America on Wheels

The folks in Allentown, Pennsylvania, have been working for a long time to start an automotive museum. Their efforts are finally bearing fruit. Dennis David and I visited last year, and while they had a venerable old building as a centerpiece, the rest was very much a work in progress. What a difference a year makes!

Dennis went back on his way to Macungie this August. The building is finished and America on Wheels, as the museum is named, is welcoming visitors - big time. Their architects have done a marvelous job, placing museum displays against the city's industrial skyline as backdrop. The key word is "wheels." American on Wheels is not a car museum. It encompasses also trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, sports cars and race cars. The displays are artfully designed, with mannequins that tell the story but which are not so detailed that they become the story themselves. Automobiles are shown in context, but not overdone, as is sometimes the case.

Allentown was home to Mack Trucks, so there are plenty of Macks on display: fire, semi, dump and a Maxidyne diesel - even a Bulldog monument. No museum can survive without muscle cars, and AoW scores. A big feature is the Car of the Future exhibit, which of course explores alternative power, epitomized by GM's EV-1, a Sebring-Vanguard Citicar (the best-selling postwar electric, by the way), a "first generation" Detroit Electric and a Stanley Steamer.

Small museums do a good job of telling their local stories, so in addition to Mack we learn about Pennslyvania's first car, the circa 1891 Nadig (there's some controversy about the date). Yes, there's lots to like about America on Wheels, including a spic and span museum shop. They're open daily except Mondays. Go to Allentown and check them out.