Naty K.
Yelp
If you're an auto enthusiast, or just enjoy looking at exotic cars, then you should consider visiting the Dezer Collection. With more than 1,200 vehicles on display, you're guaranteed to find something to strike your fancy. While driving on US1, near the Prestige Imports dealership, you may have noticed some vehicles on display on the side of the street. These include several classic Mustangs, a hippie Volkswagen van in full flower power mode, a Model T Ford, and other colorful vehicles. These vehicles are meant to lure passersby to the Miami Auto Museum, which sits in a warehouse west off of US1. I love cars of all types, especially classics, so I was very enthusiastic about coming and checking out the collection, as I have driven by countless times.
When you arrive and park at the auto museum, you will notice the building's facade is painted in vintage colors such as turquoise, and contains murals of vintage cars, giving it the appearance of something straight out of the 50s. You may also recognize Mater, from the Cars movie, fresh out of Radiator Springs sitting outside the parking lot. As you enter, you will notice the place is decorated in full-on vintage style, including a vintage Johnny Rockets-like cafeteria. There are many zany mannequins as you enter, including Sleeping Beauty, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley. Though I can appreciate the fact Elvis and Marilyn were of a vintage era and were in movies that featured such cars, I am still trying to understand the connection between Sleeping Beauty and a car gallery...they didn't even have cars in the era in which the story takes place!
You have three (rather pricey) options: you can either enter Building A, which features classic cars, motorcycles and military vehicles ($25), or Building B, which features Hollywood cars, James Bond and Batman cars ($25), The other option is seeing both buildings for $40. If you were planning to make this a date, you can see how this date can get pricey once you pay for yourself and your mate -- and that doesn't include drinks, snacks, or meals. My friend and I decided to visit building B, since seeing both buildings was a bit out of reach. We entered and saw some stunningly beautiful cars, which included a Dodge Viper, a Mercedes SLR McLaren, a vintage Testarossa, and other vehicles. All of these were in excellent condition. I loved the layout as the cars were very well-spaced out, making it easy to see the vehicles from many angles and photograph them. In addition, they had very flattering lighting, so naturally, I was excited to see the Batman and Hollywood cars, anticipating such a layout. As a photographer, I could only imagine the envy-worthy pictures I'd be able to share with my friends abroad.
Unfortunately, my assumptions were incorrect; things started to become disappointing, and only progressed. While a huge showroom and great lighting was used for the other vehicles, the Batman vehicles were all surrounded by chains and crammed into the corners of a small, rectangular room. Many mannequins surrounded them, as if taking pictures of a crammed, vehicle surrounded by chains wasn't hard enough as it was. I felt cheated, as I could not get close, or even take pictures of the cars without the ugly chains showing up. Considering the other cars were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and were not chained up, it was frustrating and unexpected to encounter this. I tried my best, though rather unsuccessfully, to take pictures of the cars.
We moved on to the Hollywood section and as if the Batman section wasn't already poorly jammed, the Hollywood section was like a hoarder's garage. Vehicles were almost on top of each other, and accompanied by some tacky, cheesy mannequins. Considering that I expected the Batman and Hollywood cars to be the highlight of the museum, I thought these would be well-displayed, rather than being shoved in some dark, musty room. My friend agreed that they either should have had those cars in the bigger room with the flattering lighting, they should expand the museum, or just consider downsizing. I remember bumping and tripping into other cars every time I'd take a step or stick out my lower back while taking a picture. It was quite frustrating. I could not even take a step to look at the vehicle interiors, due to the chains or other vehicles in the way, a big difference from the other luxury cars, some of which had their doors open to allow visitors to peek at the car interiors. In addition, while some of the Hollywood cars stated that they were used in X movie, no other information (such as year, model, top speed, etc.) was provided. This was also true of some of the Batman collection. Because of this, and the high price, I deducted a star. Yes, it is great to have a car museum and reminisce, but not at such an inaccessible price and not when the cars are just thrown in some room. Sometimes, less is more, if it means a better, cleaner display