Since I was in Brussels, It was just under two hours on the train to get to the museum in The Hague.  The train system in Europe really is very good and I was able to purchase tickets the night before for about EUR45 each way.   I left about 9:30AM and was at the museum around 11:30AM.

I had about three and a half hours at the museum, and in retrospect I should have taken an earlier train. Three and a half hours wasn’t nearly enough.  I had a work dinner to attend in the evening, so I had to take a train that would return me by then.

Unlike many museums, the Louwman Museum is mostly focused on their own collection rather than having temporary exhibits like Autoworld Brussels.  In the 13 years since my last visit, the core collection was still there, but there were quite a lot of good additions too.   It was well worth a return visit.

There was so much to see that I pretty much drained the battery of my phone taking photos and had to be quite careful towards the end to quickly snap photos.    There isn’t a specific focus to the museum, but rather it tells the story of the history of motoring from the early days of the horseless carriage right through to where cars became more mainstream.

It also highlights that things that many people think are new, are not nearly as new as they might think.    The first hybrid cars didn’t come in the late 1990s, there is an example of a production hybrid car from 1917.   The petrol engine didn’t’ really become ubiquitous until the advent of the electric starter.  All electric and steam cars were quite common during the 1910s.

In most museums, while they have special cars, a lot of the collection is cars you can see at a local cars and coffee.  There is very little at the Louwman Museum that you would see at a cars and coffee.   Probably 80% of the collection is rare and special.  The items that are not are important to tell the story.

The museum is well organized.  Nearly all the cars have good descriptions that describe far more than basic technical specifications.  I photographed most of them as they are needed to understand most of the collection.

Some of my favorites were:

• The variety of design of cars before 1930 before the basic configuration that we know was settled.
• The different powertrains used used before most cars standardized on four, six or eight cylinder petrol engines.
• The contrast between the cars for the 1% vs the cars for the masses.
• The Propeller driven car.
• The collection of Spykers, the biggest in the world.
• The collection of Benz (pre merger) cars.
• The room full of cars like Bugatti, Ferrari, Maserati etc.
• The Duesenberg SJ.
• The concept cars or cars that were part of history.
• The Brooke Swan car.

There really is something for everyone.   It is still the best car museum I have been to.   I would return again if I am ever in the area.

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The Concours d’Elegance of America is one of the top events in the calendar in the USA.  Perhaps not to the level of Pebble Beach, but it is certainly up there with events like Amelia Island.   Being in Detroit, gives it a unique flavor is there are normally historical concept cars from the big three on display.   This year was no different with the GM Firebird concept cars from the late 50s.

As far as I can tell, the core classes remain the same, but some special classes vary each year.   For example, this year they had a class for cars from 1958, Plymouth, Porsche, The Coachbuilder Rollston, Mercedes 300SL and others.    As with last year, the highlight for me was the cars from the Art Deco period.    Not only are these cars stunning, but the top cars had technology that was truly cutting edge for the day.   This includes vehicles from Bugatti, Delahaye, Delage, Duesenberg, Packard, Cadillac, Marmon and others.

The 2010 event was held at Meadow Brook, and some time between now and then it has moved to the Inn at St John.   The Inn is a nice venue too, but it doesn’t quite match the elegance of Meadow Brook.   It also means spectators must be bussed from remote parking sites.   As a frequent business traveler, I have little patience for shuttle buses.   One nice touch was that Hagerty were giving out free sunscreen and sunglasses.   Hagerty are a USA based classic car insurance company.  I used them when I lived in Detroit for my 250SE Coupe and Jaguar.

The great thing about this event for me is that it features cars that one does not see in Australia.   You also get to see them drive up to get their awards, and hear the drag cars start up.   There are so many great cars to look at, I was able to drain the battery in my camera.   That was before I had even looked at the historic racing Porsche’s.

It was good to be back in Detroit after 7 years.   Even better that it was the weekend of the Concours d’Elegance of America.

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I took the DS for the first time since 2014.   It was looking great in its new paint job, the Rouge Massena really coming alive out in the sun.   I’ve noticed that since DS values have more than doubled over the last 5 years or so, people are spending a lot more on the cars.   There were about 10-15 cars this year and they were all looking great.  I’m in two minds about this.  While the increased values have helped people justify improving their cars, I hope the values don’t go up too much more or like with other marques, the cars will end up as garage queens for ‘investors’ rather than enthusiasts who drive them.

