A Gearhead's Dream

A gearhead's dream, a muscle car lover's oasis in Northeast Ohio. No, we're not talking about the Auto-Rama, which recently came and went through the area. Instead, there's a relatively unknown tourist attraction in Mentor that should have car enthusiasts flocking to its 60,000-square-foot showroom in droves.

The name of the venue is the Mentor Museum of Speed, and its Marketing Director Rick Iacoboni believes it's the best-kept secret in town. Now, he's hoping to do something about that.

"The Mentor Museum of Speed is one of the largest, if not the largest, public collection of classic cars in the country," Iacoboni said. "The world has a fascination with classic cars because they represent, really, the best of times in America. Post-WWII, that's when everything was made to last. The houses were made to last, the cars. Now we're such a disposable world, that quality has just gone awry. And that's why people really cling to these cars."

These cars, which currently vary from Mopars and Shelbys to a 1934 Auburn used by James Cagney and a 1985 "Live Aid" car with autographs from The Rolling Stones and Neil Young, are the possessions of Mentor Museum of Speed's parent company Best of Show Automotive, which is an international classic car dealer.

In fact, the museum was an afterthought by Best of Show Automotive, which in any given year sells between 300 to 400 automobiles around the globe.

"When the owner of our company, Joseph Carroll, started with the intention of being a world class dealer, our Heisley Road location in Mentor, which is now our restoration facility, was primarily a place to show people the cars," Iacoboni said. "They'd fly in or drive in from around the country but then word got out that we had all these cars there. People kept saying, 'Can we see the cars?' And Joe would say, 'Sure, come on in.' But we weren't set up for the public. Then he decided to expand to our current location. He said, 'Because we're doing all the stuff already, we might as well turn it into an official attraction.' This was a year ago that we moved into this facility."

With a revolving inventory of roughly 160 cars, the museum is set up like a racetrack with car prices ranging from $30,000 to seven figures.

"Most of these cars are a private collection," Iacoboni said. "Unless you know the Jay Lenos of the world, that have anywhere from 40 to 100 cars, you'll never have an opportunity to see these cars up close and personal."

Iacoboni said there's a passion in Americans that runs deeper than just liking cars and watching NASCAR. It's the notion that for good or bad, the automobile played a large role in shaping us as people. And connecting with that past, reliving a time gone by is why experiencing the Mentor Museum of Speed often feels like therapy.

"The best line I've heard came from a 50-year-old lady who pointed at a car and said, "Oh my God, I had my first kiss in that car,'" Iacoboni said. "So it goes to show you that no matter who you are, everybody is going to have a passion for cars. It's an emotional connection and some more than others, but everybody has a story about a grandfather who drove them around in a certain car or a boyfriend or big brother. That's what I hear the most, a car reminded them of their childhood."

The Mentor Museum of Speed is located at 7700 Tyler Blvd., Mentor. Hours are: Mon. to Fri, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and closed Sunday. Admission is $10 (12 & under $5). For more information, call 440-350-1480 or visit http://www.bestofshowautomotive.com.

Free-lance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio.

When he's not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria. John also occasionally writes for CoolCleveland.com