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A car here and a car there, soon you've got a museum

One man's singular car collection forms the framework for a vintage auto museum opening in Pinellas Park.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published March 16, 2005

PINELLAS PARK - Back in the 1950s when Alain Cerf was just getting started in life, times were tough. He could not afford a nearly new car, so he bought a 1937 Peugeot Darl'Mat for $150.

When he got married, he traded up to a 1950 Salmson. When he had children, he again traded up. This time, to a 1953 Talbot Lago. But he never got rid of his old cars.

"I was keeping the cars, and one day, I was a collector," Cerf said.

Now, Cerf is going to give everyone a chance to see his collection of more than 40 automobiles, most of them made in the 1920s through 1930s. He's opening an automobile museum - the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum. The kickoff celebration will be Thursday.

Cerf has spent much time researching his cars. He would become fascinated with an innovative designer and try to follow that man's progress. Thus, the museum has Czechoslovakian Tatra cars whose designer Hans Ledwinka helped pioneer rear-engine technology. Another favorite designer represented in the collection is Jean Albert Gregoire, whose cars sported front-wheel drive.

Many of the cars are factory prototypes or models that had a limited production. One is a 1929 race car (complete with blownup photo) that ran at LeMans. It was only one of two built. Another has only three wheels. Yet another is covered in leather. Still another has two engines, one in front and another in back.

The oldest automobile on display is on loan from the Deutsche Bahn Museum of Nuremberg, Germany. Made in the 1800s, it is a replica of the world's first self-powered vehicle. The original steam dray was built in France in 1770 by Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot. It is a hulk of wooden beams and handcrafted nails with a metal vat for the water to power the vehicle.

Originally made to haul cannons to war, it traveled at the amazing speed of 1-2 mph. Cerf said the vehicle was financed by King Louis XV of France because of encouragement from his mistress Madame de Pompadour. After she died, her replacement, Madame du Barry, who was not interested in the vehicle, persuaded the king to drop his financial support of the project. For Cerf, the story is part of his fascination with the cars and their history. At times, tracing the vehicle's individual history became impossible.

"Many, many, many archives were lost or destroyed," Cerf said. "It is very difficult to do the search."

The most recent car in the collection is a DeLorean, the stainless steel car made in the early 1980s. The car is the mascot for Polypack, the company Cerf founded and heads. Polypack makes the stainless steel machinery that shrink-wraps consumer goods. The automobile museum is in a wing of Polypack's headquarters.

Why did Cerf decide to build and open an automobile museum?

"For the fun of it," he said. "In a way, to see how you do it."

The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum will be open to the public starting Saturday. Hours for the museum, 3301 Gateway Centre Blvd., will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. It will be closed Tuesdays. Admission will be $8 for adults; $6, seniors; $5, students; $5 per person for groups of 12 or more. Children younger than 6 admitted free. For information, call 579-8226 or www.tbauto.org

[Last modified March 16, 2005, 01:32:17]