Petersen to exhibit automotive oddities
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How many times have you seen a car of dubious design and pondered: What were they thinking?
The same thought occurred to the folks at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The result is a new exhibit opening Saturday called — you guessed it — ‘What Were They Thinking?: The Misfits of Motordom.’
As the name implies, visitors will find an array of automotive oddballs and misfires dating from the 1906 Adams Farwell (a problem-plagued, radial-engined car manufactured in Dubuque, Iowa) to the Pontiac Aztek, new models of which graced dealer showrooms as recently as 2005.
UPDATE: Petersen officials said Monday that the Aztek was a last-minute ‘no show’ and is not in the exhibit.
“Whether mass-produced or prototype, the Misfits of Motordom serve to illustrate that, while certain cars are important because of what they are, an equally large number are important because of what they are not,” the exhibit’s press material states.
The exhibit features some of the usual suspects — the aforementioned Aztek (much maligned for its weird design), the Ford Edsel, the AMC Pacer and the Chevy Corvair. These well-known cars all suffered from various design and/or safety issues, although their inclusion in the exhibit could upset fans who have come to love these vehicles, warts and all.
Of more interest are the truly one-off, or simply off, entries like the Helicron, a 1932 French car propelled by a, well, propeller. Not surprisingly, the museum notes, the car “posed a serious danger to pedestrians who inadvertently came into contact with its spinning prop.”
The ominously named Survival Car, a joint project of Liberty Mutual Insurance and the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, dates from 1957. It was a sincere effort to cut down on highway fatalities, and included then-rare safety features such as seat belts and head restraints. It didn’t catch on, the museum says, in part because of “negative associations.”
Then there was the 1957 Studebaker-Packard Astral, a full-sized mock-up of what an atomic-powered car might look like. Standard features included a single, centrally located wheel and a “protective curtain of energy” that fended off other vehicles, rendering the hated collision damage waiver superfluous.
OK, one more. How about a pair of motorized roller skates, circa 1958. The skates were powered by a one-horsepower piston engine worn like a backpack. With a top speed of 17 miles per hour and a list price of $250 (insurance premium not included), the skates were “not a commercial success,” the museum notes drolly.
‘What Were They Thinking’ runs through Sept. 20 at the Petersen Museum, at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. For more information, call (323) 930-2277, or visit the museum’s website.
-- Martin Zimmerman