What do you do with ‘garage’ collectibles? You know, the things usually associated with auto maintenance or housekeeping. Things you wouldn’t really display in the house anywhere.

Well, the obvious places are also the perfect choices! The garage, utility room, and junk drawer need collectibles too, don’t they? I keep mine right among all the ‘real’ things that I actually use. Seeing them there brightens any chore. 

This stylish Hotpoint Appliances sign is lit from within. To the right, the sort of ‘roadside collectibles’ kids bring home.

 Those two interesting gizmos below center are battery-operated fire alarms. They look good and maybe afforded some peace of mind, but in reality they were essentially bicycle horns with a heat-sensitive switch on the bottom; they had to be virtually engulfed in flames before they’d sound an alarm!

Of course the perfect collectible in any garage is the collectible car. This one’s been in mine since 1973. It’s a 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250 SL convertible, known especially for its concave-shaped, removable “pagoda” hardtop. My daily driver for many years, this faithful little car now enjoys a life of leisure taking me to Baskin-Robbins on the occasional summer night.

Admittedly, one collectible car does not a car collection make. This, however, is by design. Cars are very demanding and I simply have too much else to do. As a young man I had many cars (being from suburban Detroit it was—and still is—in my blood). I learned then that without sufficient time and resources to devote to their care, a car collection is just a junkyard.