Driven Radio Show #340: Dan Pilling of The Petersen Automotive Museum
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Term
carburetor
A carburetor helps engines get the right mix of air and fuel to run. It's an older technology that many cars used before they switched to fuel injectors.
Concept
F1
F1 stands for Formula 1, which is a very popular and fast type of car racing. It includes races on special tracks and features some of the fastest cars in the world.
Concept
Formula One
Formula One is a type of car racing that is very popular and involves fast cars competing in races called Grands Prix. It is known for its advanced technology and skilled drivers.
Brand
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton is a famous race car driver from Britain who races in Formula One. He has won many championships and is known for being one of the best drivers in the sport.
Brand
Mercedes
Mercedes is a well-known car brand that makes luxury vehicles. They are famous for their stylish designs and high performance.
Car
Chevrolet Express
The Chevrolet Express is a big van that people use to carry things or take their families on trips. It's known for having a lot of space inside and being strong enough to handle heavy loads, which is why many people like it.
Car
Ford F150
The F-150 Harley Edition is a special version of the Ford F-150 truck. It has unique features and a more powerful engine compared to regular F-150s, making it stand out.
Brand
Porsche
Porsche is a well-known car brand from Germany that makes sports cars and luxury vehicles. They are famous for models like the 911.
Car
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that has been around for many years. It's known for its unique shape and fast performance.
Brand
Lotus
Lotus is a car brand from the UK that makes sports cars and has a long history in racing, especially in Formula One. They are known for making cars that are light and fast.
Car
Mercury Mountaineer
The Mercury Mountaineer is a type of SUV made by the Mercury brand, which is part of Ford. It's designed for families and can handle rough roads.
Car
Chevrolet Corvette
The Corvette is a fast sports car made by Chevrolet. It's famous for its sleek look and powerful performance.
Car
Nissan XTerra
The Nissan Xterra is a type of SUV made by Nissan that is built for off-road adventures. It's tough and can handle rough conditions.
Car
Dodge Custom
The Dodge Custom 880 is a large car made by Dodge in 1964. It's known for being roomy and comfortable, making it a popular choice for families at the time.
Car
Mclaren F1
The McLaren F1 is a very famous and fast sports car from the 1990s. It has a unique design with the driver sitting in the middle of the car, and it was once the fastest car in the world.
Car
Lamborghini Countach
The Lamborghini Countach is a famous sports car with a unique design and doors that open upwards. It was popular in the 1980s and is still admired today for its looks and performance.
Car
Ferrari Daytona
The Ferrari Daytona is a famous sports car from the late 1960s known for its speed and stylish looks. It's often seen in movies and is a favorite among car enthusiasts.
Car
Cadillac Seville
The Cadillac Seville is a luxury car made by Cadillac, known for being comfortable and stylish. It was popular in the late 20th century and is a symbol of American luxury cars.
Brand
Toyota
Toyota is a car company from Japan that makes many different types of vehicles. They are famous for making reliable cars that last a long time.
Car
BMW 3 Series
The BMW 3 Series is a popular car made by BMW that is known for being fun to drive and having a lot of luxury features. It's been around for many years and has many different versions.
Concept
restoration
Restoration means fixing up an old car to make it look and work like it did when it was new. This can include painting, repairing parts, and cleaning everything up.
Term
racing for pink slips
Racing for pink slips means racing cars where the winner gets the loser's car. It's a risky and illegal way to bet on a race, and it used to be more common in street racing culture.
Concept
Group B rally car
Group B rally cars were super fast and powerful cars used in racing during the 1980s. They were famous for their exciting races but were banned because they were too dangerous.
Term
Pike's Peak car
A Pike's Peak car is a car designed to race up a mountain in a famous race called the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It's known for being very challenging because of the steep roads and high altitude.
Car
Aston Martin Valkyrie
The Aston Martin Valkyrie is a super-fast sports car that is built for racing and high performance. It's made using very light materials and has a design that helps it go really fast, which makes it a topic of interest for car fans.
Car
Ford Bronco
The Ford Bronco is a tough SUV that is great for off-road driving and has been loved by many since it first came out in the 1960s. It's known for its durability and adventure-ready design.
Concept
teen auto workshops
Teen auto workshops are classes where teenagers learn how to take care of cars. They teach things like how to change the oil or fix a flat tire, helping young people understand how cars work.
Car
RUF CTR Yellowbird
The Roof Yellowbird is a famous sports car from a German company called Roof. It's well-known for being very fast and having a distinctive look.
Car
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta is a small and affordable car that many people buy as their first vehicle. It's known for being easy to drive and good on gas.
Car
Rolls-Royce Phantom
The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a very fancy car that is known for being one of the most luxurious in the world. It has a lot of special features, a powerful engine, and is made with the best materials, which is why it's often talked about as a symbol of wealth.
LIVE
Hey, all you gearheads and car fiends, welcome to Driven Radio Show, your weekly automotive
happy hour.
I am Brett Hatfield, here with my co-host and engineer extraordinaire, Mr. Mark Groves.
That's me.
We are coming to you from Driven Radio Studios, where we're having unusually warm weather
for February, so all of you who are still frozen, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,
ha, ha, ha.
