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automobile museums

Peter Mullin’s Legacy

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A moment to remember: Best of Show award, Pebble Beach, 2011, goes to the Art Deco 1934 Voisin C-25 Aerodyne of Peter and Merle Mullin. Hugues Vanhoolandt photo.

Peter Mullin passed away on September 20th at the age of 82.

VeloceToday has reported many times on the Mullin Automotive Museum he created, beginning with the opening in April of 2010. It was a commemoration of the art deco design era when exquisite art and magnificent automobiles were elements of an artful, futurist culture.*

Over the years, we have been fortunate to have four of the most seasoned, respected and knowledgeable automotive writers visit the Mullin and report back to us in detail. Larry Crane explained the museum’s display of Bugatti furniture; the late Eric Davison searched for something really different; Hugues Vanhoolandt was given a special tour and did his magic with his camera; finally, another museum traveler, Brandes Elitch, opined on the opulent Citroen celebration.

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Reflections on the SM Part 2

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What is this? Brandes has the answer below.

Story by Brandes Elitch

Read Part 1

A series of unfortunate events transpired to seal the fate of Citroën’s SM.

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Remembering the Citroën SM on its 50th

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This year at Retromobile, Hugues Vanhoolandt photographed a rare example of the SM on display. Heuliez, a coachbuilder, produced two examples of the SM “Espace,” which is a pillarless targa top convertible. The rear quarter windows do retract into the bodywork, unlike the SM.

By Brandes Elitch
All photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt unless otherwise marked.

“That the car was a moonshot didn’t concern our judges. Rather it invigorated them. Viewed in the perspective of the last 21 years, the SM fits more precisely in the spirit of the COTY, maybe better, than anything else being made in the world today.”

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World of Speed Museum

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Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos courtesy The World of Speed Museum, Wilsonville, Oregon

Recently I was able to visit the World of Speed Museum, and then spend an hour speaking with curator Ron Huegli. If you are visiting the Portland area, you will want to put this on your itinerary. Here is a brief overview. [Read more…] about World of Speed Museum

And How! More Citroën for the Mullin

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And How! features open and innovative formats for notices, articles and posts

By staff, photos courtesy Mullin Museum

The Mullin Museum Expands Citroën Exhibit With New Vehicles Including 200mph SM
“Citroën: The Man, The Marque, The Mystique” expands with the addition of a 1931 C4G, a 1975 CX2200 Berline and a 1971 SM Bonneville Racecar towed by a custom SM pickup on a trailer equipped with Citroen hydropneumatics.

The Mullin Automotive Museum has expanded its internationally-acclaimed Citroën exhibit with the addition of three vehicles from the French automaker: a 1931 C4G, a 1975 CX2200 Berline, and a 1971 SM Bonneville Racecar. The cars represent the newest component of the museum’s “Citroën: The Man, The Marque, The Mystique” exhibit, which celebrates the quirky yet wildly innovative manufacturer. VeloceToday’s Brandes Elitch paid a visit and a compliment to the exhibition a few weeks ago in VeloceToday:
[Read more…] about And How! More Citroën for the Mullin

Mullin Automotive Museum Celebrates Citroën

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Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos courtesy the Mullin Automotive Museum

About six months ago I got a call from an old friend who is part of a members-only group at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Knowing that I have a Citroën DS and an SM, he announced that his group had a special invitation to attend the opening of a new exhibit at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, devoted entirely to the history of Citroën. It didn’t take me long to decide to make the trip, although it is a full day’s drive for me from Sonoma County, 2 hours north of San Francisco. He enticed me further by saying we would drive up there from L.A. in his 1962 Maserati 3500 coupe, which is a pretty brave undertaking considering the traffic there. [Read more…] about Mullin Automotive Museum Celebrates Citroën

Musings at the Mullin

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Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

As we have all learned, Eric Davison has been around cars for a very long time, from his Watkins Glen days with his father to haunting car and art museums with his wife. So when we found he was going to the Mullin, we asked him to bring back a report on something off the beaten path. Said Davison of the assignment after he returned, “It sounds so very easy but when you are in the Mullin Museum and basically overwhelmed by the magnificence of the cars and of the building’s French decor and the general ambience, the task becomes more complicated.” So did he succeed and bring back a few surprises? We think so—
[Read more…] about Musings at the Mullin

Making the Mummies Dance

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Fred Simeone in the Alfa Monza s/n 221112 which placed second in the 1933 Mille Miglia, is followed by Curator Kevin Kelly in the 8C 2900B MM Spyder s/n 412031 which won the Mille Miglia in 1938.

A hands on approach brings ancient Alfas to life at the Simeone Foundation

By Pete Vack
Photos by Harry Hurst

Thomas Hoving assumed the directorship of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967 and began a number of building projects and renovations. He brought new life to the aging Museum and was often said to be “making the mummies dance”, a phrase he used to title his best selling memoirs.
[Read more…] about Making the Mummies Dance

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