If you are a car aficionado and love to examine cars of all types for their beauty or to learn about their design, construction and evolution you will enjoy an afternoon at a car museum.  Herein are some examples of car museums, each having a different specialty.

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"Petersen Automotive Museum", Los Angeles, CA and is dedicated to the history, exploration and presentation of the automobile and its impact on American life and culture, with ongoing, changing exhibits.  This museum was made possible by funding of over $30 million dollars from the late Robert E. Petersen.  The museum is more than 300,000 square feet, covering four floors and includes many vehicles from all periods.  There is an all-glass penthouse conference center that is available for special events and functions.

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"National Corvette Museum", Bowling Green, KY was founded with a goal of celebrating the Corvette, by educating and preserving its past, present and future.  In addition to the storybook walk-through museum, there is a store, café and resource office with the ability to secure select build sheets and window stickers of specific period Corvettes.  The GM Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant is the only place in the world where Corvettes are manufactured and it is located across the street.  Factory tours are available and must be scheduled in advance.  The delivery of your new Corvette can be arranged to occur at the museum and includes a tour.  The National Corvette Museum is in the process of building a new world class motorsports park.  

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"Shelby American Collection", Boulder, CO is dedicated to the history and preservation of Shelby American automobiles.  The collection is made possible by the generosity of many Shelby owners and collectors. The displays contain some of the most famous Shelby American cars ever made, some of which are priceless.  They sponsor many events throughout the year and many of the vehicles on display rotate and some are maintained to be race ready for their ongoing race schedule.

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"Ft. Lauderdale Antique Car Museum" has a nice collection of Packards dating from 1909 to 1947 and founded by Arthur O. Stone and his love for this unique automobile.  There is an extensive collection of parts, and memorabilia that would be of interest especially if you are a fan of the Packard.

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"Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing" was founded by Don and his wife, Pat in 1976 as a non-profit organization in Ocala, FL. Don Garlits, known to his fans as “Big Daddy”, felt that after 25 years the sport of drag racing should have its own museum to house the many cars and trophies that he had accumulated, plus honor the people who have made drag racing the sport it is today.  The museum now occupies 50,000 square feet of drag racing cars, trophies, engines, memorabilia, etc.   The Museum of Classic Cars is located adjacent and it houses an impressive collection of classic and vintage automobiles.

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The list of automobile museums goes on and on and should you be looking for an automobile museum in your area, The National Association of Automobile Museums (NAAM) may be of interest to you.  They have a list of museums, sorted by state, on the “Museums” tab on their website.    www.naam.museum