Got a fake spring, I think it's called.
Yeah, it was 73 degrees yesterday.
Yeah, it was nuts.
It was a nice kind of nuts, too.
Oh, didn't hurt my feelings a bit.
And then today we like what, 53, 54?
Yeah, still really warm for February.
So here's anyway.
Doing anything with the Tiber?
Still sitting there?
Still sitting there.
Yeah, most I did with it was I sat and smoked a pipe beside it.
I was so I wasn't interested at all in any way in the in the S-ball.
So I went out and just kind of enjoyed it.
Well, neither was I.
Flipped through some channels.
What did we do?
Didn't watch this stupid game.
Oh, we watched a couple of movies.
Nice.
And then I was trying to get a sleep and couldn't.
So I watched a couple more.
And that was the evening.
I will admit, I did watch a couple.
And by the way, Silent Night, Deadly Night, the 2025 remake.
Really good. Really?
Surprisingly good. Low budget.
Cool. A nice twist that I did not expect.
I don't know if it's if it follows the original one,
because the original one was so bad I couldn't.
About 20 minutes into it, I'm like, I got a.
Are you kidding me?
You there's a there's a shitty horror movie.
You couldn't make it through.
I know it seems wrong.
I'm the guy that was able to watch all of Rise of the Animals three times.
No, wait a second.
You're the guy who loaned me your copy of Poultry Geist.
You know, well, that was a gift to me.
I didn't actually by the way, who had two minutes for staring off
the car related track.
But, you know, I sat there and had the TV on and I've got one up
on the wall in the garage and it's right above the.
Hey, very good for having a TV on the wall in the garage.
You finally got that deal done.
Yeah, nailed that down.
Can't get a carburetor in a car.
But by God, I can get a TV on that's right by God.
We watched as much as I didn't want to.
I'd had too many people tell me that it was a decent movie.
I didn't want to watch a racing movie with Brad Stink and Pitt in it.
And we watched F1.
Was it all right?
Surprisingly good.
Really?
Surprisingly good.
Now, how would you rank it on the Ford versus Ferrari scale?
Good, good car movies.
Right after that one.
Really?
Yeah.
Well, almost neck and neck.
Because I really liked Ford versus Ferrari.
I've said it like three times and enjoyed it every time.
And I have watched, in fact, when you knocked on the door,
I had F1 going to my office.
I've watched it once since and I'm watching it.
I like the damn movie.
It was surprisingly good.
Nice.
Go, Brad Pitt.
Yeah, and it was well written, I thought.
Yeah.
Now, I don't know tons about Formula One.
I know enough.
I know a little, but not tons.
And diehard Formula One fans would probably point out all the things
that were really wrong.
And that's fine.
I will say this.
Lewis Hamilton, who is a very successful Formula One driver,
was one of the producers and also appeared in the movie.
So it could have been a bit damn.
Yeah, I don't know a track about F1's bad.
But it was pretty cool.
I have news from the world of car paint.
Oh, how is it looking?
It is the Schadenfreude Express or Hitler's Revenge,
depending upon what you want to call it.
Depending on the day.
Yeah, no kidding.
Should be done this week.
Wow.
I told I talked to the shop owner yesterday.
John Burdolski over at Classic Collision.
And he said it should be done this week.
I'm excited to see it because he's done work on two other Mercedes
and the family, and they both turned out very nicely.
So I excited to get the car back.
Also, in other car paint news or truck paint, as the case may be,
talked to Rick Hunter yesterday over at Hot Rod Express.
Dad's F-150 Harley edition should be done this week also.
And Rick has gone through and they've redid door panels
and dolled up the interior and done everything to my dad's truck.
I showed you that video of it last week.
You saw how good it looked.
It didn't look that good from the factory.
And I'm excited to get that back to my dad.
I know he's missing his pickup.
I think choosing the color plum crazy was a bold move.
Yeah, we're just going to that's going to be a coin toss.
And we're going to see how that goes.
Dad might like it.
Hope you're listening, pop.
Or I might wind up with my nuts tacked on my forehead.
That could be.
Could be. I met your dad.
Yeah, well, he's he's still pretty spry for 82.
I'm like, he couldn't do it.
No, I'm glad I'm bigger than he is.
You'll probably do it to me for laughing.
Well, you know, if you're standing close by.
Yeah.
If you see him at World of Wheels, you might want to walk the other way.
Well, I'm excited to see a shot and Freud to express real shiny
because I know that, you know, the little back end,
the little denty thing in there was kind of a bother.
Yeah, that's really irked the crap out of me.
And I've wanted to get that taken care of for a long, long time.
Also, I happened to drop by the Hagerty price guide this weekend
and take a look where values were on that car.
Oh, my God, really?
Yeah. Number two condition,
which is what I think I can get that car to.
It'll never be a number one car again ever.
But I think I can get it to number two is thirty nine grand.
Thirty nine thousand.
No good dollars.
When about five or six years ago was probably worth five grand, six.
They just with everything else turn the corner story going the other direction.
And now it's off like a rocket.
So really excited to get my car back and finish up the odds and ends.
You know, I'm going to have that.
