Petersen Automotive Museum: James Hetfield's Custom Cars & More

cazalea · 2020-06-24T16:30:26Z

Explore the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles through cazalea's lens, featuring James Hetfield's custom cars, apocalypse vehicles, hot rods, and iconic movie cars.

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is a world-renowned institution, and cazalea's multi-part photo essay offers a captivating tour through its diverse collections. This first installment highlights the unexpected automotive passion of Metallica's James Hetfield, showcasing his custom car collection. Cazalea's detailed photography and personal commentary provide an intimate look at these unique vehicles, inviting readers to explore the museum's breadth beyond its most publicized exhibits.

I guess you have seen the teaser of my visit, which was prompted by notice that the CyberTruck would be there. But there's more to the museum than the newest Tesla...

How do I start? Well, let's choose my favorite room today, which I must say surprised me.

Honestly, I had no idea who Metallica was (other than "a band"), or that founder James Hetfield loved cars. Here's a selection from his collection:

OK, so that's the customs / rock 'n roll room. Come back for part 2, the Apocalypse Room

Key Points from the Discussion

The Petersen Museum features an extensive range of vehicles beyond the initial focus, including a significant Volkswagen corporate display that showcases the brand's history and design evolution.
Beyond custom cars, the museum also dedicates space to 'apocalypse-ready' vehicles, featuring robust designs like the Tesla Cybertruck and other survival-oriented vehicles.
The museum's collection includes unique and unconventional vehicles, such as a 'Car Couch' and various custom hot rods, demonstrating the creative extremes of automotive design.
A dedicated section for motorcycles spans from vintage models to futuristic designs, including the iconic Tron bike, illustrating the evolution of two-wheeled transport.
One notable exhibit features Elvis Presley's 'shot' De Tomaso Pantera, a car he reportedly fired upon in frustration, adding a dramatic historical anecdote to the collection.
The museum also houses famous movie and TV cars, such as the Batmobile, allowing visitors to compare different iterations from various productions.

The Discussion

cazalea

Jun 24, 2020

Apocalypse - we will all be ready for it when we have a Cybertruck, but there are other vehicles suitable for outback survival: That "Terminates" our first display area... NOW, mixing our genres a bit, I present the Batman corner And this ends the second post. Come back for Part 3 please!

cazalea

Jun 24, 2020

Car Couch? Electric Motorbike Chrome Blinding Hard Edges Ouch Skateboard City Bike 36" wheels - My back hurts already not to mention my private parts More "cars" Sno-Ped snowmobile that will fall over Just outside this room was the Tesla truck, so I took a few photos -- which by comparison with this set of "vehicles", the Tesla looks normal Please come back for some Rods and Customs in Part 4

cazalea

Jun 24, 2020

I liked the hot rods in this museum. Here are a few you might enjoy: This "sort of El Camino, sort of Nomad" was cool. Sort of 1960 Cadillac Cadzilla lives here! If you didn't know, Mr Petersen started HOT ROD magazine and that's where lots of the money came from to fund this place. Amazing lowrider paintwork Please come back for Part 5

cazalea

Jun 24, 2020

Just a few Motorcycles! From OLD TO Italian TO Futuristic (Tron) Part 6 will probably wrap it up; let's go ahead and see ...

cazalea

Jun 24, 2020

Regular sort of cars, starting with a VW Corporate display From here we went into silly little electric cars and such ... Of course there were some classics that no museum could be without and some fast and fiery red cars A few home-made cars Some boxy beefy classics And modern versions of the same (the Bollinger) Some American iron of MY era Thunderbird Sports Roadster and some hyper-expensive French beauties Whew! You will have to go spend your own $20 if you want to see more, and BTW the Cybe

patrick_y

Jun 24, 2020

Those are some great Max Max machines!

Petersen Automotive Museum: James Hetfield's Custom Cars & More

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