Motor City, here we come

The Weebermobile on display in Saratoga Pontiac aficionados lamenting GM’s announcement that it will stop making the storied brand will have no corner on misty nostalgia at the Saratoga Automobile Museum. There, the display floors are full of gleaming vehicles long ago discontinued — including some made in New York state. The best local example at the museum is a shiny red Weebermobile, on loan from the State Museum. Weebermobiles were built in Albany from 1898 to 1904 by Christian F. Weeber — but they were far from the only cars madein the Capital Region. Others included the Gagemobile from Saratoga Springs, the Wood-Loco from Cohoes and the Hidley, Howard and Harvard from Troy. Before Henry Ford embraced Detroit, says Alan Edstrom, the museum’s director of programs and events, New York was the premier producer of autos. Others in the museum’s collection include a Buffalo-built Pierce Arrow. Today is the last day of the current exhibit of pre-World War I cars, All That Glitters, and the museum will close for a week to prepare for the May 16 opening of Mid-Century Marvels from the 1950’s and ’60’s and the Spring Auto Show.