I'm going to have the seat fix and I'm going to have
alloy wheel repair, redo the wheels.
And I've got another stinkin' antenna to put in it
because those are so much fun.
And yeah, I think I can bring the car back to its former glory.
I'm excited about that and it would be just in time.
Um, you know, Amelia Island's coming up next month.
Oh, nice.
And I looked at that great house that we always rent in Jacksonville,
and it is still available.
Oh, if I can put together a group of people, Mark,
would you like to go on vacation?
I've got I'm saving up for it is awfully pretty, but it is.
Anyway, if we can get a group of people together
to get the per person cost down,
I think we might pull the trigger on that.
I'm also still trying to get hold of my editor at Sports Car Market
to see if maybe he would like to hire me to go gimp my way
through one of the auctions there.
Are you ready to do it?
Yeah, you feel motivated?
I feel I it's been I've been out of the saddle too long.
And I feel like I can load up on enough narcotics to get the job done.
Hell, yeah.
My god, if if you can't go sober,
then don't don't fair.
So there's that.
And also the American Society of Appraisers
is doing their annual meeting in Long Beach
at the Mercedes Classic Center in April,
which would be a hell of a place to drive my really rare.
Yes, if you want Mercedes, it would.
And then they could all appraise it and you could see what to have
like a team appraisal.
Well, I can't do it on my own,
but I'd sure like it if somebody else looked at it.
Raise your hands and appraise.
How are we going to have to open a pile?
Nice. Anyway, exciting stuff.
Ready to have the car back.
Yeah. And see what kind of work they did.
Really ready to get my dad's truck back because, you know,
trucks are useful.
Patients, patients ain't this thing.
No, there is that.
It's just not.
He's like, and I love your dad, but yeah.
Patriarchal stink eye.
Well, and I've also told him, hey, you can use my truck.
It's really it used to be your truck.
So, you know, everything works.
And when's my truck going to be ready?
That's not my truck.
Yeah. Well, he also knows that I treat my stuff differently.
So anyway, hopefully his truck turns out as nice as I think it might.
I've never seen Rick do anything.
Halfway. No, no.
So it's probably going to look better.
You're going to be jealous is what it's going to happen.
Yeah. Well, Mike convinced me to, you know, work a little harder on my own.
So there you go.
Our special guest this week is Dan Pilling of the Peterson Automotive Museum.
Dan's an automotive enthusiast at heart.
He is interested in performance cars, motorsport history,
rally culture and modern vehicle development.
Dan, welcome to Driven Radio Show.
Hey, gentlemen, thank you for having me.
So, sir, we're going to immediately start poking you with sticks.
How old were you when you knew you were a car guy?
Well, I grew up in the UK and I can remember from the early eight.
Yeah, quite often I tell people it's a West Seattle accent, but it's not.
It's really the UK. I was going to go to Jersey.
I was going for Tennessee myself. There you go.
I can't say water anymore, this water, but I still say Jaguar.
Oh, nice. Well, at least you said correctly, and it's not Jaguar.
Yeah, Jaguar, yes.
But I grew up in the UK and from an early age,
my father would take me to the National Automotive Show,
which would happen in the middle of the middle of the UK in Birmingham.
So I guess that was my first exposure, but I really got sold on cars
when I was 17 and I managed to do an internship at Porsche Cars Great Britain.
Oh, so, you know, that was a pretty, pretty outstanding internship.
And at a 17 year old, I was highly impressed very easily.
You know, that's a real similar story to to Magnus's story,
but he didn't manage to get hired by Porsche.
And now they're now they're friendly with him,
that he's done such neat things with 9-Eleven's stateside.
Yeah, he wrote to them, didn't he, and said he wants to do a job?
Yes, he did.
And I believe it was after having gone to the auto show in Birmingham
when he was a kid.
Yes, although I think he has about 10 years on me.
So. Well, I wasn't trying to say that, you know,
you guys bumped into each other while you were there.
But it's very, very similar story.
So very cool.
Did you have car related jobs before you got to the one you do now?
I'd always managed to find a car related element of my jobs,
but the day job wasn't car specific.
So I did about 20 years at Microsoft,
spending some of the time in the UK and some of the time in the US.
And as part of that, I got involved in Formula One,
which you folks were talking about earlier.
And we had a sponsorship with the Lotus Formula One team.
So I managed to kind of like work my way through to developing part of that
partnership while it not being my main job, it being a sort of side project.
So in short, I did manage to get car elements into my jobs,
but it wasn't what I was being paid to do necessarily.
Alrighty, so you do you've got your toe in the Formula One pool.
What do you think of the movie?
I thought the movie was interesting and entertaining.
Very nicely put.
That's what I told you.
If you got somebody who really knows Formula One,
they're probably going to think the movie's BS.
I thought it was a film that was produced.
Yes, there you go.
Beautifully shot.
Beautifully shot.
It was well shot.
And the other thing I'll say is this, it's two and a half hours long.
It doesn't feel like it.
Oh, wow.
It goes by rather quickly.
Let's take a break for some commercials about cool car people stuff.
Driven radio show will be right back.
You know, Daryl Ossipic might just be the most interesting man on earth.
Might be.
