The Gilmore Car Museum is North America’s Largest Auto Museum — over 300 cars on display, nearly 190,000 sq. ft. of Exhibit space, a 90-acre historic campus, and much more.

The Gilmore Car Museum started in the early 1960s when Donald S. Gilmore began collecting vintage automobiles. Some of the first vehicles in his collection included a 1927 Ford Model T, a 1913 Rolls Royce, and a 1920 Pierce-Arrow. Restoring that classic Pierce-Arrow at his home on nearby Gull Lake ignited a passion. Over the years that followed Donald continued collecting some of the world’s most renowned automobiles.

To accommodate his collection he acquired 90 acres of land in southwestern Michigan in a small town known as Hickory Corners. It was his wife Genevieve who had the idea of turning the collection into a museum, providing future generations access to Donald’s one-of-a-kind collection. They established a non-profit foundation and opened the museum to the public for the first time on Sunday, July 31, 1966.

Today, the Gilmore Car Museum is North America’s largest auto museum with over 400 vehicles on display and over 190,000 square feet of exhibit space. The Museum’s 90-acre Historic Campus features numerous vintage structures including a restored and fully-functioning 1941 Silk City Diner, a recreated 1930s Shell Station, six onsite Partner Museums, and so much more.

Partner Museums

Cadillac & LaSalle Club Museum
Classic Car Club of America Museum
H.H. Franklin Club Museum
Lincoln Motor Car Heritage Museum
Model A Ford Museum
Museum of the Horseless Carriage
Pierce-Arrow Museum

6865 W Hickory Rd
Hickory Corners, MI 49060
P: 269-671-5089
Email: cshires@gilmorecarmuseum.org

Gilmore Car Museum Admission:

Admission Rates ($2 off per ticket January – March)
Admission includes access to shows and all museum buildings and exhibits. Parking is free.

Adults / Seniors: $20
Veterans (Must present ID. Sold onsite only.): $18
Youth (ages 11–17): $12
Children (10 and under): FREE
Active Military (must present ID): FREE
Adult Consecutive Two-Day Pass $36
Youth Consecutive Two-Day Pass $20

Plan: 3 – 4hr

Gilmore Car Museum Hours:

• Summer Season (Apr 1–Nov 30)
  Monday–Friday: 9:00am to 5:00pm
  Saturday & Sunday: 9:00am to 6:00pm
• Winter Season (Dec 1–Mar 31)
  Daily: 10:00am to 5:00pm

gilmorecarmuseum.org

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The Wills Sainte Claire Auto Museum displays the beautiful Wills Ste. Claire automobile.

Manufactured by C. H. Wills and Company, in Marysville, Michigan, from 1921-1926, the Wills St. Claire quickly became one of the shining stars of the auto world in the 1920s. This timeless classic has graced the auto world with its stylish and perfected form that still pleases classic auto enthusiasts the world over. Your visit to the museum will be informative and enlightening as you take an inside look at a man who designed and manufactured one of the finest engineered automobiles in the world.

2408 Wills St
Marysville, MI 48040
P: 810-388-5050
Email: willsmuseum@sbcglobal.net

Wills Sainte Claire Auto Museum Admission:

Adults $6
Plan: 1hr

Wills Sainte Claire Auto Museum Hours: 

Second Sunday of the month from 1- 5:00 PM

June, July & August 4th Sunday 1 pm – 5 pm

willsautomuseum.org

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Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum featured automotive stories are Chevrolet Corvair, Tucker, Hudson, Kaiser-Frazer, and General Motors Hydra-matic; all with Ypsilanti connections. Displays include Motor State which held patents on power convertible tops, the Ford Motor Company Generator Plant, and local car dealerships. As a thriving commercial and manufacturing hub, Ypsilanti had a significant influence on these pioneering companies and the men who built them. The Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum preserves an important era in American history. The museum also hosts the National Hudson Motor Car Company Museum.

