Dick Messer, director of the Peterson Auto Museum in Los Angeles, joined WebRidesTV’s Amber Goetz for an exclusive tour of the various exhibits around the legendary museum, including the “Cars and Guitars of Rock and Roll” exhibit. The Petersen Automotive Museum, recognized internationally for its innovative design, is dedicated to the interpretive study of the automobile and its influence on our culture and lives. Encompassing more than 300,000 square feet, its exhibits and lifelike dioramas feature more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks and motorcycles.
Covering four floors, the facility features permanent exhibits on the first floor that trace the history of the automobile. The second floor is composed of five large changing exhibition galleries with state-of-the-art displays of race cars, classic cars, vintage motorcycles, concept cars, celebrity and movie cars, and automotive design and technology.
The May Family Children's Discovery Center is located on the third floor. Designed to spark interest in science by way of the automobile, the 6,500 square-foot, interactive "hands-on" learning center teaches children basic scientific principles by explaining the fundamental functions of a car.
In this part, cover the Billy Gibbons display at the Peterson Auto museum. Famous musician and gear head Billy Gibbons has loaned his prized automotive and musical possessions to show off. He has loaned a collection of guitars and the famous Boyd Cadzilla. This Cadillac started off as a 1949 Cadillac slant back but has received a complete makeover by the famous Hot Rod guru, Boyd Coddington. To the side of it was Billy’s Hogzilla.
This section shows the relationship between automobiles and music. This relationship can be traced back to when the first car radios were becoming available. They became a way to express yourselves and a good portal to share your music if you were a musician.
Last but not least, we get a peek at the famous Chris Isaak’s Nova. While this Nova may be pretty stock, it has a long history. Being Chris’ first car, he has been daily driving it for most of his life. This musician and surfer had this car on his CD covers and it eventually became an icon amongst fans.