If you look at his collection of vehicles,
you'll realize this is a Renaissance man from weird old beaters
to serious performance hot rods.
All in one place.
Owner of Ossipic Automotive, Daryl is the car whisperer practicing voodoo
that brings vehicles back from the dead just for for us here on this show.
Daryl's work on Mercury Mountaineer.
Yeah.
Classic Corvettes.
Oh, yeah.
Nissan Xterra.
Unusual Mercedes.
Yours.
And a 64 Dodge custom 880.
Neither of ours anymore.
Not no Moe.
But you know why it ran?
Daryl Ossipic.
That's right.
In other words, we come to him with our whining issues
and he comes back to us with shiny fixed automobiles.
It is like magic.
Daryl has ASC certified mechanics and happily gives binding estimates.
You might not know he's happy, but that might be because he sees us coming in
and it erases all of his joy.
Yeah, you'll watch that face drop.
Daryl will explain what he finds, what he plans on doing,
and lets you make your decisions.
Nothing hidden, no mechanic bait and switch.
He's straight up and even guarantees all work for at least one month or 1,000 miles.
Yeah.
Ossipic Automotive, that's OSI-PIK Automotive 5920 Merriam Drive in Merriam, Kansas,
called Daryl at 913-831-3613.
What was that number?
913-831-3613.
Don't even have to read it.
It's been in my head for a while now.
That's that dude on the back of my skull.
Ask for the big D and tell him Brett sent you.
After he sighs heavily.
And he will.
He'll get you taken care of 913-831-3613 Ossipic Automotive.
And now back to more Driven Radio Show.
So for the uninitiated, what is the Peterson?
That's an interesting question.
So the Peterson Museum is a museum in LA.
But in essence, we're kind of more than just a museum.
You know, we're a place of cultural reference.
We are a place for people to come and develop a love for cars,
or if they've already got a love for cars, share that love for cars.
We've been around since 1994.
We were founded by Mr. Peterson, who was a media magnate.
He started off by developing Hot Rod Magazine
and then went on to create other different publications.
He then got into wider media.
He was the founder of Motor Trend.
So he had a vision for a museum.
Some of his cars were already in a natural history museum,
but he partnered with Bruce Meyer, who is another founder of the museum,
and they moved their cars to where we are today.
So that was the origins.
But then, you know, a few years later,
the board decided to, you know, redevelop the building,
make it more aesthetically pleasing.
So the museum actually shut down for a year
in order to kind of achieve this transformation.
And now we have it as you kind of, if you visit today,
you see a very different museum.
Tell us a little bit about the museum's exterior design.
Who did it?
And you said it took an entire year.
When was it revealed?
So it was developed both internally and externally.
So the museum has, you know, an iconic place on the landscape now.
If you've not been to LA and you haven't seen it,
it is essentially a set of beautiful silver ribbons
that wrap around the building with a red,
Hot Rod red, you know, base color.
So it's kind of this iconic flowing vision of a building.
It's quite difficult to describe,
but if you see it, you kind of know it, if that makes sense.
And let's, I'd like to dive into, you say it's not just a museum.
Can you discuss the types of exhibits you have there
and the types of tours or experiences that can be had?
Yeah, sure.
So the philosophy we have, I guess, down from our executive officer is
that we always look to create two or three different exhibits every year.
So, you know, as opposed to some museums that might stay quite static
in times of what they're showing,
the idea is if you come to the museum within a year,
you'll probably see two or three different exhibits
in the space of one specific year.
So we have this kind of always changing, always evolving philosophy.
Right now we have something that's quite close to my heart
is an 80s and 90s exhibit called Totally Awesome.
I can relate to that because that's the kind of eras that I saw growing up.
Okay. What's in Totally Awesome?
The Totally Awesome is a celebration of everything 80s and 90s.
So it's not just cars, it's fashion, it's music, it's cultural elements, it's film.
So it's a collection of different artifacts that kind of represent that era, 80s and 90s.
So for example, there is a soundtrack when you walk in that is over four days long.
So not that we're suggesting that people should stay there for four days, we'd love that.
But you know, the idea is that when the previous exhibit we had in there,
our docents were saying, look, we're hearing the same songs over and over again.
So the team basically got together and pulled together this playlist that
is now, you know, the chances are that you're not going to hear the same song in there twice.
The curated cars in there are absolutely phenomenal.
You name it, the cars that were on your poster walls, the cars that really kind of, you know,
kind of stamped their place in those sort of decades, 80s, 90s.
So we've got a white Countach. We have a McLaren F1.
For a lot of the cars, we've also paired them with the
fashion that was taking place at that time. So we have a Gucci Cadillac that is, you know, next to
two dummies with Gucci clothes on them.
So that's pretty cool. And then we have some iconic movie cars as well.
You know, we have the Ferris Bueller car. We have the Miami Vice original Daytona,
which was a fake Ferrari. We have the Back to the Future car.
So it's a great collection. There's been a lot of thought from our curation team as to,
you know, what did the 80s and 90s look like, feel like, and how do we represent that across
multiple different mediums? I'm looking at the Gucci Cadillacs right now.
It looks like they came in a couple of different varieties. Which one do you have?
