For Immediate Release: Sept. 23, 2002

ST. LOUIS, Mo. The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Ind. opened its newest gallery this month in honor of Robert Pass. Pass is the founder of Passport Transport, the premier transporter of classic, collector and specialty automobiles. 

Pass was selected for the honor due to his contributions to the automotive and collector car industry. He invented enclosed auto transport when he founded Passport Transport in 1970. Today, the company runs the nation’s largest exclusively enclosed auto-transport fleet. 

“Robert Pass is a major force in the collector-car industry,” said Museum President Robert Sbarge. “He’s well-known, well-liked and well-respected. He’s been a great ambassador for the museum.” Pass has arranged several major donations to the museum and even donated a 1930 Cadillac chassis to the museum himself. He joined the museum’s board of directors in 1999. 

The “Robert M. Pass Gallery of Special Topics,” contains five mini-exhibits focusing on unique stories, from the racing history of Auburn Automobile Co., to the cars owned by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It is the seventh permanent gallery in the museum, but only the second to bear an individual’s name, joining the Dean V. Kruse Gallery of Early Auburn Automobiles. 

More on the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum is the home of more than 100 vintage, antique, classic and special-interest automobiles from the 19th century to the present. It is the “home of the classics,” honoring three extraordinary motoring marques from America’s golden age of the automobile. The museum is situated in the factory showroom and administration building of the former Auburn Automobile Company (1900-1937), the renowned independent builder of elegant luxury cars. The museum opened in July of 1974 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

More on Passport Transport
Passport Transport is a leading transporter of classic, collector and specialty automobiles. The company uses custom-designed, fully enclosed trailers for maximum protection during transit with service throughout the contiguous United States and now Canada. Passport's value-added services include the Instant Estimate, the auto transport industry's first instant, online quote application. Instant Estimate allows visitors to the company's Web site to get immediate, estimated costs for shipping their vehicle with Passport Transport, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Passport Transport is a wholly owned subsidiary of FedEx Custom Critical, Inc., North America’s largest time-specific, critical-shipment carrier.