For the first time since I have been attending there was a real Chapron Cabriolet.    You can really contrast between a real cabriolet and the ‘replica’ cars that have attended in past years.  All the D’s in attendance this year were 3rd nose variants.   Sadly there were no 1st or 2nd nose cars on display and no Aussie built ID19s.   These cars have a special place in DS history and have been spotted in prior years.

There were four Tractions on display.   A Big Six, A Big 15, an 11B and a cabriolet conversion.   Quite a surprise to not see an 11BL or Light 15 since they were by far the most common model.

In addition, on display at the Citroen section was a nice lineup of 2CV, a GS, a CX and some moderns, including two nice C6.

Outside the Citroen display, there were a number of rather nice Peugeots and Renaults.   The highlight for me though was seeing the Bugatti Type 44.   The car was apparently bodied in Melbourne (both times) firstly with an open body and the later with a closed body after the owners new wife didn’t like traveling in an open car.   There was also a 1909 Delahaye as well as a few other early French cars.  I understand both the Bugatti and the Delahaye made it to the show under their own power.   It’s great to see cars like this on our roads.

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Starting with the five original cars in the 1950’s the museum has expanded out to hundreds of cars, representing all parts of British Motoring history.   Today the museum is run by a separate trust.    The museum is probably best known for its racing cars and expensive collection of Edwardian vehicles.

As well as visiting the museum, it is possible to tour the grounds and manor house on the Beaulieu estate.   Various guides are on hand to explain features of the house.   The house started out as a monastery until it was dissolved by Henry VIII.   These origins can still be clearly seen in the older parts of the house.

Some highlights of the museum for me were:

• The excellent collection of Edwardian cars
• The 1914 Rolls Royce 40/50 Continental ‘Alpine Eagle’ that I had a demo of
• Two interesting Bugatti cars, including the oldest one in Britain
• The wide collection of racing cars and motorbikes, including Formula 1
• A blower Bentley

They have also done a nice job trying to make the cars look like they are in their natural element.

I was able to visit the museum as I had a free Saturday afternoon on a work trip.  It was an easy drive from Heathrow and the museum can be seen in a couple of hours.

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Some of the highlights for me included:

• The matching pair of Bugatti Type 57S Atalante and other French luxury cars such as the Voisin.
• A striking Rolls Royce Phantom III.
• A number of Duesenbergs.
• The Tucker.
• Various American luxury cars including Packards, Pierce Arrrows etc.
• Mercedes 500K special roadster.

I would return in a heartbeat.    These are cars that are rarely seen at shows in America, let alone in Australia.     It was one of those shows where four hours was gone at the blink of an eyelid and there was still more to see.

I was actually hoping to drive my E-Type there (and park it in the parking lot).   It hadn’t quite arrived from Oregon, so I took the black 560SEC.

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The museum has two parts, the public exhibits over three floors and three basements with cars not in the current collection.    You can do a tour of the basement for an extra charge, although for some reason photography is prohibited.   Despite that, the tour is well worth it and you’ll see a range of really interesting cars from horseless carriages, custom cars, race cars, Saddam Hussein’s W100 600 and so on.   This is also how they can keep the upstairs collections fresh.

The highlight for me was the display of the pre-war French cars, Bugatti, Delahaye, Delage, Voisin etc.   These are some of the most beautiful cars ever manufactured and this is an amazing collection of them under the one roof.

As the museum is near Hollywood they also feature celebrity owned cars, and cars that have been in movies or TV shows.   For example, the De Tomaso Pantera that was shot by Elvis Presley is in the basement.

I only had two and a half hours there which is not really enough, but the museum is well worth it for anyone who has a few hours in the Los Angeles area.

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Some highlights:

• Rare and interesting cars from before 1900
• The largest collection of Benz cars (i.e. before the merger with Daimler)
• A large collection of Spyker cars
• Early steam and electric cars, including the first hybrid car, 80 years before the Prius
• Various ‘celebrity’ owned cars including Churchill, Kaiser Willhelm, Elvis, General Montgomery etc
• Mercedes 500K Special Roadster and SSK
• A Duesenberg SJ
• A great Bugatti collection
• Other interesting cars including a Tatra, the infamous Swan Car
• And much more!

If you go to Holland and you don’t visit the Louwman museum, you’re missing one of the best attractions in the country.     For more museum descriptions, please see my summary of the various museums I have visited.

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