We have, I'd have to look it up, but we have, let me take a quick look.
Is it the Seville with the bustle back or the more blocky version of the Seville,
white or maroon? It looks like they made a few different versions of this.
Yeah, it's a cream car. Let me just quickly find out.
I see. I see. And can you tell?
We didn't get these cars in the UK. So we also have the only round door Rolls-Royce in the world.
It's a thing of beauty. And if you can imagine an absolute round door on a Rolls-Royce,
that's pretty iconic. We have the Chara Bugatti, Chara Persia Bugatti.
So this was a gift from France to Persia. So we have that. That's a kind of crown jewel car.
We're super lucky. We have over 400 cars on site, a lot of which we own, a lot of which we
borrow to put into our exhibit. So there's pretty much something for everyone.
Do you have a favorite?
It depends on the day. I really like the McLaren F1. We're spoiled. We're really spoiled,
but we're lucky enough to have a McLaren F1 in the museum at the minute.
And in November, we were lucky enough to have Gordon Murray come visit.
Oh, really?
That was pretty special. Getting to talk to him about the car in front of the car.
Is that... Now, when you have somebody like that there, somebody who developed the car,
penned the car, is responsible for the car's existence,
does what they have to say ever conflict with the research you've got that goes along with the car?
I don't think it's the research. I think it's more the stories that you can't find in research.
For example, we also have a Toyota in the same exhibit, and that Toyota has got these kind of
hollowing doors. And as we were walking into the exhibit, Gordon says that car was the inspiration
for the doors on the McLaren F1.
No kidding.
And the story was that he was driving to work one day. They'd had all sorts of problems with the
prototype because they were trying to work out how to get someone in the middle seat of a car.
And he saw one of those cars parked. So he went to talk to the owner.
So I think it's not the research. It's the sound bites that you're never going to get unless you
talk to the chap who kind of created it.
Alrighty. Lots of people know about the legendary basement or the vault at the Peterson.
Tell us about all the cool stuff that can be found downstairs and what makes it so great.
Tell us everything about that.
Yeah. So I guess if you close your eyes and imagine 70,000 square feet, over 300 cars,
and a tour of both history, luxury, motorsport, we have a collection of Formula One cars that go
through many of the decades of Formula One. So originally these cars would have been race cars
and driven cars, but then later on they became show cars and the manufacturers were selling
show cars versus actual race cars. We have partnered with BMW to celebrate 50 years of the
evolution of the three series, everything from touring cars, 70s race cars all the way through
to the modern stuff. We've also got quite a few muscle cars down there, quite a few
sort of amber winners and custom hot rods. We have the McGee Roadster, which was the first
car to appear on Hot Rod magazine. So obviously very historically significant for both the
Hot Rod world but also the museum. So we're just blessed down there. I could go and spend
all day down there. I think I'd get sat quite quickly because I wouldn't be doing the day job,
but every time you walk around you see something different, even after being there for quite a
while. Would it be possible for you to take your sleeping bag and tell them you were just
trying to listen to that full soundtrack from the 80s and 90s? Well, we have a few cars such as,
we have a presidential car that is completely open, so maybe I could sleep in that. We said
it takes four days, you know, you're just going to take a little while to get all that in.
You've got to fully experience it, haven't you?
So what else is there downstairs that might surprise people?
That's a good question. We have an active workshop downstairs.
The active workshop, we do do weekend tours where people can come and see what's going on in the
workshop, but generally it's out of bounds. It's an interesting place because you never
know what's going to be down there. Right now, we're staging for a new exhibit. So if you go
down there right now, there's probably about 12 cars that are under covers and it's all getting
ready for this new exhibit that's coming next month. Any, can you give us any indication
with a new exhibit it's going to be? I could let you guess a little bit. So maybe,
maybe if we talk about movie franchises that involve cars that might be 25 years old.
Okay. I'm pretty sure I know where you're headed with this.
The workshop that's in the basement, is it a full restoration shop?
It's to a degree, yes. We do a lot of maintenance there. If there is kind of niche
restorations required, we'll send cars off for restoration that we don't have the capability
to do, but it is a full active workshop and we have a full-time team down there working on
different cars and getting things either ready for shows, getting things ready for
taking them to the track. We take quite a few of our cars and actually drive them,
which is great because these things are better when they're driven. People get to experience
seeing them driven. It's not just a static display. So the exhibit that you're talking about,
the movie franchise, I remember where I was when I saw the first one of those. It was a
meeting of, it was Bloomington Golden in normal Illinois. It was a big Corvette rally and
lots of people went to see that movie and then had an absolute burnout fest in the parking lot
leaving. I'm wondering, wow, God, I didn't realize that series was 25 years old.
People who were doing burnouts leaving that parking lot probably have kids now.
It's crazy, isn't it? It ages us all, but things like racing for pink slips and
all those iconic things really came to life with that franchise, didn't they?
Oh, no, racing for pinks predated that by quite a bit. I'm older than you, Dan.
What else can we expect coming to the Peterson? Is there anything you can talk about?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, as I say, we have three floors above ground in the vault. We have exhibits
focused around electric cars. We have exhibits focused around off-road racing. So we have a
relatively new exhibit called Legends of the Dirt where we kind of document some of the greatest
off-road vehicles. So everything from a group B rally car all the way through to a pike speed car.
