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• Exploring the Treasure Trove that is the Petersen Museum’s Basement [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 28 February 2013

  

  It should go without saying that any gearhead visiting the Los Angeles area absolutely needs to make time for a visit to the Petersen Automotive Museum. Located in a former Ohrbach’s (and before that Seibu) department store on the southeast corner of Wilshire and Fairfax on the Miracle Mile, this incredible, immersive museum – which traces the automobile and its impact on Southern California from the tail end of the 19^th century to today – has been educating and entertaining since its founding by magazine magnate Robert E. “Pete” Petersen and his wife Margie (both now deceased) on June 11, 1994. And you’re pretty much guaranteed to see something different every time you go.

  The museum is able to change up the exhibits fairly frequently thanks to a basement (the former underground parking garage of the department store) stocked to the brim with an incredible variety of cars and trucks, from hopped-up Toyotas to prewar Bugattis. The basement, or “the Vault” as the museum calls it, has been strictly employees only (and the occasional VIP or party) pretty much since day one. However, since this past Holiday Season, the museum has been offering extra-cost guided tours of the Vault to ordinary peons like us. MotorTrend YouTube channel host Jessi Lang tags along with museum curator Leslie Kendall for a walk through this garden of automotive delights for her bi-weekly show, “The J-Turn.” What are you waiting for? Find a way to get to the Petersen!

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• Mercedes-Benz Museum Presents 120 Years of Auto History – Pictures Galore

  In Auto News / By Ari Cox / 5 February 2010

  

  Many of the world’s top brands have their own dedicated museums which run the gamut from glorified gift shops to self-aggrandizing expos halls, making most of them a must-miss for all but the most die-hard enthusiast. It really takes a special mix of a storied history, compelling product evolution and visually stunning space to pull off a museum which appeals to not only strong followers but also the general public. The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany is definitely the later.

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