Shotgun Freeway: The Auto
Harry Pallenberg is a documentary filmmaker. He has made two feature docs, and currently produces for the popular PBS series CALIFORNIA'S GOLD with Huell Howser. For the next month, he'll be guest blogging about his work and the Los Angeles he loves, as well as serializing his 1996 doc SHOTGUN FREEWAY: Drives Thru Lost L.A.. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and 2 children.
Obviously, the car is a truly important part of an Angelino's life. Below is the deathbed portrait of my first car - a '66 T-Bird that got crushed by a guy making an illegal left turn. My T-Bird's quarter-inch steel skin protected me even without seatbelts, but the Big Gulp I was holding between my legs (no cup holders back then) made it look like I wet my pants. It was embarrassing, but then I saw the other guy, who had been driving a tiny Toyota. He was all covered in blood, so I did not feel so bad after that.
These days I drive a Prius (a tiny Toyota!) and am averaging over 45 MPG combined!
Since L.A. is such a car town, I thought a good companion to THE AUTO chapter of SHOTGUN FREEWAY would suggestions for good places to go see all kinds of cars.
The biggest and most exposed would be theL.A. Auto Show. Also pretty well known would be The Petersen Museum - you'll certainly get some history here, kids should love it and its small and manageable. They have some nice permanent collections and new exhibits.
For the true auto-buff there is the Nethercutt Collection, not quite as kid-friendly or interactive as the Petersen, but the cars are AMAZING. Look for the 1932 Maybach - Zeppelin DS 8/Convertible Sedan. My grandfather actually sold that car to Mr. Nethercutt. My mother would drive it back in the day to the original In-N-Out Burgers #2 restaurant.
Imagine her driving one of these for a burger! Total So-Cal moment.
Below is my mom, BTW:
But probably the coolest (if you are 10 years old and it's a Sunday) is the Automobile Driving Museum. As they say themselves, it's a museum that takes you for a ride!!!
As you can see from the video, you get to drive the cars at the Automobile Driving Museum. Free parking, free admission, donation requested - come on; kick them a few bucks. Check their websitefor driving info, but the skinny is: walk-in and drive on Sundays, other days, drive by appointment.
Lastly, I am saddened to be watching the slow death of the Thomas Brothers Map book, thanks to GPS. I still have my 1st one and know locations not by street name, but by page number. For those of you who swear by your electronic devices, they also sell giant wall maps. More modern maps of LA can be found here.
Okay, that's it for today. My next will be all about my own derive, from the Latin de riva to drift...
Looking for serialized episodes from SHOTGUN FREEWAY: Drives Thru Lost L.A.? Episode 1 is here. Worried about CRIME? (The episode, that is.) You can watch it here.