So we've got quite a bit of variation. We have a whole dedicated to bikes, motor bikes,
so we're automotive. So that's a pretty cool thing. We also have, I guess something I'm
very proud of, our Aston Martin exhibit. So we have a collection of some of the most beautiful
Aston Martins ever made, and we're lucky enough to have some folks that have lend us cars for that
exhibit, but everything from a late 1920s Felton Flyer through to the James Bond stunt car from
the most recent film through to an Aston Martin Valkyrie. So from that perspective, we've got
some of the best documented Aston Martins that were ever produced. Very cool. Legends of the dirt,
have you managed to talk the current owner of the Ole Bronco out of that for the display?
We have it in the display, yeah. Do you really? We do. Oh, that's cool because that changed hands.
Oh, jeez. I think it was just before Monterey Car Week 21 or 22, and the guy who owned it
drove it by bonnems at the quail. And wow, everybody was just, you know, over the over the
moon that he would have it out and be driving it around. And I figured for that display, that would
be the ideal vehicle to have. And that car does really well on social media. I don't know why,
but people love that car. So whenever we post it on our Instagrams or do the YouTube video stuff,
it seems to really pop. It seems to transcend different groups, and yeah, it does really well.
It's a really, really cool piece of hardware. All right. Now, as you've said, the Peterson
isn't just a car museum, but it's also a bit of a school with many education programs.
Can you tell us about some of the cool classes you can take there?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, education is the corner and the foundation of what we do. It's why we
exist. We want to inspire the next generation of car lovers. We want to help people get into
careers in automotive. So we start folks at a young age. We have what we call a discovery
center here. And at weekends, we do, you know, classes from sort of toddlers all the way up.
So we have programs like Little Sparks. When it comes to teenagers, we give them practical skills.
So that could be our teen auto workshops where we teach them the foundations of working on cars.
We teach folks how to detail cars. So we've pretty much got education programs for sort
of all the age groups up. Every year, we bus in Title I children to come and visit the museum
on our expense, give them lunch. So we're all about making sure that we can get as many folks
inspired, you know, as young as possible. So it's a big thing what we do at the museum,
and it's something that we're very proud of. What other events do you host at the Peterson?
Yeah, I mean, we host everything from motorbike celebrations. We had Indian motorbikes come in
and celebrate 125 years about two weeks ago. The last Sunday of the month, we do a cruise in,
like a cars and coffee. So we do that, you know, some months we'll do that theme. So we did a
British car cruise in last month, and, you know, next month we'll do a general car cruise in.
But we like to be able to get, you know, the local community to come bring their cars in,
talk about their cars, share their cars. And then we kind of do some private events so people can
take over the museum and run their events if they want to. So, you know, it's a great way for us to
be able to share the museum with folks that might not be car people.
Uh, private events, I, you do events that are not car related?
Would you believe it? We even do things like weddings. People have weddings at the museum.
No, that's pretty cool. Oh, man, I missed out on an opportunity. Geez.
And to think we got married in a Harley dealership.
You could always come back and renew your vows.
Oh, I'm pitching that one. I go upstairs.
Oh, I'm absolutely going to pitch that one. That sounds too cool.
What would you charge for a small wedding?
Well, I can introduce you to the team and as it should, we'll give you a discount.
Oh, fantastic. That's, that would be wonderful.
Wow. Uh, how cool.
Talk to the wife.
It's like hungry, do your vows?
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I've asked her to do it a bunch of times and she always says,
yes, but I never have anything cool enough planned.
This would be cool enough. This would be awesome.
Alrighty, you can be a Peterson Museum member.
What are the benefits of being a member of the Peterson Automotive Museum?
Yeah, Peterson Automotive Museum. Easy for me to say.
Yeah, I mean, it's, it's a program that we've developed that, you know,
folks want to come back to the museum regularly and, you know, come visit,
then they get access to the museum, you know, without having to pay every time.
We offer discounts to different programs. So for our cruisans, for example,
when we do experiences, there are discounts to be had.
And also it's, you know, a way that folks can show a commitment to the work that we're doing.
So I talked about the education programs, you know, it's, it's a way that you can become a
member and know that that membership and that commitment is going towards the development
of the museum. Let's take a break for some commercials about cool car people stuff.
Driven Radio Show will be right back.
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You've mentioned the classes that you've got for younger hobbyists and people who are entered
interested in the car culture.
And the only way we can continue to get future generations interested and
involved is through efforts like that.
Is the Peterson inspiring the next generation of car fans?
Do you know what the greatest pleasure I get from the museum is when I'm walking around
and I hear noises from kids, they see a car they've never seen before.
They make some sort of, you know, bold announcement or whether it's a screen,
whether it's a garter of breath.
And that just kind of hits home to me.
I mean, we have a life-sized Lightning McQueen.
So, you know, it's come turn up and they give Lightning a hug, which is just awesome.
That's cool.
That's cool.
Okay, now the Peterson has its own podcast.
That's what we need more competition.
What is the Peterson's podcast called?
What do you talk about?
