Car Shows / Museums to visit in So. Cal.

[Kevin Garrison]

I know the Forum has several members in California. A friend and I are traveling to Los Angeles and San Diego for vacation from 23 - 28 April. Tentatively, I anticipate being in LA on Sat-Mon then San Diego on Tues-Thurs. I was hoping some members might offer suggestions of what auto museums and/or car shows will be going on during that period.

As well, if there's anything else interesting to see or do during that time, I welcome any suggestions.

Thanks,
Kevin.

[Doc]

There are a wide variety of car-oriented destinations in LA and SD--alot depends on your interests. Off the top of my head, car museums in LA-area include the Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar, the Peterson Museum on Wilshire Blvd. in LA, the Marconi Collection in Tustin, and the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo. The Peterson is the best known, the Nethercutt probably has the most impressive collection. Google them and see what appeals to you or is close to where you'll be staying (the ADM in El Segundo is right at LAX; the Peterson is west of downtown; the others are in suburban locations). There's also the NHRA Museum on the Pomona Fairgrounds; Toyota USA has their specialized museum in Torrance as does Edelbrock. I'd obviously check ahead on days and hours--not all are open every day; some require appointments.

There is an automobile museum in San Diego in Balboa Park. Not exactly museums, but both the San Diego Collection (on El Cajon Blvd. by SDSU) and Symbolic Motors in La Jolla are very high end dealers that often have such classics/exotics for sale that they might as well be museums. You're just missing the best show in San Diego, the La Jolla Classic, which is unfortunately earlier in April.

If you're interested in cruises/show-shine events, Cars and Coffee, every Saturday morning in Irvine (halfway between LA and SD) on the Ford-Mazda campus is one of the most spectacular informal gatherings of cars you'll ever see--everything from prototype Ferraris to brass-era cars can show up on any given Saturday; 100+ cars every Saturday, it's classic So Cal car culture.

Check out the socalcarculture.com website for a complete listing of shows and cruises for the dates you'll be here--it tends to be pretty complete.

[Kevin Garrison]

Thanks for those suggestions. I'll Google them to see what fits my interest. I am a big fan of luxury cars of the 50s - early 60s. I also like the independents, particularly Studebaker. Finally, I admire but am not quite as familiar with the earlier classics. What doesn't personally strike my fancy is muscle cars, customs, etc.

But it sounds like there's a lot to see in So. Cal. Look forward to checking out your suggestions and any that others may have.

Thanks again,
Kevin