Central Garage Bad Homburg: Enthusiasts make museums

S From the outside, the Central Garage makes passers-by It is clear that the Opel dealership is no longer here, but an automobile museum. Historical motifs were printed on large-format tarpaulins and attract visitors. And at the latest when you are greeted by the HB male and the exhibition 'Vespen, Tiger, Spatz & Co: Creatures of the Economic Miracle', the old-timer sun rises.

The Central Garage was built in a very short time

The Central garage is located in a former Georg von Opel dealership, once the world's largest Opel dealer with 26 branches, which was closed in 2006. When the car dealership was offered for sale in 2006, Dieter Dressel thought 'You could make something out of it'. Said it and got down to work with a few employees.

As early as the summer of 2007, the former car dealership was rebuilt to such an extent that the first exhibition could be opened on the approximately 670 square meters. Since then, Dieter Dressel has pursued a changing exhibition concept with two themes per year with his Central Garage. The first exhibition was dedicated to the topic of 100 years of the Kaiserpreisrennen. This was followed by exhibitions 'The legendary Horex motorcycles from Bad Homburg', 'Adler - once Frankfurt's pride', '50 years in two-stroke with DKW', 'From Grantura to Sagaris - the powerhouses from the TVR forge' and 'Porsche - from Volkswagen to dream car '.

Unique Maybug by Josef Ganz

The current exhibition 'Vespen, Tiger, Spatz & Co: Creatures of the Economic Miracle', which runs until April 17, 2011, presents the popular ones Post-war cars. 'The small cars are simply popular. They attract people, there were 150 visitors here last weekend,' says Dressel, who fulfilled a dream with the Central Garage and is a real car fanatic. And two-wheelers are also part of his passion, his first moped is currently being restored and his father's first motorcycle, a DKW NZ 250 from 1938, found its way to the Central garage via detours.

The compilation of the Exhibition with Messerschmitt cabin scooter, Lloyd Alexander Ghia Aigle Coupé, Kleinschnittger, BMW Isetta, Goggomobil including Piccolo caravan, the NSU Sport Prinz known as the 'Schwänchen' is impressive. One of the highlights is the Maikäfer, an automobile that was completely developed in 1931 by the engineer and then editor-in-chief of the Motor Criticism Josef. TheThe Frankfurt company Adler placed the order for the development. Interesting about the vehicle are many design details that other manufacturers only incorporated into production years and decades later. Even the Beetle did not come with a central tubular frame and rear engine until years later - the May Beetle had it as early as 1931. The unique specimen was the last piece in Michael Graf Wolff Metternich's car collection and is now in the Central garage in Bad Homburg - this car alone is one Worth a visit.

Leukoplast bomber and the minimal mobile

The Lloyd LP 300 is such a cute car. And why he was nicknamed 'Leukoplastbomber' is clear at first glance. Its body is made of fabric. 'Actually, it's like cardboard nailed to a wooden frame,' explains Richard Graf, who the next moment opens the 'toilet lid'. Under the approximately 40x50 cm hood is the two-cylinder two-stroke engine with 10 hp that powers the unrestored one Lloyd LP 300 is responsible. 'Anyone who had to repair the body simply took the bag from the customer service booklet, which was made of the same material as the body, cut a suitable piece to size and used it to repair the car,' says Central employee Karl Ludwig Eisner.

The ideal vehicle for today's overcrowded city centers is the Brütsch Mopetta in the exhibition, which also has a special connection to the museum, because the Frankfurt Opel dealer Georg von Opel wanted the mini-mobile from Horex (Bad Homburg) under license. Only 14 units of the Brütsch Mopetta are said to have been built, less than a handful survived.

A collection awaits visitors on the upper floor of 30 historical Vespa scooters. Models from the licensees Hoffmann, A.C.M.A, Douglas and Messerschmitt can also be seen.

Enthusiasts make museums

'It's the lost time that you can relive here', says Norbert Jäger, head of a group of altar boys from Bad Homburg. An ASC friend has just arrived with his Messerschmitt cabin scooter and spontaneously agreed to take a tour with all the acolytes. This is exactly what is special about the Central Garage, where museum enthusiasts, Dieter Dressel and his employees and club friends live their hobbies and thus inspire others for vintage cars.

Just like the acolytes who work with the Messerschmitt come back after their practice round. One of the two church servants, who are peeling themselves from the back seat of the Snow White coffin, says with gleaming eyes: 'Awesome, you sit on the presentation tray - and poured like a sausage.'

Made-to-measure model cars

Model friends can also be happy in the Central Garage, because Peter Herbold has his small model car range here. The trained architect has been involved in model construction for more than 35 years and can provide customized models upon requestModels. 'Many customers want their model car exactly as their original car was decades ago. So I dismantle the production models and sandblast the bodies and then rebuild them with aluminum or wire-spoke rims. If you want, you can get one from me completely carved model car ', says Herbold.

The Central garage in Bad Homburg is characterized by its proximity to the scene, it offers interested clubs the opportunity to realize their own exhibitions and supports them with organization and presentation. Clubs as exhibition organizers

Opening times of the Central Garage

Wednesday to Sunday, 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm.
The exhibition “Vespen, Tiger, Spatz & Co., Creatures of the Economic Miracle and the Post-War Period 'runs until April 17, 2011.
CENTRAL GARAGE GmbH
Niederstedter Weg 5
61348 Bad Homburg vd Höhe
Telephone: +49 (0) 6172–5976057
Fax: +49 (0) 6172–5976058
E-Mail: info [at] central-garage.de