On November 6, 2015, the San Diego Union Tribune (
visit link) ran the following story:
""Balboa Park, the Future"
Plus, industry updates and other weekend events
By Mark Maynard | 8:59 a.m. Nov. 5, 2015
The San Diego Automotive Museum looks to the future of driving as it closes its yearlong tribute to the 1915 and 1935 Centennial Exhibits in Balboa Park.
"Balboa Park, the Future" features advanced technologies, concept design and presentations about what the driving experience will be in the next generation. The special display of 11 vehicles (including an electric bicycle) and interactive displays will run through Jan. 29, 2016.
This exhibit features a 2000 Nissan Hyper Mini (on loan from Nissan Design America in the University Town Center area) and a 2000 24.7 Ford Concept pickup. There is a locally designed and built three-wheel, single-seat electric roadster with an 80-mile and an 80 mph top speed and the skinny 1999 Tango EV.
Contemporary EVs include a 2016 Smart fortwo electric, a 2015 BMW i3 electric car and a 2015 Stromer STI electric bike. Space-age-looking entries include a 2015 Polaris Slingshot — a slash-up of styling, on loan from Motoworld of El Cajon. This wicked, three-wheeled, two-seat roadster — weighing 1,743 pounds — is powered by a 173-horsepower, automotive 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with five-speed manual transmission.
Dreams lost in the dust include a 1981 Delorean DMC 12 and a 2012 Fisker Karma. And reaching back with future technology is a 1924 Ford Model T that has been converted to run on hydrogen.
SDG&E is the community partner for this exhibit and has staged a display about plugged-in cars. There’s also a video of Terrafugia’s hybrid-electric flying car prototype. "This Boston-based company is making the 1962 vision of the Jetsons flying car something that is real and on the horizon," said museum director Paula Brandes.
The museum, at 2080 Pan American Plaza in Balboa Park, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (last admission at 4:30 p.m.); closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Admission: $9 adults, $6 seniors (65 and over), $5 students with ID, $4 children ages 6-15. The museum is free to San Diego County residents and military with ID on fourth Tuesdays.
Info: (619) 231-2886 and sdautomuseum.org."