Year of the Tucker celebrated at Volo Auto Museum   VOLO — Seventy years ago, a visionary rocked the U.S. auto industry. Thirty years ago, filmmakers memorialized him. And today, the Volo Auto Museum honors the legend.   The new Tucker display in Showroom 2 pays homage to the spectacular rise and fall of Preston Tucker, who took on the Big Three automakers back in the late 1940s to launch a wildly popular — but short-lived — independent brand. With much fanfare, Tuckers were introduced to the public in the summer of 1948. But the Chica...

Custom Car Hall of Famer building  new tour train for Volo Auto Museum   VOLO — Guided passenger tours at Volo Auto Museum have been a popular summer tradition ever since they were introduced eight years ago. And with Custom Car Hall of Famer Keith Dean fabricating a new “locomotive” to pull the museum’s open-air cars, the cool factor is set for full steam ahead, Museum Director Brian Grams said.     The museum offers 35-minute tours Wednesdays through Sundays throughout the summer, giving guests a chance to sit back and relax as they...

  Chuck E. Cheese animatronics show restored The Beagles reunite to museum guests’ delight   VOLO — One of Chuck E. Cheese’s first-ever animatronics shows, restored to its full former glory, is once again entertaining audiences with Beatles standards like “The Hippy Hippy Shake,” “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Drive My Car.”   That last is an especially appropriate song title for The Beagles’ new performance venue — in the Volo Auto Museum’s own Show Biz Pizza Place, 27582 Volo Village Road.   From the tip of their Beatles hairdos to the...

  Top Cats’ June 10 New Rain Date July 8th!  Ride for Dreams benefits NISRA Volo Auto Museum director to lead ride in Ghost Rider Hell Charger    VOLO — A June 10 guided motorcycle ride that starts at Woodstock Harley-Davidson and ends at the Volo Auto Museum will benefit the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association.   It’s the 22nd annual Ride for Dreams coordinated by Top Cats Illinois, a group of business owners, entrepreneurs and executives who enjoy motorcycles. The ride starts at 11:30 a.m. and is open to all. Registrat...

      Volo Auto Museum, McHenry Outdoor Theater, D.C. Cobb’s team up for Nostalgic Day Giveaways   VOLO — You could win two free tickets to the Volo Auto Museum, a $25 gift card to D.C. Cobb’s and two free admissions to the McHenry Outdoor Theater — plus free popcorn and fountain drinks for two at the theater.    And that’s not all. Winners also get to watch the movie from a head-turning, 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe, courtesy of the museum.    And that’s not all, either. Your chance to win arrives not just once this summer, but we...

  Rudy Hernandez playing Fred Flinstone twirls a bone Saturday during the Night at the Museum at the Volo Auto Museum.  About 20 members of Costumers with a Cause dressed up and posed for photographs to raise money for Ronald McDonald Charity House.

    Some of the most captivating vehicles soon to be unveiled at the Volo Auto Museum required no hemis, four-barrels or big blocks to set them in motion. Nope, nothing but pure muscle for these beauties — in the form of strenuously circling pint-sized feet. Yes, a pedal car exhibit is the latest of many treasures visitors to the museum will find. But these aren’t your dad’s rusted out miniature chassis. These are original, painstakingly restored, high-end toys produced by the Murray Co. and others between 1920 and 1950.“These things are...

  VOLO — As a venue that displays an eclectic mix of historical, celebrity-connected and film-famous cars, the Volo Auto Museum is no stranger to the occasional controversial exhibit.    But plans to host a Presidents Day event featuring a rare limousine formerly owned by — and in fact bearing the ubiquitous brand of — the current president is drawing unprecedented heat.    The museum is set to offer half-price admission and eight free tokens good toward vintage games and kiddie rides for children ages 5 to 12 on Feb. 19. That’s this ...

  VOLO — Elvis fans everywhere will mark the King’s 83rd on Jan. 8, 2018.    Lucky Elvis fans will gather a couple of days early with impersonator Travis Morris at the Volo Auto Museum, 27582 Volo Village Road.    “We have such a fun place to celebrate the King of rock ’n’ roll,” said Brian Grams, museum director. “We’re true fans.”   Morris, a dedicated Elvis impersonator with a devoted following, will give two performances on Saturday, Jan. 6 — one at noon and one at 3 p.m. Between sets, museum-goers can take photos against the ex...

Volo Auto Museum debuts music machine collection    VOLO — With their hand-carved, ornate cabinets — some bearing backlit stained glass and others art deco styling — the machines are as beautiful to see as they are to hear.   What they are isn’t tough to guess: They’re self-playing music machines. But where they are might surprise. This collection of Steinways, Mortiers and more — a grouping easily worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — is among the newer facets of the ever-evolving Volo Auto Museum, where the trip from engine roars ...