What’s Your Favorite Car Museum?

There are some fabulous car museums to be found all around the US. If you’re a car buff they are certainly worth spending some time exploring. Those old classics are like a walk back in time. So what’s your favorite car museum? Four of my favorites are the Don Laughlin Car Museum, The Gilmore Car Museum, Sarasota Car Museum, and the LeMay Museum

The Don Laughlin Car Museum can be found at the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino in Laughlin where Don Laughlin and his buddies have been car buffs for over 78 years. The museum displays over 85 collector cars and bikes all in pristine condition. And we aren’t just talking run of the mill cars, there are some pretty unique vehicles in this collection.

Walking into Don Laughlin’s Classic Car Museum is rather like stepping back in time. There as mix of cars, trucks, motorcycles, and limousines that were once owned by the rich and famous. From muscle cars to horseless carriages there’s something for everyone.

The Gilmore Car Museum was started in 1963 when Donald Gilmore’s wife gave him a 1920 Pierce Arrow project car for his birthday. It was the start of a whole new adventure with the large museum opening to the public in 1966. Situated on 90 acres of farm land with eight historic barns and a re-created gas station form the 1930s it’s home to over 200 vehicles and over a 100 years of automobile history.

It’s a great place to wonder and relive some of your childhood memories. And if you’re lucky enough to catch one of the special shows you might even be invited for a ride in one of these nostalgic beauties.

Sarasota Classic Car Museum is located in Sarasota Florida where it opened to the public back in 1953. Over the years it’s had many different owners but has always provided a wonderful mix of antique and vintage automobiles. It now holds the title of the oldest car museum in the world.

It sits on 4 acres and is housed in a 60,000 square foot building. During the day the museum is open to the public and in the evening it transforms into a Banquet Facility.

In the center of the museum is a 4,000 square foot Atrium which is used for dining and dancing for evening functions. The gift shop offers some wonderful items to take home with you including replica cars.

The museum is home to over 100 automobiles from over 100 years of automobile history, and it is continuously changing as new cars are purchased or borrowed from other museums. Whether your favorite is the Delorean, the Edsel, or the Bentley, you’re certain to find your dream car here. It’s even home to Don Gralit’s dragster.

The museum’s goal is to entertain and educate its visitors and the wonders of the automobile in the last 100 years. If you are already a car buff you’ll instantly recognize the value of this museum. And if you aren’t a car buff you will be by the time you leave.

The Lemay Museum was once home to over 3000 automobiles as well as thousands of artifacts. It covers over 100 years of the automobile and it doesn’t just focus on North American vehicles, it covers the globe. In fact it is in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest private collection. It’s an inviting place taking you back through the years like a ride through time.

The great news is the LeMay Museum is expanding. The new museum has a campus complex that not only displays over 150 of the finest specimens but also is able to display cars by culture, technology, speed, or any other category. It has a restoration shop, holds rallies and auctions, and it even has a 3 acre court yard. It has the space to display over 2000 automobiles for the viewing public.

The new facilities are expected to open late 2009. The City of Tacoma recognizes the value of this historic undertaking and has been an active partner in this massive process donating 9 acres to the site.

A visit to the current facilities is definitely worth scheduling, and make sure you give yourself lots of time. The new facilities will provide an automobile wonder like no other on the planet so be sure to make time to visit it when it opens.

Car museums are a great way to take a trip down memory lane. Make it a nostalgic day and refresh your memories from the days gone by. And while you’re at it why not try to decide which car museum is your favorite? Tough to choose isn’t it.


Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit ArticleClick.com. Article Click is a free content article directory. This means that as a publisher you may reprint the articles that are included in our site, as long as the article is unedited and the author box is included with it's live hyperlinks.