Traveling to Los Angeles, or thereabouts? Everyone into cars likely already knows about the Petersen Automotive Museum or the Nethercutt Collection, but there’s another delightful clutch of classic cars in the neighborhood that’s well worth knowing about. The Mullin Automotive Museum is located a short distance up the coast from Los Angeles in Oxnard, Ventura County, occupying the building that once housed the Otis Chandler Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife, founded by the former Los Angeles Times publisher. Two of the charms of its collections, which include several horse-drawn conveyances and a Panhard et Levassor that dates to 1902, has been on a roll lately, scoring notable triumphs in two closely watched automotive salons.
The Mullin collection’s 1937 Delage D8-120 cabriolet received the People’s Choice Award at this month’s Montecito Motor Classic near Santa Barbara, which attracted 217 invited automobiles. That distinction came just weeks after another stunning French-built rarity from Mullin, the collection’s 1951 Delahaye Model 235 cabriolet received the Chairman’s Award at the Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week held in Rhode Island. The Delage from 1937 is a star in its own right, having appeared in the 1951 Hollywood musical An American in Paris, which starred Gene Kelly.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 