A short while ago I mentioned that the signage accompanying the Turbine Car display at the Gilmore Car Museum was in error. Well, wouldn’t you know they read my piece and asked me to help with a new sign. So, here it is. This one is spot on!
You could say I know a little bit about Chrysler’s Turbine Car. I wrote a book on them. I have also gone out and seen as many of the survivors as I’ve been able to and I’ve even gotten to drive one. I’ve also visited one Turbine Car at two different places: the Detroit Historical Museum had one in storage, which was later lent to the Gilmore.
Along with the car, the Detroit Historical Museum sent along a sign that was, shall we say, a tad inaccurate. So, just to be clear, the original sign was not created by the Gilmore.
Shortly after my article went up, I was contacted by Brittany Williams at the Gilmore, asking me if I was interested in helping her put together a new sign for the display. Of course I was! I drafted some words and we kicked it back and forth a few times. This is what we came up with. (The full sign is at the top; excerpts are below.)
I assure you, this signage is accurate. And I really have to salute Brittany and the rest at the Gilmore. I didn’t mean to knock them personally earlier. I love this museum and cannot stress enough how worthwhile a visit is to it. Frankly, I am so used to the idea of being shot down when I point out things like this that I hadn’t even thought of contacting them beforehand.
Interestingly, this is the second sign I have helped change over the years. Just a couple years back, I got a state historical marker changed in Michigan after I wrote a book about the subject of the marker. That one took seven years and a whole lot of bickering. But I digress.
Go to the Gilmore Car Museum. Along with the Turbine Car and that wonderful sign, they have a Tucker ‘48 and a whole bunch of other really cool cars. You could easily spend a day there taking it all in.
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Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and Michigan lemon law. He wrote The Lemon Law Bible and Chrysler’s Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit’s Coolest Creation.
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Photo of Turbine Car display courtesy of Brittany Williams and the Gilmore Car Museum.