A tour of the Vault at the Petersen Automotive Museum

(Credit: Geoffrey Morrison) You can’t take pictures. Well, not normally. During a regular tour, there’s the tour guide, and a separate minder who keeps an eye on you and your phone or camera.

Welcome to the Vault, the sprawling underground storage of some incredible and historic cars, beneath the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

By special arrangement, I got to take my camera, so I can show you some of the cars on display. From a 1903 Cadillac to a 1953 Ferrari, to a gold-plated DeLorean, there’s lots to see.

If you’re a fan of cars, or even just history, I recommend checking out the Petersen if you’re in LA. Since the Vault is a guided tour, there’s a separate fee and specific tour times (two times a day on weekdays, four times on weekends).

If you can’t convince your significant other to go for the cars, the LA County Museum of Art is across the street.

At your appointed time, your guide shepherds you into the elevator. Through another set of doors at the bottom is the underground garage that is the Vault.

Because it’s not a show space, per se, the lighting isn’t ideal for photography. The closeness of the cars was occasionally an issue for some shots. Excuses aside, here are a few dozen cars in all their amazing gl… [Read more]