California Car Cover Visits the Petersen Museum

The California Car Cover Crew recently took a trip to the Petersen Museum to check out the latest exhibits. The world renowned museum has been given much praise since its grand renovation. If you have not been down to the Miracle Mile recently, it's definitely worth a trip.

Starting in 2017, California Car Cover is now the Official Car Cover Provider of the Petersen Museum. We are glad to partner with the museum to preserve and protect their historic and rare automobiles down in the vault and while traveling to concours events. 

One of the most popular and visually stunning exhibits at the museum is the Precious Metal display within the Bruce Meyer Family Gallery. Ultra rare race cars, sports cars and classics all finished in silver make this one of the most Instagram worthy spots in the Petersen Museum.

We sat down with Michael Bodell, Deputy Director of the Petersen Museum, to discuss the renovation and what’s in store in 2017.
CCC: What has been attendee response to the museum thus far?

MB: The response to the renovation has been excellent. We have exceeded all of our visitation goals and 97% of our visitors would visit a second time.

CCC: What is your favorite car(s) on display at the Petersen Museum?

MB: My favorite car is a Jaguar C-type, and the closest car we have to that in the museum is our 1956 XKSS, formerly owned by Steve McQueen. Cars from that era, especially Jags represent a time when race cars had to be on the road in order for the teams to compete and they are just works of art.

CCC: Any interesting stories that our customers might enjoy knowing about the museum’s collection?

MB: One of my favorite stories is actually of the Steve McQueen Jaguar. During Steve’s ownership of the 1956 XKSS, the police chief of Los Angeles has a free steak dinner to any officer that could give Steve a speeding ticket. Being that the XKSS was essentially a glorified race car and Steve drove it like that, no officer ever caught him and he remained the king of cool!

Steve McQueen's Jaguar

The Petersen Museum is not just a showplace for amazing cars, but it is also about educating the visit. Featuring display include Alternative Power, which highlights alternative fuel vehicles throughout the ages. Other displays include an active Art Center College of Design studio and the Cars Mechanical Institute for the younger auto enthusiasts

CCC: What new exhibits or events are you looking forward to this spring or summer (that you are allowed to share with us)?

MB: We’re opening Harley vs. Indian in early March and at the end of April, we’ll be opening 70 years of Ferrari. Both will be blockbuster exhibitions.

CCC: How many cars are typically on display in the museum compared to being stored in the Vault?

MB: It’s normally a 50/50 split. We have about 140 vehicles on display and another 140 in the Vault.

CCC: Why did you partner with California Car Cover as the Official Car Cover Provider of the Petersen Museum?

MB: With so many valuable vehicles in the collection, the museum was looking for a quality car cover partner, and that partner was California Car Cover.  Almost every day the museum receives new vehicles and is rotating vehicles in and out of storage. It’s so important to have good cover so the cars stay in the best possible condition when they’re being stored or transported.

You cannot have a complete automotive museum without some hot rods. The Petersen Museum hosts a number of historic hot rods, including a number of past AMBR award winners. 

Rare and famed two wheelers are also on display at the Petersen Museum. 

 Check out the rotating display of vintage concept cars from the Petersen Museum Vault.

Since the museum is so close to Hollywood, there has to be space to display some of the most memorable automobiles from cinema history. 

The last stop on your visit to the Petersen Museum is the featured exhibit hall. This space is host to the museum's rotating displays throughout the year. On our recent trip, the Art of Bugatti collection was featured. It displayed not just a large group of stunning Bugatti automobiles, but incredible examples of Bugatti design from furniture to art.

Check out the Petersen Museum website to see the latest and upcoming exhibits. If you live in the SoCal area, you can always drive over on a Sunday morning for their monthly Breakfast Club Drive-In Shows.

In case you did not receive the March California Car Cover catalog in the mail, here is the cover image. Thank you to our friends at the Petersen Museum for their assistance with the photo shoot.

February Item of the Month at California Car Cover

This month only, we have lined Zerust storage bags on special at California Car Cover. Save 10% off on all of our lined Zerust storage bags for cars. Please visit our website for complete details. The offer is valid through February 28th, 2017.

Zerust storage bags are a popular storage solution for any extended storage vehicles. These rust resistant bags are popular for our customers in the North and Northeast. If your garage or barn is not water tight and rust or corrosion is a concern, it might be time to consider a Zerust storage bag.

2017 Grand National Roadster Show Photo Highlights

The 2017 winner of the AMBR Award was this 1936 Packard Roadster built by the team at Hollywood Hot Rods.

The Grand National Roadster Show took place in Pomona, Ca last weekend and it attracted 1,000s of classic car enthusiasts to Southern California. This annual event is now in its 68th year and didn't show any signs of slowing down. The Pomona Fairplex was packed on Saturday with enthusiasts who couldn't wait to see the contenders for the America'a Most Beautiful Roadster Award.



The California Car Cover Crew was on hand all weekend talking car care and of course, taking photos of the incredible vehicles on display.

