The 1980s and 1990s marked significant changes in automotive technology, as automakers adopted fuel injection and turbochargers. Likewise, design made huge strides as trends changed from faceted to flowing. The Petersen Automotive Museum’s newest keystone exhibit, Totally Awesome! Cars and Culture of the ‘80s and ’90s explores some of the vehicles and popular culture that highlight the changes in design and technology of that era. It opens to the public on June 7.
We spoke with Autumn Nyiri, Senior Associate Curator at the Petersen Museum, who gathered many of the cars for this fantastic exhibit. “There’s sort of two ways that you can go about doing an exhibition. Sometimes you have a group of cars and you weave a story around them. Other times, you build a story and find cars to fit that story. This was a mixture of both,” Nyiri explained. The exhibit leads visitors through a roughly chronological path, interspersed with bits of trivia, contemporary pop culture, and mannequins fitted in some of the era’s cutting-edge fashions. We asked Nyiri if any must-have cars came to mind immediately when curating the displays. “There were certain cars that we just knew, especially when it comes to the supercars,” she said, gesturing to the McLaren at her side. “You know, these are the ones we’ve got to have.”
The exhibit encompasses a wide swath of ‘80s and ‘90s cars, motorcycles, off-roaders, concepts, movie cars, and art cars. “It’s literally the intersection of the automobile and popular culture,” said Nyiri. “In all ways that culture shaped the world of the automobile, we cover it all here.” Museum attendees can also drop quarters into vintage arcade racing games or take in a wall of TVs running snippets of music videos on a loop. The space is accented with advertisements and movie posters from the era that involved automobiles and motorcycles. There’s even a soundtrack featuring beloved ‘80s and ‘90s hits from Kenny Loggins, Sophie B. Hawkins, Tom Petty, and Fiona Apple. Also, there’s some Dave Matthews.
If you’re a museum regular, rest assured that the display includes just a few vehicles from the Petersen’s collection. The vast majority are on loan from other museums or personal collections. “We worked with a lot of lenders, a lot of collectors, but that’s fairly standard for this big exhibit hall down here,” said Nyiri. “There will be a couple of swaps throughout the course of the exhibition, especially in the supercar area. A lot of these lenders want to take them out now and again. You’ve got a car like this in your collection, you want to use it.”
Unlike many of the exhibits that set up residence in the Mullin Family Grand Salon, the museum’s premier venue, his tabernacle of vintage design will have a bit of a short shelf life. Many exhibits in the space last 18 months or more, but Totally Awesome! will only be a short run, due in part to the fragile nature of many of the fashion displays, which break down and fade under harsh lights. That means you’ve got until April 2026 if you’d like to see this fantastic collection in person. The Petersen Museum is always highly recommended. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, it’s a must-see. Visit the website for more information on this and other exhibits and to get your tickets in advance.
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