These Are Your Favorite Automotive Museums

The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville is pretty cool. Have have more quirky cars than Doug Demuro could shake a stick at.

It seems like every comment said “Oh, well the Lane must already be mentioned, so I’ll say [x].” It just makes sense to give it top billing.

Submitted by: cdoggyd

So wait? Automotive or just transportation technology in general? Because that does make a difference.

If transportation in general, I’ll say the National Museum of the USAF at Wright-Patterson AFB. Some really cool items there, including the only Valkyrie XB-70 in the world, one of only a couple B-36's left and their Air Force One collection, it’s a great visit.

If Automotive specifically, I’ll call out the Automobile Museum in Auburn, IN. And amazing collection of Auburns, Dusenbergs and Cords.

I’m counting planes, trains, and the rest of the world of transportation here. You can make the argument that the Space Shuttle, from my recommended Air and Space Museum, isn’t technically an “automobile.” I would of course rebut with “It’s the fucking Space Shuttle. Is that not cool to you?”

Submitted by: Dake

https://landcruiserhm.com/

Its pretty niche but pretty awesome. Here is a little video I did with the main man behind the collection.

You mean to tell me that there’s been a museum dedicated to Land Cruisers this whole time, and none of you told me? And here I considered you my friends.

Submitted by: HammerheadFistpunch

Simeone in Philly:

Go on a Demo Day!

A museum where the cars actually get used is the best kind of museum. Plus, it gets the coveted Elizabeth Blackstock Seal of Approval.

Submitted by: SurvivedAPintoCrash

Since I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a dozen people saying The Lane, I’ll give a shout to one of the newer museums in the country - The Savoy in NW Georgia.

A modern facility with lots of amenities plus a large eclectic collection of vehicles mostly from the US but a nice selection of foreign cars as well.

And it’s the only large automotive museum within a 2 hour drive of Atlanta.

“The Savoy” sounds like it should be some incredibly bougie hotel, the kind where the bathroom soaps are all branded with the hotel’s logo.

Submitted by: Earthbound Misfit I

Petersen is my favorite, been a couple times. Just went earlier this year to The Vault, and their Tesla exhibit was also very cool (where they have Cybertruck, Cyberquad, Roadster, Semi, and all the other stuff)

The existence of a Cybertruck in this exhibit helps us keep count. So far, I think there are only two — the broken-window prototype from the reveal, and the big-wiper version we’ve seen testing. I believe the Petersen one to be the broken-window one, but there may be more.

Submitted by: StalePhish

The Volo museum in northern Illinois.There muscle cars always change because they are all for sale pluse famous and star cars.Military items campers,snowmobiles,tractors,bikes,coin op machines,old organs,so much more.

A museum that doubles as a showroom might be the perfect combination. Show up, see some rare cars, and maybe leave in one.

Submitted by: 72Cougar

Tough choice!

Auburn Cord Duesenberg for its period setting and gorgeous cars.

Revs Institute for its insanely historical collection.

Gilmore Corners for its campus setting.

Personally, I think they should capitalize it AuBurn Cord Duesenberg to keep the alphabet theme going, but I understand why they don’t.

Submitted by: XL500

Udvar-Hazy at Dulles. Want to see an SR-71? A Space Shuttle? How about the friggin Enola Gay? Oh, you want a Concorde? Maybe a sweet-ass Tomcat?

Just go, and take good shoes. The place is enormous.

Most of these, I have already seen and feel no less urge to do so again. The Enola Gay, though, I have to wonder—is that something we should keep preserving, idolizing, displaying? Is letting it quietly disappear worse?

Submitted by: BunkyTheMelon

I’m going to say the Southward Car Museum in Masterton, New Zealand, since I used to go there as a kid, and because they have this copper monstrosity:

I really want to know what’s going on with that snake?

Click through to the original comment to see the copper monstrosity in question, but now I’m just thinking about snake-shaped snorkels for overland trucks. Has anyone really done stylized snorkels? Is there a market for those?

Submitted by: CarrerCrytharis

It’s not an automotive museum, exactly, but the Barber Museum down in Birmingham, AL. I went when they were still in the old milk processing plant and it was amazing. Now? It’s on my must see list.

As is the Peterson, down in LA.

Other recommendations that I have visited: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. And since you’re already in Indiana, take a drive down to Auburn and visit the Auburn Cord Dusenberg Museum, which is in the original company’s showroom. They have a bunch of old muscle cars upstairs that are moderately interesting, but the opportunity to see a bunch of old Cords and the like? A great day.

Also in the midwest, but airplanes: Wright Patterson AFB and the Air Force Museum there. Even if you’re not a huge airplane nerd, it’s an amazing day. From what I recall, most of the airplanes in there are actually operational.

Welp, you’ve sold me. I need to visit the Barber now.

Submitted by: dudeoutwest

In 2019, I took a euro road trip focused on automative museums. I visited the following: BMW, Ferrari, Lambo, Alpha Romeo, Cité de l’automobile (Mulhouse, France), Porsche, Mercedes, and Audi. My top three are Mercedes (pic below), Porsche, and Cité de l’automobile .

Single-make museums can be hit or miss, but at least Mercedes has a long and storied enough history to keep things interesting.

Submitted by: somberlaine

It would be a damn shame if I never made it to Matra’s toyhouse up in Romorantin:

It’s just such a wild and wonderful assortment, representative of Matra’s own chaotic past of automobile-building.

Of course, the Volvo and Saab museums are bucket list destinations as well:

Similarly, the one brand I’d most like to see in a single-automaker museum: Saab.

Submitted by: Amoore100

Marconi Museum in Tustin, which houses the private collection of a nutritional supplement mogul, all tucked away in an industrial block. It has some real oddities like the only Ferrari FX not owned by Brunei royals, a Ferrari 456GT Venice Spider, an Aston Martin DB AR1 Zagato Roadster, a Cizeta V16T, Jaguar XJ220-S, and tons of race cars like Keke Rosberg’s Excita Condom car, Ferrari F310, etc... It’s a really eclectic collection.

I am mostly biased though because I was once given a ride around the block in this Ferrari F50 here...

A full slate of supercars, but not ones you’ll see in every Instagram reel that shows up algorithmically-recommended on your feed.

Submitted by: Pessimippopotamus

The Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim actually had a Vector W8 on display for a looong time (with a UK registration on it back then, it was a loaner like most cars there). I like it a lot, because they often show used cars, cars that have really been used and not restored, and put them in a historical context. Also, they often have interesting mini exhibits from time to time on a certain topic. Some years ago, they had one on microcars that sprung up after WWII as a cheap measure to give people mobility. From Zündapp Janus, BMW Isetta, Messerschmitt Kabinenroller, Goggomobil etc...

Unrestored classics are some of the best cars to see. Cars that have been period-modified, too, are always interesting.

Submitted by: Diamond_Edge