KEARNEY, Neb. — Less than one week after changing its name and adopting a new business model, The American Automobile Experience — formerly Classic Car Collection — has opened a new display of custom vintage Fords and Lincolns from the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Heavy metal artist James Hetfield of Metallica owns the six cars on loan to the Kearney attraction and personally supervised their customization.
“Mr. Hetfield wants his cars to always be traveling, just like a band,” said Kelli Callahan of Kearney’s BluePrint Engines. “Hetfield said the cars are another way for him to express his artistic passion.”
The six vehicles arrived in Kearney, Nebraska, last week and were unloaded from an Intercity Lines enclosed trailer on Tuesday at The American Automotive Experience. Intercity transports Porsches and McLarens. In the past Intercity has carried TV personality Jay Leno’s cars, said Lisa Durbin, one of the two drivers who brought the Hetfield cars to Kearney.
People are also reading…
Those loaners will remain on the showroom floor in Kearney one year, then a new car display will replace them.
The six vehicles currently are the center attraction on the Kearney floor and could attract a large number of enthusiasts during the Cruise Nite car festival July 16-21 in Kearney.
Earl Joy, a board member of The American Automobile Experience, gently dusts one of the six custom cars on loan from Metallica heavy metal rocker James Hetfield. The cars have a combined value of $1 million and will be displayed for the next 12 months.
Norris Marshall, owner of BluePrint Engines, arranged to bring the Hetfield cars to Kearney. Marshall sits on the board of The American Automobile Experience and said during a rebranding ribbon cutting last week that the Kearney attraction is pioneering a new business model for automobiles and auto collections.
Callahan said the business model of adding temporary high-interest displays on loan has a number of advantages, such as putting unusual and historic cars within the public’s reach.
“There will be new cars and new experiences,” Callahan said.
“We have a deep car culture in Kearney,” Callahan said, and the displays may inspire an interest in cars among young people.
Most of the 130 cars displayed today at The American Automobile Experience have been loaned by their owners who live in the Kearney area. However, today is the first time in the attraction’s 13 years when a celebrity has loaned cars to The American Automobile Experience.
Marshall is a recent addition to the Auto Experience Board. Other members are Chairman Brad Kernick, Vice Chairman Jeff Knapp and Jackie Purdy, Gene Beerbohm, Steve Mercer, Earl Joy and Bruce Schanbacher.
Photos: Metallica rocker's cars on display
Earl Joy, a board member of The American Automobile Experience, gently dusts one of the six custom cars on loan from Metallica heavy metal rocker James Hetfield. The cars have a combined value of $1 million and will be displayed for the next 12 months.
A transport crew carefully unloaded and then rolled each of the James Hetfield cars into The American Automobile Experience on Tuesday, July 2. Hetfield is co-founder of the Metallica heavy metal rock band and loans his cars to museums so many fans can enjoy seeing them.
Al Young, a volunteer at The American Automobile Experience, takes a look at the interior of one of the six James Hetfield custom cars on loan for a year at the Kearney car attraction.
This '37 Ford coupe is known as "Crimson Ghost."
The '56 Ford F-11, "Str8 Edge." Heavy metal artist James Hetfield of Metallica owns the six cars on loan to the Kearney attraction and personally supervised their customization.
A '36 Auburn 852 Speedster "Slow Burn."
A '37 Lincoln Zephyr, dubbed "Voodoo Priest," at the American Automobile Experience in Kearney is among Metallica's James Hetfield's vehicles on display.
This '32 Ford roadster, "Blackjack," is part of the collection.
