The New Year started off with a trip to Rétromobile in Paris. The weather is usually gloomy and gray, but this year it remained sunny and in the 40s for the entire week. The show was fantastic as always, with one of the special features being Tatra automobiles. I also had the opportunity to travel outside of Paris to see a very unique collection of cars, with most of the day spent viewing one fascinating vehicle after another!
This year’s trip to Amelia Island started early, as Christine and I joined the Hagerty Road Tour that began in Pennsylvania, taking five days to travel down the east coast, ending up at the Amelia Island Concours on Thursday afternoon. We joined the tour on the third day when it was in Virginia. There were miles of beautiful back roads that we had planned to drive the 1979 Kleinschnittger replica on. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and it rained almost the whole rally. Since the Kleinschnittger has no top, it had to stay in the trailer most of the trip. We did get to visit the Michelin tire testing center in South Carolina, and on that afternoon, the rain stopped, and we were able to drive the Kleinschnittger around their test facility, which was a lot of fun! I want to thank Hagerty Insurance and Brad Phillips for hosting such a well-organized and fun rally!
Once at Amelia Island, the weather turned much drier, and we were able to drive the Kleinschnittger on the Eight Flags Road Tour on Friday. The Concours d’ Lemons was held on Saturday morning, and we entered the 1936 Carabe replica and the 1979 Kleinschnittger replica in the show. The Kleinschnittger won the “Slightly Better Than A Go-Cart” award, which is very fitting considering its diminutive size. The actual Amelia Island Concours was on Sunday, and we brought the 1926 Hanamog 2/10 PS to compete in the “That’s Cute” class. It was a very mixed class, with a BMW Isetta, Fiat Abarth, Mathis 333, and several other strange and cute cars. The weather was perfect, and the Hanamog, although not winning any awards, had many spectators who enjoyed seeing it for the first time.
We have five new exhibits opening up in the next two months: 1) Opportunity and the Open Road opens March 26, and celebrates the 100th anniversary of women in America gaining their right to vote; 2) Staff Selects starts April 2, and will feature seven cars picked by museum employees as their favorite cars in the collection; 3) Wingless Wonders will start April 23, and will feature about 15 propeller-driven vehicles together in one place. (We have many propeller-driven vehicles, but they are scattered throughout the museum or in the vault, so I say a perfect exhibit to bring them all together; 4) Stacked! will open April 30, and features five of our cars/trucks stacked on top of each other, and lastly; 5) An extra special exhibit this year will feature cars from the cover of our new book, Lane Motor Museum: a hobby gone wild. The exhibit will include 14 vehicles that are on the front and rear covers of the book. This exhibit will open May 7.
Speaking of which – yes, the new museum book is now done! It is available for sale in our gift shop and on the museum’s website. It provides some history of the museum, and showcases 50 cars from the collection.
Last, but not least, we’ve had many calls about the recent tornado devastation in Nashville and surrounding cities. I want to reassure you that the museum and staff were virtually untouched, and the museum has made a contribution to the recovery efforts. Also, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the Safer-at-Home Order, the museum is currently closed along with practically every other attraction in the area. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide an update as more information becomes available.
Many thanks to our friends, visitors and followers for your concern, and we look forward to the day when we can once again open our doors, share the collection, and hopefully put a smile on everyone’s face.
News from the Director – Spring 2020 | Volume 17 | Issue 2