The Automobile Gallery

The Automobile Gallery, Green Bay, Wisconsin

William “Red” Lewis’ life is a classic rags-to-riches story. Born in 1943 and raised in Green Bay, Lewis began his career washing cars at the PDQ Car Wash in 1967. He worked his way up to manager, part owner, and then owner. He and a partner perfected touch-less car wash systems and created a company that manufactured and sold them. By the 1990s, PDQ equipment dominated the car wash industry; PDQ equipment is used in more than 30 countries. All the while, Lewis expanded the PDQ car wash business into one of America’s top car wash operations. Lewis sold most of the company in 1998 but retained eight car washes. The Lewis family still operates the eight car washes and R Lewis Technologies, a company that manufactures car wash chemicals and cleaning products.

As Lewis’ wealth grew, so did his automobile collection. In 2016, Lewis opened The Automobile Gallery and Event Center in downtown Green Bay. One of the challenges any automobile museum faces is location. The most interesting ones are in buildings tied to the collection. The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in the former Auburn headquarters; the Nethercutt Collection is in a simulated 1930s luxury automobile showroom and silent movie theatre. The Automobile Gallery is housed in downtown Green Bay’s former Denil Cadillac dealership (General Motors designated Denil as one of the best dealers in the nation, and coincidentally, it is just five minutes away from a PDQ Car Wash).

The Automobile Gallery has been featured in magazines and television shows as far away as Norway and Australia. There are more than 200 vehicles in the collection, with 100 on display at any given time. Exhibits frequently change, so there is something new to see on repeat visits. When I mentioned my visit was for Motorcycle Classics magazine, the docents told me about their bikes and favorite rides, as many of them collect and ride vintage motorcycles. My reception was not unique; I watched as other docents gave fellow museum visitors the same royal treatment. This is a place staffed and run by enthusiasts, and there is a palpable genuineness to it.

Darrel Burnett, the museum’s executive director, told me the Automobile Gallery is Green Bay’s only 100-story building, as in “every car has a story,” and Burnett’s very own 1966 Mercury Park Lane is no exception. The collection has many “one of one” cars; Burnett’s Police-Interceptor-package-equipped Mercury caught my eye immediately. Docent John Kroll, who recently turned 90, ordered the car new, and Burnett is the second owner. It has numerous special features, including a “Q-Code” 428-cubic-inch engine, a one-mph-increment police speedometer, heavy-duty suspension, and more. The factory refused the order, but Kroll kept calling, going up the chain until he reached Lee Iacocca who finally approved it. The car is stunning, and Burnett regaled me with stories of its performance. Being a graduate of the ’60s muscle car scene, I enjoyed every second of our conversation.

The Automobile Gallery is great; Wisconsin and its roads are similarly awesome. There’s the town of Green Bay and Green Bay, the body of water, which actually is green. Door County, which features shoreline drives and impressive limestone cliffs, is on the peninsula that separates the two and it offers fantastic riding. So does the route along the western edges of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. One final note: If you’re in Green Bay, you are only two hours away from Milwaukee and the Harley-Davidson Museum, which is a must-see for any motorcyclist, and a destination to be featured in an upcoming issue of Motorcycle Classics.