Automotive Inspiration Is… Sharing Life’s Ride With Those Around Us

As I’ve mentioned many times in this article over the last five years, I get the pleasure of taking unique people to unique places on my show that we shoot here in town. This past week, I got to do something really fun.

There are many cool automotive places in L.A. many people don’t know about and a good part of our show Fireball Malibu Vlog is to reveal those places and help expand our love of cars. So this week, I grabbed legendary “Leave It To Beaver” actor Tony Dow and his wife Lauren, met up at the new Caffe Luxxe for an amazing cup of joe and headed up PCH to the Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard.

Now, if you didn’t know about the Murphy, I wouldn’t be surprised. But with our help, you’ll get a chance to peruse some of the coolest nostalgic cars that ever were. Head honcho David Neel runs the place and you can see him easily at a distance as he moves classic cars, muscle cars and even vintage trailers from spot to spot for coming weekend shows.

But the Murphy is different than most car museums, as it’s also an automotive storage facility. As in, if you have a cool car with no place to put it, you can rent some space where they not only keep your car clean, but share your perfect gem in a museum setting.

Other things Tony, Lauren, Ken Vela from WIKD Kustoms, my wife and I caught wind of were the classic Schwinn Bicycles, massive HO Scale Trail Set, tons of walk-in vintage trailers and a back shop where several classics were being worked on. Also, some great art on the walls from automotive designer, friend and confidant Mark Stehrenberger.

I’m very grateful to call David a friend and we’ve done many things together. I get a chance to drive cars from this museum down into Malibu for the car shows here in town, including my own, but also have had the opportunity to experience a massive Vintage Trailer Camp-out in Buellton in September with a great group with over 195 trailers.

But the day at the Murphy also included Tony driving two classic cars, thanks to David. An Avanti and amazing Dodge Fastback. Be sure to check out our show to see what we did, and if you love cool cars, let me know so we can take a spin by visiting www.fireballtim.com.

Much appreciation goes to the Murphy and all the docents — like Ken —  who make the place an enjoyable experience. Be sure to check out www.murphyautomuseum.org to see when the shows go off. From Air Cooled Vdubs and Corvairs to Studebakers, this place is a nostalgic car lover’s dream garage.

And if there are any of you celebs out there who want to take a spin with me to one of these cool spots, just reach out. I just took actor Jonathan Banks to The Automobile Driving Museum a week ago, but there’s also the Petersen, The Metropolitan Pit Stop, The English Car Company and many more. All you have to do is ask. Until then, I’ll keep driving.