Nothing symbolizes Christmas like a Frank Capra classic. It’s a wonderful life. Jimmy Stewart gives a superlative performance as George Bailey, a man who suffers endless frustration from bailing out a struggling construction and loan business in the fictional small town of Bedford Falls. ing.
When people think of a movie, they’re more likely to think of the characters than the few cars they drove. But they drove some interesting cars, from George’s 1917 Dodge to Sam’s Wainwright’s Duesenberg.
The National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada has successfully combined the Christmas classic with some of the cars in its extensive collection, transforming the museum into a Reno-based version of Bedford Falls, if only for a few weeks.
The National Automobile Museum also has movie exhibits.
“That’s true. They decorated the streets like Bedford Falls,” said Phil McDougall, museum director and executive director. auto week.
There is a movie sign in the museum’s streetscape that currently reads, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” From there, the connection with the movie becomes a little weaker.
Although the museum does not have the exact model that appeared in the movie, there are several models that are very close to it. George is a poorly paid and hard-working banker who drives a 1917 Dodge. IAWL, It’s an old car even from the time of the movie (1946). The museum has his 1915 Dodge on display, and this one is close enough.
Bert and Ernie and Ernie’s GMC Taxi.
Sam Wainwright, George’s highly successful friend (“Hee-haa!”), heads home in a chauffeur-driven 1931 Duesenberg Model J. His ’34 Duesenberg is on display at the National Automobile Museum. Again, close enough. And even Taxi Driver Ernie’s GMC hack is a near match for the museum’s original DeSoto, complete with a meter.
“So you’ve got a sign of the times,” McDougall told local television station KOLO. “It looks a lot like the cars of the era. And just adding a little Christmas flair is perfect.”
With just a little stretch of your imagination, you can imagine that you’re back in Bedford Falls and Mr. Potter is trying to destroy you, and it works.
This is all part of the museum’s regular strategy to keep information on the exhibition floor fresh and keep visitors coming.
“We want to appeal to a broader audience, but we want to be very flexible and make changes as often as possible,” McDougall said. “Nobody wants to come and see the same car in the same place over and over again. And we’re all about making it a very new experience.”
In that vein, the museum also has a “Cars of the Stars” exhibit, featuring everything from Barbie cars to a cinematic DeLorean. back to the future, Ferrari 308 GTS similar to the one driven by Tom Selleck Magnum PI. There’s even a 1974 Dodge Monaco with “cop shocks,” as Dan Aykroyd put it. Blues Brothers.
The National Automobile Museum is located at 1 Museum Drive in Reno and is open seven days a week. auto week It used to be headquartered in Reno, and longtime columnist Corey Farley (now retired) still lives somewhere in Reno. The museum itself was salvaged from Harrah’s casino william her fisk her vast collection.
When Hara died without a will, there was confusion in sorting things out. Much of his collection was sold, but some was kept and became NAM.Please let me know if you visit auto week sent.
Well, Merry Christmas, Old Buildings and Lawns!
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family where his father cursed Ford, all of its products, and everyone who ever worked there, while his father cursed Ford, all of its products, and everyone who ever worked there. I spent a lot of time holding it up. This was his introduction to objective car criticism. He began writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and creatively became the editor of a car magazine called “Auto.” He decided that Auto should feature his F1, sports prototype and touring cars. No one stopped him. From there, he interviewed with Autoweek at his 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show and has been working with us ever since.
