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Monday, 14 November, 2011 0:16 AM

Visit the Automobile Driving Museum before going to the L.A. Auto Show

by Jason Rzucidlo americajr@americajr.com

WATCH: Interview with Earl Rubenstein, Curator of the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, CA

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Less than five blocks from LAX, The Los Angeles International Airport, you'll find the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, Calif. It makes sense for a city that relies very heavily on the automobile to get around. It is one of four automobile museums in southern California. Now is a great time to visit the museum with the L.A. Auto Show opening to the public on Friday, Nov. 18. Admission is very affordable -- only a $5 donation is suggested. Bring the entire family to learn the history of the automobile before you explore the new concept cars in L.A.

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, The Nethercutt Museum & Collection in Sylmar, Calif. and the Toyota USA Automobile Museum in Torrance, Calif. make up the other three automotive museums in southern California. Automobile collectors Earl Rubenstein and Stanley Zimmerman visited some of those museums and car shows and noticed that almost all of the vehicles were off limits to the public. They decided to open the Automobile Driving Museum with a new philosophy: allow the public to hop inside and go for a ride in these antique vehicles.

"The highlights are that we are very different from every other automotive museum," Rubenstein said in an exclusive interview. "Most other museums have ropes around the cars and you're within a five to 10-foot radius of the cars. That's about as close as you'll get. We actually take out three cars on a Sunday and give people rides. We also let the people get closer up to the cars by walking up to the cars with our docents and get a close hand understanding of what they were from the '20s, '30s and '40s. A couple of the cars, we'll open the doors and let them sit in it."

The museum features many famous vehicles including a 1936 Packard Standard 8 Roadster 1401, which was owned by late actor Clark Gable.

"We have the Howard Hughes 1955 Packard Caribbean Convertible, which has only 1,761 miles," the curator explained. "We have this 1930 Stutz Monte Carlo sedan, which is one of three ever made. We have a 1940 Packard Darrin Victoria Convertible in here and a few other cars that are fairly rare. We have the Stalin car, which is a 1936 Packard Standard 8 Touring."

According to the museum's website, the oldest vehicle is an 1886 Benz Motorwagon and the most recent is the 1999 Nissan 350Z concept car. But are there plans to add automobiles from the 2000's?

"What we have are two sides to our museum, we have our muscle and hot rod car in the adjoining building and the newer cars are in there," he added. "The cars in the main display area are the cars from the '50s and back. What we have behind me is a 1926 Pontiac, the first year Pontiac was made by GM as a companion to the Oakland. We take this car out. It has two-wheel brakes and the people love driving in these old cars. They get in, they can hear the transmission, the whine, the sound of the engine and how it really feels to drive a car from the '20s."

The Automobile Driving Museum offers free rides in some of its antique cars on Sundays.

"On Sundays, we take out three cars," Rubenstein said. "We try to take out one car that has seatbelts so we can have children ride in the car because in California the law says under the age of 10, they have to be with seatbelts and they have to be of 65 pounds or more. We try to always bring one car with the seatbelts for the children. The others we use with the adults because not always do we have seatbelts in the older cars. It's a wonderful experience on the drive program for the people that come down here."

Were any of these vehicles ever owned or driven by celebrities?

"Yes, we have a couple," the curator explained. "We have a 1955 Packard Caribbean, which was bought by Howard Hughes for his then wife, Jean Peters. They took delivery at the factory, brought it to California. They drove it once to Malibu, brought it home, put it in the garage and that's where the car sat. The car now has 1,761 miles. We really don't want to take it out and drive it. We keep it running. We drive it on the trailer for shows. It's not a car we use, other than for display."

With the museum's close proximity to Hollywood, have any movies or TV shows ever been filmed inside?

"No, not really, we haven't had that opportunity yet," he added. "We don't really like to take our cars and loan them to the studios or rent them, because normally they don't really get the best car. If they wanted to come here and film something within our facility, that would be a different opportunity and we would consider that."

Are these vehicles permanent on display or do they go on tour to other museums?

"They're permanent on display, but we do have an arrangement with the Petersen," Rubenstein said. "We exchange vehicles back and forth. Currently, we are having their 1948 Tucker here in our showroom. They have our 1941 Cadillac Convertible Coupe in their showroom down there. So we exchange vehicles and help each other out."

Admission to the Automobile Driving Museum is free, with a suggested donation. "We ask for a $5 donation," he added. "We do not ask for a specific amount. Some people pay it and some don't. We hope everyone comes down to see our display and enjoy our museum. We're open to the public six days a week."

The Automobile Driving Museum is located at 610 Lairport St. in El Segundo, Calif. It is about five minutes south of LAX. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays.

For more information on the Automobile Driving Museum, visit www.automobiledrivingmuseum.org.

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com

A 1940 Packard Darrin owned by Earl Rubenstein

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com

A display case with antique collectibles.

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com

Many of the vehicles inside the museum were actually built in Detroit, like this Packard sedan.

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com

Safdicator: An after market vehicle turn signal (1915-1920)

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com

This 1940 Packard was on display at the 2009 Packards International Membership Meet.