The Broccoli Effect

Blame it on the pandemic lockdown or too much media surfing, but my latest mechanical obsession is early-1970’s Harley-Davidson “Ironhead” Sportsters. A motorcycle that I couldn’t stomach in my youth is rather unexpectedly consuming all my attention. Isn’t that one of the great things about the collector vehicle hobby? No matter what your age, there are still surprising areas of interest that emerge and demand a second look, like revisiting a childhood disdain for certain vegetables. Let’s call it The Broccoli Effect.

I’m fascinated by my own psychology at play here. Sportsters lived hard lives, neglected and dubiously personalized by their owners. The healer in me wants to fix that, to return them to the glory of showroom-new condition as seen in those period advertisements. But there are lots of cars, trucks and motorcycles in need of love. Why obsess over these lowly Sportsters?

I trace that imprinting back to youthful visits to the Brooks Stevens Auto Museum in Wisconsin. Stevens was a legendary industrial designer who applied his futuristic vision to everything from kitchen appliances to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. HD icon Willie G. Davidson, scion of the founding family and the company’s former chief stylist, cut his teeth as an employee of Stevens’ design firm. So you see, a long-dormant part of my brain lights up when I gaze at a Stevens/Willie G.era motorcycle, because those museum visits left such an impression upon me many years ago.

Nowadays, I’ve got the world-class HarleyDavidson Museum in Milwaukee as an inspiration and reference tool to help me return my Sportster to the exact look and feel that I carry in my mind’s eye. The museum is both a living shop manual, a gathering place for like-minded obsessives, and a key for unlocking a repository of cherished feelings and recollections.

Isn’t that the irreplaceable role that auto museums play in our hearts and minds? They are at the very center of the collector vehicle hobby. Good ones, like the member entities and affiliates of America’s Automotive Trust, simultaneously evoke fond memories while creating new ones. They offer an opportunity to both learn, and teach. They engage you through intellectual and prosaic approaches, through static displays or kinetic experiences. They summon the five senses to illuminate new realizations about preconceived ideas.

I recently observed a sale of an ultra-low mile car on the online auction site BringATrailer. The commentors derided the idea that it would “probably end up in a museum somewhere,” as if that were some horrible fate. On the contrary, when a vehicle is placed in an institution like AAT’s LeMay – America’s Car Museum or America on Wheels, it becomes bigger than its mere four wheels. It becomes an idea; a seed that germinates in the fertile minds of young and old alike. And the museum? Well, that’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet, where the broccoli never ends.

Board Members

Continued from page 6

Michael J. Phillips, Altaira Wealth Management – Clyde Hill, WA

Al Ruozzi, RB Car Collection –Allentown, PA

Paul Sabatini, Lincoln of Troy –Troy, MI

Steve Saleen, Saleen Automotive –Corona, CA

Manfred Scharmach, BMW Northwest, Northwest Mini, Seattle Mini, Northwest PreOwned Center – Fife, WA

Jonathon Shaw, Hemmings –Bennington, VT

Jason Wenig, The Creative Workshop – Dania Beach, FL

James M. Will, Emeritus, Titus- Will Enterprises, Inc. – Tacoma, WA

Steering Committee

Sandra Button, Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance –Carmel, CA

Jiyan K. Cadiz, Ford, North American Enthusiast Vehicles –Detroit, MI

Gill Campbell, Aero Marketing Group – Monterey, CA

John Carlson, National Association of Automobile Clubs of Canada Corporation – Belcarra, BC, Canada

Rick Dore, Rick Dore Kustoms –Carlsbad, CA

Nicolle Girard, Hagerty – Traverse City, MI

Alan Grant, LARGE Architecture –Los Angeles, CA

Peter Hageman, Suite 200 Automobile Collection – Kirkland, WA

William Hall, Auto Journalist –Elkhart Lake, WI

Lindsey Harrell, Hilton Head Island Concours d’ Elegance & Motoring Festival – Hilton Head Island, SC

Andrew Hogan, Auto Enthusiast –Gig Harbor, WA

Paul Ianuario, Retired Curator of the BMW Zentrum – Duncan, SC Rock Jenkins, State Farm –Tacoma, WA

Al McEwan, Suite 200 Automobile Collection – Redmond, WA

Glenn Mounger, Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance –Bainbridge Island, WA

Diane Parker, Elevation Consultants, LLC. – Potomac, MD

Administration:

AAT CEO: David L. Madeira — America’s Automotive Trust — Tacoma, WA

ACM President Ex Officio: Paul E. Miller — LeMay-America’s Car Museum — Tacoma, WA

ACM Excecutive Director Ex Officio: Gary Yamamoto — LeMay-America’s Car Museum — Tacoma, WA

AOW Executive Director Ex Officio: Linda Merkel — America On Wheels — Allentown, PA

RPM Executive Director Ex Officio: Nick Ellis — Chicago, IL

Please Address Correspondence to America’s Automotive Trust/OpenRoad 2702 East D Street Tacoma, WA 98421 Phone: 253.779.8490 Toll Free: 877.902.8490 Fax: 253.779.8499 Website: americasautomotivetrust.org

Please note: Not all of the automobiles depicted in OpenRoad are on display or part of the ACM Collection. Some of the photographs were chosen in order to illustrate or enliven a featured story while others were selected purely for their artistic merit.

Pamela Chavez Rosen, External Advisor, Shell Oil Company –Houston, TX

Ken D. Ross, Auto Enthusiast –Detroit, MI

Blake Siebe, Northwest Auto Salon, Right Away Tire – Lynwood, WA

Jeff Stumb, The Great Race –Chattanooga, TN

Kristen Wells, Avants – Seattle, WA

Drew Weyerhaeuser, Auto Enthusiast – San Francisco, CA

Gina Zinn, State Farm – Tacoma, WA membership and above. America’s Automotive Trust is a your gift towards membership and sponsorship are tax deductible.