Who are some of the guests and stories you've had?
What do you get?
Yeah, so we have a regular podcast called Car Stories.
And, you know, we're lucky enough to have a network from the museum where
we get to secure some really cool guests.
What I love about it is some of the stories that come out.
So we had Alois Roof on about a couple of months ago.
And he told us the story about up until the 11th hour, the Roof Yellowbird,
which is the most famous car they've ever produced, was almost red.
And it wasn't until the 11th hour when they decided to paint the car yellow
for, you know, a media event.
Otherwise, it would be the red bird.
And it probably wouldn't have taken the world by storm as it did.
We had Jeff Swart come in the other week, who is a famous photographer, videographer,
and now rally driver.
And, you know, he told us stories about his youth and what it took to basically get into
the automotive world.
I mean, he had, I remember him saying he had a Lamborghini
press car, like a Countache, at the age of 21.
It's like, wow.
You know, how does that happen?
So, yeah, we're really lucky.
We get lots of varied guests.
And it's not just those famous guests.
We get some guests that are, you know, it's all about the person in the car.
Last week, we recorded a gentleman.
He'd owned his El Camino for 59 years.
Oh, my.
So, this was a love affair with his El Camino.
And, you know, just the stories.
He camped in that car.
He drove around the US in that car.
So, yeah, I guess we're just very lucky that we get to talk and tell the stories
of some folks who have got good stories to tell.
I'm dying to know, did Mr. Roof happen to say why yellow?
It was more the why not yellow.
So, at the time, yellow was perceived to be more environmentally unfriendly.
So, it had more lead in the paint than a regular other color.
And the gentleman who, I don't know if you are familiar with,
there's a video of a roof car driving the Nürburgring, the Nordschleife.
And it was the gentleman who drove that and it became a very famous video.
But he was the one who suggested, why don't we make it yellow?
Why don't we make it stand out against all these other cars?
And they thought that potentially there was going to be some pushback
because of this environmental factor.
But the reality was that it won the competition and just popped.
See, that's why I liked my yellow Corvette so much.
Yeah.
That's really cool.
Alrighty, now this is the question, the final question we ask everybody.
And Dan, I warned you about this.
What is the dumbest thing you've ever done in a car?
Yeah, and this is the hardest question to answer.
I don't know how the statues of limitations work across the Atlantic.
So, that's my first worry when I answer this.
Nobody's going to cross the ocean to arrest you now.
Stranger things have happened.
But I think it was probably, so growing up in the UK,
my first car was a Ford Fiesta.
And this was a 958 CC car.
So, less than a thousand CCs.
I think cars in the UK versus cars in the US,
you folks have a lot larger displacements and V8s
and all that sort of good stuff and we had to have less.
We got more graphic cover.
That's very, very true.
And you probably had cheaper gas as well.
So, that helps.
But I decided one day to take my friends to the racetrack
to watch some touring car racing.
So, the dumbest thing was probably deciding that four people in a Fiesta
with less power than maybe a Shetland Pony
and getting that car to the racetrack.
And I think it took us like three hours to get there
because we were so heavy, we couldn't get good motorway speed.
But we had a great time.
So, that's all that matters, right?
Had to break out the under seat pedals.
I can absolutely relate to that story.
In 1993, when the Chiefs played Buffalo in a playoff game
and we were in Buffalo, drunk in Westport on a Friday night,
four of us decided to go to Buffalo halfway across the country.
And we piled four good size, not sober guys into a Nissan Centra.
And drove to Buffalo, got what may have been the last hotel room in the city,
went to the stadium the next day.
I'm here to tell you, Rich Stadium may be the coldest place on the planet, period.
Full stop, got tickets, they don't know how to do cookouts there.
They're just awful.
And went and saw one of the more bizarre football games ever.
And then got in the car and drove home.
And I'm pretty sure when we got home, Brad had to burn that car
because you were never getting the smell out of it ever.
Not never.
So yeah, I can absolutely relate to that story.
And yeah, probably not the brightest thing.
Dan, well done.
We've been speaking with Dan Pilling of the Peterson Automotive Museum.
Dan, please tell us where we can find you online and on social media.
Yeah.
So I guess, firstly, thank you for having me.
It's great to meet you folks.
On social media and online, we're on thepeterson.org.
So any information about all our events, all those programs,
the education programs, thepeterson.org.
And if folks want to reach out to me, probably the best way is LinkedIn.
So I'm Dan Pilling on LinkedIn.
Dan, thank you so much for being with us.
Thanks for having me.
And if anybody looks up some of the cars that we were talking about
in the show today, the Peterson.
Oh, yeah.
Really got to look up that 25 Rolls Royce Phantom.
Oh, that's right.
And look up Dilman.
Dilman, Round Door Rolls Royce,
because that will get you to pictures of it
when it was sitting in a junkyard.
And you're just looking at it, especially now,
because it looks like a Hollywood car made specifically
for some really good horror movie.
I mean, the dimensions, that front end,
and then the slope, and the way the top of the car is way down.
Was it a limousine that was in a, it was a killer car?
Big, black.
Oh, yeah.
Only take that and make it stunningly beautiful.
I think it was an Imperial.
