generation Mustangs and Corvettes. Throw in some Packards, a Morgan, a Rolls-Royce here and there, and you're sure to find something you'll love among the nearly 300 cars on display. [link]