roads? where we're going, we don't need 'roads'

Sacramento, CA: Recently I finally got around to visiting the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. As someone who likes sketching old cars but rarely sees enough of them, this was a real find, a real 'can't believe I hadn't been here before' kind of day. There were so many old vehicles there, arranged chronologically, and I had arrived mid-afternoon so didn't have time to sketch them all - but I wanted to. Of course, I had to sketch them chronologically too. I started with the 1904 Ford Model B, and one thing that surprised me was just how massive these old cars were, like modern SUVs but with more flair and less machismo.  

This one is a 1914 Hupmobile Model 32-Touring. Back in those days, to get a driver's license you just had to remember the car's entire name. This was part of an exhibit about Curry Camp in Yosemite, with those famous trees that you can drive through, and the advent of the Lincoln Highway. America fell in love with its cars.

After some sketching in the 1930s area, and speaking like an old hoodlum, see, I skipped the fabulous 1950s and sped directly to the racecar section. I couldn't wait. This is a 1966 Shelby Cobra, an absolute treat of a car, similar to one driven by Stirling Moss for a while, according to the display.  

Oooh, hoo-hoo, I had to draw this one. A 1981 DeLorean DMC 12, but we all know what it really is. I had to rewatch Back to the Future again after sketching this, and it's funny seeing Michael J Fox, diminutive as he is, banging his head on the door as he stepped out. Those doors may look cool and have future-boy written all over them, but I'd be banging my head the whole time too. Still, a small price to pay when you have, you know, time-travel. By this point, it was getting late and I was going to miss my bus. I had done enough time-travelling already.

by Pete Scully