Planning any road trips this summer? Not sure where to go?
I found a helpful article from Jalopnik listing the top ten automotive museums in the U.S. Then I added a few of my own and compiled it all on a Google map. You’re welcome.
Topping the list (not surprisingly) is the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Since 1994 this has been a mecca for gearheads, and boasts one of the largest collections of historic cars in the world. The museum is the brainchild of the late Robert Petersen, publisher of magazines such as Hot Rod, Car Craft, Motor Trend and many more. The building was originally a department store opened in 1962, but you’d never know it from the zany aluminum-clad exterior.
We had an opportunity to visit the Petersen in 2024. Sadly, we missed a rare exhibit of the unique Bertone “BAT” cars by one day! Grrrr. But the collection truly is amazing, featuring historic prototypes, zany one-offs and true dream cars.
The rest of the Jalopnik top ten list includes the…
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
National Corvette Museum
LeMay America’s Car Museum
Lane Motor Museum
Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum
Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
National Automobile Museum (Harrah Collection)
Orlando Auto Museum
Gilmore Car Museum
Being a visual sort of guy I created a map of the list from Jalopnik (the blue pins). But then I felt like they overlooked… the middle of the country? So I had to add a few of my personal favorites– those are indicated in red. Most are in flyover country (because I am), a couple are motorcycle museums and all are eclectic or unique collections worth a detour.
A few notables from my list:
The aptly named Museum of Automobiles in Arkansas, which has a building as unique as its collection.
The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum has more French cars than I’ve seen this side of… France. You’ll also find a healthy dose of the lovable Czech cars from Tatra.
And my favorite, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Alabama has a huge collection of motorcycles of all ages and styles plus historic race cars.
For more details on the top ten automotive museums visit www.jalopnik.com
Nice list! Thanks!