Great Review! My head must have been in the sand lately. I did not even know they were about to open. I was over there a few months back and drove by it. Nice looking building. I could see a few cars through the window. I feel very fortunate to only be 45 minutes away. Now, I just need to make the time to get down there!! Cant Wait!!!!!!! See ya, Joe. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5768 55 Plymouth Belvedere 2dr Club Coupe V8 Auto Red/WHITE Sport Tone. http://www.infopage.com/plymouth/ ----- Original Message ----- From: Steven M. Charette <SC68Cuda@xxxxxxx> To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 1999 10:58 PM Subject: [FWDLK] WPC Museum - Simply Incredible > Hi All, > Just a quick note... after reading Wayne's reminder on Monday night that > the Walter P. Chrysler Museum was opening today, I could think of nothing > else but how to get there on opening day! > By about 1 o'clock, I had most of the "fires" put out, fired up the Ram > and pointed it towards Detroit. Arriving a little after 2, I was amazed to > find the parking lot 3/4 empty... surely I had mis-read or mis-understood the > date... nobody's here! No news media, not the crush of employees and > devotees I had been certain I'd have jostled elbows with to see the displays. > I felt bad for all the folks that worked so hard to put the Museum together, > that the opening day was not better attended. My sadness quickly faded once > I entered the building. > The museum is absolutely beautiful. A large, slowly rotating display > with a turbine car, a '41 Thunderbolt, and a Viper concept car is the > centerpiece of the display. It is surrounded on both the first and second > floors by an incredible collection of the most beautiful cars ever produced. > After paying my admission, and chit-chatting with the employees and > volunteers, I began walking the displays. Our friends at Chrysler really > pulled out all the stops creating multi-media displays and kiosks detailing > the early days of Walter P. (hey, he worked at Buick too! Maybe there is > hope for me yet!), and how quickly the company grew. There is a marvelous > display - kind of a sideways family tree / chronological sequence of events > showing how all the companies came together to form the Corporation that we > know today. More kiosks and interactive displays showing the technological > innovations that Chrysler is known (well, by us, anyway) for. And more > gorgeous cars. > A quick trip up the stairs, and more cars. A '57 Imperial, a '61 (or was > it a '62?) Valiant, a '70 340 Six-Pack Challenger... hey, what's this... a > '57 Chrysler dash? Push the lighted drive button and you're treated to a > short film showing the innovations of the '50's cars!!! Pushbuttons, Hemis, > LaFemme, the works. I turn around and what to my wonderous eyes should > appear? A shiny new '56 Dodge! Just to the left, a cool drum shaped gizmo > that allows you to overly a picture of a basic '57 Plymouth with the trim > revisions up through 1960. Wide eyed, I slowly drifted by the C-300 (oh, > sorry kid..). More video kiosks... I'm in heaven ("sir, please don't drool > on the cars"). Computerized video shows that allow you to pick specific > years, then slide back and forth in time.... I gather myself and head for > "The Garage". > I'm told by a staffer that the basement of the building was originally > intended to hold the restoration shop. After preliminary layouts of the > building were complete, it was thought that there were not enough cars on > display. The decision was made to show more in the basement. As the > elevator descended, I had no idea that the best was to come.... > I exited the elevator and was greeted by the smiling face of... a shiny > red 300G! > Just to the right, a white 300C! The "Color Me Gone" '64 Dodge of Roger > Lindamood (I'll elaborate on the history of this particular car for those > interested... let me know). a '57 Fury that I'm told once belonged to the > Frahms of Frankenmuth, Michigan... I'm told that they live just a few miles > from my home but I've never met the man! A Hemi Cuda, a "Who's-Who" of Dodge > pickups, an AMX, a Nash Metropolitan... I could spend the rest of the night > remembering the amazing cars.... > A video back by the elevator detailing the development of the Hemi engine > held me captivated... an engineer was describing the feeling you get when you > start an engine you've built for the first time... he said "it's as close to > childbirth as a man can get" and "you can't help but feel a swelling of pride > the first time the engine roars to life". Amen, brother. > I realized I'd been wandering for 2 hours, and that I still had a 2-3 > hour trip home in rush hour traffic. I said my good-byes to the friendly > staff, made a few purchases in the giftshop (bring your checkbook or plenty > of plastic..) and headed back north. I was glad to see the parking lot > filling.... > > In closing, I must first apologize for ranting on, but even at this late > hour I still have the same feeling I had on Christmas morning when I was > little. If you are ever within a few hours of Detroit, make plans to get to > Auburn Hills and see this Museum. If you're a Chrysler fan, and this place > doesn't turn you on, you don't have any switches!!! > > Yee Hah - What a Day!!! > Steve Charette
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