Pixar Cars roll into Los Angeles museum

Car buffs and fans of the Cars movies will want to make a trip to see the newest exhibit at Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.

Disney, Pixar and Mattel have teamed up to present the exhibition Cars, which will run until April. Since the launch of the first Cars film in June 2006, Mattel has produced more than 200 million die-cast vehicles featuring more than 500 unique designs that represent the many characters from the films.

Exhibit highlights include diorama of Cars movie scenes with hundreds of die-cast vehicles representing the many characters from Cars and Cars 2 – from the popular Lightning McQueen and Mater to the big-wheeled Haulers and their corresponding racers.

The highlight could well be the Lightning McQueen Alive Showcase, which displays the innovative technology used to authentically bring the big personality of Lightning McQueen from the film screen into the playroom in miniature 1:55 scale. Product design highlights the cutting-edge micro-technology developed to create the life-like mouth, eye and shoulder movements of this little electronic vehicle.

Since 2003, the museum has also featured an ongoing Mattel exhibit Hot Wheels Hall of Fame. Visitors can view more than 1,000 different 1:64 scale Hot Wheels vehicles representing more than 40 years of the brand’s history.

The May Family Discovery Center on the third floor is designed to spark interest in science by way of the automobile. The 6,500 square-foot, interactive ‘hands-on’ learning center teaches children basic scientific principles by explaining the fundamental functions of a car.