Deer Park Winery and Auto Museum
29013 Champagne Blvd.
Escondido, CA
92026
(760) 749-1666
This Museum has a lot of cars. Most are (or were) obtainable. Sure, there is a Kaiser Darrin, Packard and a few Cadillacs, but there are more Buicks, Fords, and Chevrolets. This makes the whole museum relatable. The cars are packed in tight. It would be better if there was a little more space between the cars, but still, each car is a little treasured.
The Museum is housed in 3 buildings, The cars are all polished, but not necessarily restored. A close look will show some chrome pitting, a few little details that are ageing and a little use. This makes the whole collection a lot like seeing a friends old car. It is as if you could own these, you could drive these, they are cars you could find and buy.
There are areas set aside for meeting, eating and wineing. Great place to have lunch, great place to spend some time.
Post War Cars
The bulk of the collection are cards from during WWII and up to the early 1960s with a lot of 1950s cars.
Many of these cars are “affordable” with current values around $20K and up. Most are convertibles.
Nash (Kelvinator) Metropolitan – This was made by Austin Motors in Birmingham, England. The earliest 1953 cars were NKI or Nash Kelvinator International, and later cars – 1954 and on, got the “Metropolitan” name. They all had Austin, anemic engine, but they got a slightly bigger engine in 1956. Nash was sold and merged with American Motors in 1954. It was also known as the Hudson Metropolitan. There were very minor cosmetic differences.
1954 Hudson Super Wasp Convertible, cheaper than the Hornet – 1,263 were made.
The 1950 Pacemaker was a low-end model and has a flathead 6-cylinder engine.
1962 Lincoln Continental 4-door convertible. Forever known as the Kennidy Assassination Car. The 1962 grill is simplified, But really the same from 1961 to 1963.
1956 DeSoto Fireflite was produced from 1955 to 1960.It was a luxury car that competed with cadillac
Many Many more cars are here to learn about
Cadillac
OK, I am bias, I like Cadillacs.
In the Cadillac world there is one post war model that is loved and hated. That is 1959. They have 2, and both are in great shape. The one in the start of the tour is black and man oh man, she is a beautiful car. The haters will (correctly) tell you the fins are ugly and represent the excesses of the time, maybe true in a way, but the other side is it is bold, unique and an icon of the 1950s.
The other car is a 1953 Eldorado. This is the first year for Eldorado. At the time it was the best to be had and is the other high-water mark for post war Cadillacs. This car has a fantastic paint job and is just stunning.
Sports Cars
When it comes to fast cars, the Thunderbirds, the Corvettes, Porche, Farrari and others are the norm. Not so here. Here you can see the odd balls.
The Kaiser Darin. This was built about the same time as the Corvette and T-Bird came out. It was underpowered and Kaiser was not the market leader. Still, this is one of about 400 built, it has a unique door that slides into the finder. Its biggest failing was the 90 HP engine. It was a contender that might have made a bigger impact if the situation was a little different. It is a beautiful, rare car.
The Nash-Healey was made from 1951 to 1954. It was a JV between Nash and Donald Healey Motor Company. A Nash drivetrain and a Healey body made the car. The styling is from Pininfarina, and it was assembled in Italy. It was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 1950 and released in 1951 at the Chicago Auto show. It beat the Corvette and Thunderbird to the market. It had a straight 6 engine then Healey hopped up with head changes and other mods. The chassis was strengthened and wider. It was expensive and lost the early moved advantage, but still impressive.
The Muntz Jet is a convertible with a hardtop. It is a Hollywood showoff car built between 1949 and 1954. It is a kind of sports car, but it may be more accurately described are a personal luxury car. The car was powerful (for the time) with a V8 engine from Cadillac or Lincoln, your choice. Only 198 Jets were built and about 100 exist.
The Crosley Hotshot was the first post war sports car released. It has a bad reputation. It is light at 1,100 lbs. It has the reputation as slow and not particularly good in the turns. The engine, a dual-overhead cam .75-liter four cylinder, was terrible. Still, it was the first.
Pre War Cars
There is also a motorized wagon they say is the first car. Not sure this claim is valid, but interesting.
In the lobby there is a fine model A Ford with a great paint job – much better than Ford’s original paint for sure
A 1908 Buick. Ford introduced the Model T in 1908, and at the time the Buick was the market leader. This car has the one seat in the back, and 2 in the front (The mother in law needs a seat you know).
There is also a Curved dash Olds. I think it is a model R. It is said to be the first mass produced automobile. That is built on an assembly line. There were about 22,000 built over 3 years (1901 – 1903). It has a 1-cylinder engine with 5 HP
There are 3 senor cars, a Chrysler, Parkard and a Franklin
Great Museum