"In Car Museum Race, Some Drop Out."

[James Landi]

NYTimes article...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/business/car-museums-closing.html

[Eldorado James]

Great article....thanks for posting.  I live in the Midwest and I've been amazed that some of those museums have held on as long as they have.  It's sad to see them go.  Volo (near me, sorta) has always been a bit different in marketing /sales ideology, and they survive for that reason.  Kudos to them.  I think this article ties to my recent post about "Are good car shows a dying breed?" in some ways.  How many young people even know what cars were even made in Indiana..or even care?  The state has such a rich auto history but alas, time is moving on....museums shuttering are just one more way that we won't be able to enjoy those cars.  They will be auctioned off and in private collections...and probably never see many public car shows.    

E. James

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

James Landi,
Too many James here! LOL! Can you send that link directly to bobscads@comcast.net so I can forward it.
Thanks, Bob

[wrench]

Great article, thanks for sharing...

My thoughts:

1) I travel a lot. I seek out car museums and air museums. They are fewer and farther between than you think. And they don't promote themselves very effectively. I have to spend a lot of time searching as the internet google box is not friendly to a lot of venues. BTW, this dovetails nicely with the car show issue, same thing, when I travel, I try to identify local car shows and cruise nights, it is very difficult to search for these events with generic search terms. Unless you know of a specific event, it is difficult to identify. I know there are aggregate sites, but travel 1500 miles from home and try to find a car show or cruise night. Good luck.

2) I think of the Henry Ford museum as a technology museum not specifically automotive. I think this could be replicated at other museums. Once again, I think it is a lack of vision of the management of these places. If it is set up to be a tax dodge or a showcase for overpriced classic cars, that's gonna come through to the public.

An example of what I am suggesting is Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, they are seasonal and depend on the weather, but are a place you can immerse yourself in period pieces on more than one level. (Although I am not endorsing their current management, but the vision of founder Cole Palen)

[David Greenburg]

I’m not sure how I missed the news that The Auto Collections was closing.  I always looked forward to checking it and it’s changing inventory out when in Vegas. There were always a number of interesting cars to see; I hope they found good homes.