A few more of the competitors for the AMBR Trophy are shown above. A killer roadster pickup from Goolsby Customs and a signature Rick Dore coachbuilt roadster.

Our friends from Brizio Street Rods always bring some cool hot rods to the Grand National Roadster Show.

The Suede Palace is home to some of the finest traditional rods and customs at the event. Here are some photos of just a few of them.

One of the most popular exhibits at the show was the Tr-Five building to celebrate 60 years of the 1957 Chevrolet. If you love the 1955-57 bowties, this was the place to be.

Plenty of vintage race cars and dragsters were on display too.

Custom paint on a few Chevy lowriders in another building.

Our friends at SIC Chops brought our their custom Suburban that was turning heads at SEMA back in November.

1940 Chevrolet Deluxe Custom

Amazing 1936 Ford 5-Window Roadster from Brandon Penserini

In building 4 were all the contenders for the AMBR Trophy. The builders all took different approaches to their roadsters and it shows here. All the roadsters were incrediblly detailed and well built.

Scott Hawley's 1932 Ford Roadster

The Fool's Goldster 1927 Dodge Roadster

The Hill Country Flyer 1932 Ford by Austin Speed Shop

James Hetfield's 1932 Ford Roadster

Thank you to everyone that stopped by the California Car Cover booth over the weekend. We had a great weekend at the Fairplex and we will see you back there in 2018!

2017 Car Show Calendar at California Car Cover

Our 2017 car show schedule for California Car Cover is here. Each year we try to bring our local friends and customers unique ways to get together and grow the classic car community. This year we have some new events to get more people an opportunity to meet and hang out with us at our headquarters in Chatsworth, Ca.

For the past few years, we have had specific car shows on a handful of Saturdays at our store. We've had classic Ford days, muscle car day or Camaro day to name a few. Instead of those marquee days of the past, this year we will host Saturday Socials. These will be casual "Cars & Coffee" type get-togethers on select Saturdays this spring-fall. The free events will be low key social hours to meet with like minded men and women who are passionate about their cars, no matter what they drive. The events are open to all makes and models of new or classic cars.

2017 Social Saturdays Schedule

Saturday, March 4th 8am-11am
Saturday, April 29th 8am-11am
Saturday, June 10th 8am-11am
Saturday, July 22nd 8am-11am
Saturday, September 16th 8am-11am
Saturday, October 7th 8am-11am

We will host coffee and donuts in the morning, plus see what type of special cars or guests we can get to show up for each social. More details on each event will be posted to the California Car Cover Facebook page.

The largest event we host each year has become the annual European car show. This event attracts late model European cars from all over California to Rancho San Antonio in Chatsworth, Ca. We host this event along with Bernie Chacon, of dubNation Events. Last year, we had over 600 cars in attendance and look to make the event bigger and better in 2017. EURO17, as it is called, is a charity fundraiser for our friends at Rancho San Antonio, a nonprofit group, around the corner from California Car Cover. Complete details about this event will be posted to eurocarshow.us.

Wednesday, August 16th will be our 6th Annual Summer Cruise Night. When the suns goes down, cruise over to California Car Cover for our yearly parking lot party. The free show is open to all makes and models of custom cars. We always have a live band and local vendors. Last year, we packed the house, so expect a good time with friends, classic cars and rock n roll.

The last Saturday Social of 2017 will coincide with our 9th Annual Parking Lot Sale. Each year, we empty the warehouse to make room for seasonal and holiday merchandise. It's a great chance to save money of open box, old stock and closeout merchandise. Mark your calendars if you need to stock up on car covers and garage items. Always a local customer favorite!

Custom Fit Accessories for the 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350

Our January 2017 California Car Cover featured a high performance Ford Mustang Shelby GT350. This modern muscle car is at home on the freeway or racetrack with its blend of performance, style and comfort.

Our friend Paul Alhasian of PK Auto Design brought over his 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 for our new year's photo shoot to feature some new custom accessories from California Car Cover now available for the GT350.

One of our Superweave all weather outdoor car covers is the ideal cover for a GT350 looking to take the cover with him or her to work, the track or a weekend trip. The compact size of the Superweave cover does not affect its performance. The lightweight material is highly water resistant and excellent against dust and UV rays.

Paul and the team at PK Auto Design are known for their custom wheel designs. His GT350 rides on a set of wheels he designed with a eye catching red finish.

Lloyd Mats has been making custom fit floor mats for California Car Cover since our beginning. Their premium quality floor mats are second to none. For the 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 we selected a set of Ultimat carpet floor mats with the Shelby logo appliques. The mats feature the licensed logos and factory matching mat securing tabs.

To keep the heat out, we selected an Ultimate Reflector Sun Shade by Intro-Tech. The Ultimate Reflector's insulated panels and reflective film reduce heat to keep the interior much cooler. The Ultimate Reflectors are custom fit to specific year, make and model of the vehicle. 

Here is the 2017 California Car Cover January catalog cover if you haven't seen it in your mailbox. You can always view the e-version on our website or request a catalog over the phone.