The front grille of a Ford automobile inside the Petersen Automotive Museum vault. The collection is open to the public through Jan. 6.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times
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Visitors look at the unique details of rare cars during a tour of the museum's vault.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times
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Tour guide Kevin Blackley talks about a trio of Ferraris to visitors touring the vault.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times
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The Mongrel T, front, (from a Model T) was built for the Elvis Presley movie "Easy Come, Easy Go." The vehicle was later repurposed as the Joker's car in the first Batman television series.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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This 1942 Lincoln was ordered the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor for President Roosevelt. It was built with steel plating nearly a quarter of an inch thick and has windows made up of nine panes of laminated glass.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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The Round Door Rolls originally was a 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom but was modified by a wealthy owner a decade later. After bouncing around among numerous owners, it was discovered in a New Jersey junkyard in the 1950s before Robert E. Petersen bought it and restored it to its current condition.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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The 1941 Cadillac owned by Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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A black 1952 Ferrari Barchetta once owned by Henry Ford.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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Chris Brown, the Petersen Automotive Museum's marketing director, looks at the 1939 Bugatti once the property of the shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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The 1958 Edsel owned by Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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A Chrysler Imperial that was the parade car of President Eisenhower.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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Visitors check out a 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom coupe.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times
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A popemobile blessed by the pope but never used because of safety concerns by Swiss Guards.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times
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The front grille of a Rolls Royce inside the vault.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times
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The 1982 Ferrari 308 GTS convertible driven by Tom Selleck for the television show "Magnum P.I."
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
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Vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles inside the vault.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times
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A Chevrolet convertible rests in the semi-darkness of the vault.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times
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