Had a great big block in front of them.
Yeah, it was stupid.
And this thing, the lines are heavy,
and it should be all wrong, but it's absolutely perfect.
See, and the picture I'm looking at is of the picture of that
with the really stunning blonde model
in the black silk dress next to it.
Yes, as it should be.
Oh my goodness, is that just elegant through and through.
But then you go looking through it,
and you find there's a website,
I think it's called Truth About Cars,
that has a bunch of pictures on it.
And you're looking at this rust-modeled things
where the back end is basically sitting on the ground.
And it makes you want to cry.
Did you, you need to find the picture
that just has the headlights and the grill in it
and the, you know, the spirit of ecstasy hood ornament.
The headlights look like they're about 18 inches deep.
Yeah.
And just absolute bullets, just gorgeous.
The styling on that, you wouldn't have thought
they were capable of doing that in 1925.
There's another picture of it on the lawn at Pebble,
and it looks like it has individual sliding sunroofs on it.
Oh God, that wouldn't surprise me.
And just really cool.
That is the best looking car.
You know, if I had thought about it,
I'm going to ask him if he knew the story
about that thin on the back.
Look at this.
Look at the way the windows roll down into the door.
Oh my God.
Look at that.
That kind of engineering is insane.
That's incredible stuff.
Basically, what he was showing you, it's got a round door
and there's a middle.
It's a half round window with a middle pillar.
With a center mull.
And then the windows can't to lever down,
starting at the middle and then just kind of crank down
into the door.
Yeah, they kind of look like cat ears right there.
It's, that is, that is, oh my God.
Oh, wow.
That is car design.
That is coach built insanity.
Check out the fitted luggage.
That's done in the same red leather color as the interior.
That's wrong.
That's just gorgeous.
Oh man, is that incredible.
So go look for that.
Peterson Museum.
I got that's on.
I would go to our bucket list.
That's what they're just to see this.
Exactly.
I would, you know how long I would spend in there?
He was talking about the sounds the kids make.
You want to hear a grown man, a 62 year old grand,
grown man going, oh my God.
Yeah, it would be stupid and fun.
So I've been able to be inside a couple of different
1938 Talbot logo SS teardrop speed or teardrop, you know, speedsters.
And the styling is not quite as cool as this, but it's similar.
And the craftsmanship is of a similar, God, you just got to see this.
Look at that dash.
Yeah.
Look at that dash.
Yeah, it's the switches.
It's amazing.
Oh yeah, folks.
Hey, go look up this car.
And then if you've ever got a chance to go see this thing at the Peterson,
absolutely do so or go see any of a thousand other cool things.
The oh my God.
They have at the Peterson.
This is just this is the stuff that I did.
I live to see this is amazing stuff.
This is what makes me love being a car guy.
Uh huh.
Wow.
It's the art of it.
That is just fantastic.
I absolutely love it.
Anyway, one more time.
Thank you, Dan Pilling for being with us for taking the time to tell us
about all the cool stuff you do at the Peterson.
And the vault in the basement is incredible.
I've seen so many pictures.
God, those junkyard pictures that rolls.
Is that not that's just heartbreaking.
I am so happy that somebody found that and brought it back to life.
And yeah, it wasn't always black, but black really does it justice.
It does the right thing.
And the paint on this is possibly the best black I've seen.
It is incredible.
I'm looking at the reflections of the things around it is really, really cool.
Anyway, be sure to go check out the Peterson.
Hey, thanks for listening to me blather on about one of the
hundred stupid things I've done on the car.
There's a lot.
There's a lot.
There's a lot.
There's a lot.
Some of them were long trips.
Some of them were short trips, but there's a lot.
And I probably won't reveal most of them until.
Let your memoir published by your kids.
My dad will probably outlive me.
Maybe I'll just have one of those.
You can publish this when I'm dead.
Thanks so much for spending time with Driven Radio.
We do love what we do if you can't tell it.
And we wouldn't be able to do it without the support of our listeners.
You can find us online at DrivenRadioShow.com and follow us on Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram at Driven Radio Show and on LinkedIn as Driven Radio Show podcast.
If you have a story you would like to tell or someone you would like us to interview,
please contact me at Brett at DrivenRadioShow.com.
That is B R E T T at DrivenRadioShow.com.
I am Brett Hatfield for Mark L Groves.
Thank you for listening and we'll see you next time here on Driven Radio.
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About this episode
Dan Pilling from The Petersen Automotive Museum joins the Driven Radio Show to share his journey as a car enthusiast, starting from his childhood in the UK to his experiences at Porsche and Microsoft. The conversation dives into motorsport history, the recent F1 movie, and the excitement surrounding car restorations. Brett and Mark also discuss their own automotive projects, including paint jobs and upcoming events like Amelia Island. The episode blends personal stories with industry insights, making it a rich listen for anyone passionate about cars.
Original notes
Brett and Mark welcome Dan Pilling of the Petersen Automotive Museum to discuss the ever-changing exhibits, Steve McQueen’s Jaguar XKSS, the 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Jonckheere Coupe, the Oly Bronco, and a new exhibit that may have the initials F&F. This and more on Driven Radio Show!
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