The vehicles are displayed on 5 floors in the attractive, curved building with gently sloping floors that wind their way to the top. In general the displays were excellent, with cars grouped along several different themes, and with adequate, well-placed lighting. A few cars sat off by themselves on the ramps leading to the different floors, and these were often missing the year and model information the main displays featured.
I recently made a visit to the Shanghai Automotive Museum. Opened in January 2007, the museum is a little off the beaten path to the northwest of the Shanghai city center, and a bit of a hike by metro and taxi. This is why, despite knowing about the museum since I arrived two years ago, I had not yet visited. I finally decided to go, and was not disappointed! The over 10,000 square meter building houses an impressive collection of classic cars, from China, Japan, Europe, the UK, and North America. The vehicles are displayed on 5 floors in the attractive, curved building with gently sloping floors that wind their way to the top. In general the displays were excellent, with cars grouped along several different themes, and with adequate, well-placed lighting. A few cars sat off by themselves on the ramps leading to the different floors, and these were often missing the year and model information the main displays featured. One such car was this Opel Rekord. Not even the year was displayed, but with a quick search I discovered that this model, the Rekord 1700, was produced between 1963 and 1965. It was also available as a sedan, wagon, and van, though this was the 2-door coupe model. The dark blue paint looked almost black, and was the perfect contrast for all of the excellent trim. The grille was especially attractive, and somehow managed to look simple yet intricate at the same time. The integration of the headlights into the grille surround really gave the nose of the Rekord a tidy look. There were many other more impressive, well-known, and flashy vehicles at the museum, but something about the Opel Rekord really appealed to me. It has a clean, timeless profile that will keep it turning heads for many years to come. And while I'd rather see it on display in a more prominent area of the Shanghai Automotive Museum, I'm just glad this understated classic coupe has been included in the collection for curious visitors to discover.
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Poor Toyota Corona. Not only did it suffer the indignation of being forgotten on a street in Luang Prabang, Laos, covered in dust, but I have let it sit and collect more dust in my hard drive for over 6 months. I'm not sure why this particular old sedan keeps getting ignored, but I finally wanted to bring a little attention to it. This isn't the first time I've photographed and written about a Toyota Corona, so it might seem that I have a particular love of this car. That's not really the case, but in many South Eastern Asian countries, it happens to be one of the more common 'old' cars, so I can't help but notice them. This particular Corona sedan was my favourite so far, a third generation model produced sometime between 1964 and 1972. A pale shade of blue, it appeared to be fully intact but completely abandoned on a busy street. To be fair there was alot of dust on everything on that street, but it really did appear that this Toyota hadn't moved in a long time. With a little digging, it turns out that the Toyota Corona actually is an interesting old car. Its rear-wheel drive layout would make it an entertaining ride even if the standard engines are pretty lazy 4-cylinder units. Not everyone likes this type of car, but I find the looks quite attractive, and it has lots of great little design features that catch the eye;. Especially cool are the front fender-mounted rear-view mirrors... or at least they would be if the mirrors hadn't been broken off the mounts already! I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to have a cool little restoration project, but I sure hope that when I do it's something unique and quirky like this. During my travels I have come across countless interesting vehicles like this, so there will be no shortage of choice when the time comes. It's just a matter of remembering what they are!
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AuthorWelcome! My name is Paul, and I am an old-fashioned, low-pressure, low-buck car fan with lots of automotive stories to tell! Archives
February 2020
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