Sweet Rides And Nothing 'Green' About Them!

The beauty of these cars is one thing, but what they really offer us is a trip into a past long vanished; they are more like time machines than anything else.

(MEXICO CITY) - Vintage car buffs may not readily associate the sprawling megapolis of Mexico City with a haven for works of vehicular art from a bygone era.

Indeed, the guidebooks generally make no mention of a beautiful museum dedicated to classic rides just south of the popular tourist center of Coyoacan (and nominally part of the zone.

It is called El Museo del Automovil, and houses more than a hundred painstakingly restored cars from various nations—but mainly the USA—that all tread asphalt along highways and byways of the 20th century (and still do so today).

Yes, it’s rather odd that the guidebooks don’t list the Museo del Automovil. No doubt the editors figure the museum homes of Diego River, Leon Trotsky and Frida Kahlo to be the draw cards of the district, as indeed they are; but, after all, doesn’t just about everybody have some kind of love affair going on with cars?

The car is, in many oft-told ways, the chief icon of modern America—evoking the usual staples of coming of age, freedom and power. Of course, Europe has been no slouch in weighing in with some of her own beauties; and both Europe’s car-producing nations and Japanese vehicle manufacturers have weathered the world’s economic woes better than U.S. automakers.

It’s obvious there’s no shortage of an obsession with the internal combustion engine here in Mexico City, with anywhere up to and beyond a whopping three million vehicles zipping along the roads daily — and if a Mexican does not own a car (of which there are many) there are at least 45,000 bus, microbuses and the same number of taxis at any given time belching about the capital.

The downside of many of these fossil fuel-driven relics is that they pollute, and in a valley subject to thermal inversion this has proven to be a grave environmental problem. However, there are plenty of new cars on the streets now, leading the environmental charge in efficiency and reduced carbon footprints (or tread). All new vehicles sold today feature catalytic converters and other attributes designed to reduce emissions.

Still, the futuristic look of some these eco-friendly vehicles does not spark much awe regarding their beauty, or personality. We must look to the past to rediscover works of fine art.

For true car aficionados (or anyone who appreciates the aesthetics of fine industrial design) a well-restored vintage car is a thing of beauty. Such vehicles hark back to an era of class and pride in workmanship; when ‘going green’ simply meant feeling rather ill.

It’s hard to imagine a Cadillac Seville Convertible or a Borgward Coupe Isabella rolling off an assembly line but that they certainly did. Perhaps it is in the multi-colored painting styles, sleek lines, steering wheels that resemble works of modern sculpture—the sheer artistry and individuality of each car, which defies our knowledge that they were mass-produced for their time.

In existence since 1991, the Museo del Automovil is unique to Latin America and was created as a result of the efforts of a group of vintage car lovers, who exhibit their treasures for the sheer joy of it. While it is basically a permanent exhibition, around 30 cars are rotated every three months to allow other collectors to also display their wheels.

All the cars are registered and in fine working order, and the engines are turned over once a month to keep them that way. Museum staff maintains the cars at their shining best.

Some of the magnificent vehicles on display include a dashing 1924 Model-T ford, a flaming red 1956 Thunderbird, an aquamarine 1958 Ford Retractable Skyliner, and a jet black 1967 Mustang Convertible.

Not to mention a score of classics with names like Buick, Alfa Romeo, Corvette, Hudson, Jaguar, MG, Lincoln, Mercedes Benz, Pierce Arrow, Porsche, Renault, Stingray, Studebaker and Triumph. Has anyone heard of a Rio Flying Cloud? A Whippet? A Phaeton?

The beauty of these cars is one thing, but what they really offer us is a trip into a past long vanished; they are more like time machines than anything else. Perhaps in an ironic nod to this idea, there is also on display a black DeLorean DMC-12—the sports car that was a time machine in the Back to the Future movie trilogy.

As Dr. Emmet Brown (Christopher Lloyd) explained in choosing the DeLorean: “The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?”

El Museo del Automovil is located on Division del Norte 3572 in San Pablo Tepetlapa. It is open Tuesdays to Sundays 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission: 30 pesos.

Anthony Wright was born in Melbourne, Australia. He graduated in film production at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, was employed in various occupations and traveled through 20 countries before settling in Mexico City in 1993. He lived and worked as a journalist before returning to Melbourne in 2001.He completed an education diploma at the University of Melbourne and worked as a teacher. He returned to Mexico in 2008.

His fiction, journalism, poetry and photography have been published in Australia, Mexico and the United States, and his art has been exhibited in the same three countries. He is married and has two children. (Photo by Eric Wolf, Mexico City)