A featured car in the collection is #92, a 1952 Hudson Hornet race car owned by NASCAR champion Herb Thomas. Thomas drove Hornets to his second National Championship in 1953. Altogether, Thomas and his Hornets won 43 NASCAR races. Hudson Hornet race cars provided the inspiration for Doc Hudson in the 2006 Pixar film CARS.

100 E Cross St
Ypsilanti, MI 48198
P: 734-482-5200
Email:  automuseum@ypsilanti.org

Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum Admission:

Adults $5
12 and under free
Plan: 1hr

Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum Hours: 

Thursday – Sunday 1 pm – 4 pm

ypsiautoheritage.org

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Detroit Historical Museum’s America’s Motor City exhibition tells the fascinating stories of both how cars built metro Detroit and how metro Detroit built cars, as well as why Detroit became the Motor City.

The exhibit incorporates the museum’s popular Automotive Showplace exhibit at its entrance, where cars from our collection are featured. The area also showcases visitors’ stories of their experiences with their favorite classic cars — complete with vintage photos of individual cars and their owners.

The exhibition continues with a brief nod to car culture. Detroit loves cars, and automotive manufacturing in Detroit has resulted in a deep-rooted connection with the automobile. The Detroit International Auto Show and Autorama, shows like the Woodward Dream Cruise and the Concours d’Elegance, and dealership loyalty all are part of Detroit’s car culture. Moreover, Detroit has demonstrated automotive superiority in auto styling, technology, marketing, car use, etc.

5401 Woodward Ave
Detroit, MI 48202
P: 313-833-1805
E: education@detroithistorical.org

Detroit Historical Museum Admission:

$10 for adults
$8 for seniors, students, active military and first responders (with valid ID)
$6 for children
$35 for a household (up to 6 adults and children with the same address)
FREE for Detroit Historical Society members & children under 6 years old

Plan: 1-2 hr

Detroit Historical Museum Hours:

Thursday – Saturday 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 1 pm – 5 pm

detroithistorical.org

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Situated on the beautiful 90-acre campus of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, about midway between Detroit and Chicago. As one of the Gilmore partner museums, they join the Gilmore collections, the Classic Car Club of America Museum, the Pierce-Arrow Foundation Museum, the Franklin Foundation Museum, the Model A Ford Foundation Museum, and the Lincoln Foundation Museum.  The site also features a replica Shell station and a working 1940’s diner, plus a Miniatures Museum.

The Cadillac-LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center seeks to display not only the history of Cadillac and LaSalle automobiles but also the people, manufacturing facilities, and dealerships who designed, manufactured and sold these fine vehicles.

Within the Cadillac-LaSalle Club Museum, you will see Cadillacs and LaSalles dating from 1903 to 1993 in a building styled from plans for a 1948 Cadillac dealership.  The showroom currently features a 1903 Cadillac, a 1937 LaSalle convertible sedan, a 1948 Cadillac Fleetwood, and a 1959 Cadillac Coupe.  Just off the showroom you can visit Henry Leland’s office and view a short video on Cadillac history.

As you enter the display area you will see a 1910 Cadillac Demi-Tonneau and a 1931 Cadillac V-8 sedan before moving on to 1940s and 50’s cars, including the 1957 Eldorado Brougham used in the filming of Driving Miss Daisy and a 1993 Allante’ Indianapolis Pace Car.   Cadillac was a major contributor to the war efforts in WWI and WWII, reflected in a military display featuring a WWII naval V-8 engine.

As you continue your tour of the museum, you will pass by the 1960s and 70s Cadillacs and the service area, where a 1967 Sedan DeVille is being serviced.  You will see a display of model Cadillacs and the 5-foot diameter ceramic tile Cadillac Wreath and Crest saved from the Detroit Clark Street factory where Cadillacs were built from 1921 to 1987.

6865 W Hickory Rd
Hickory Corners, MI 49060
P: 269-671-5089

Cadillac-LaSalle Club Museum Admission:

Adults (18 & Over) … $16
Active Military (ID).. FREE
Youth (7-17) …………… $11
Children 6 & under. FREE

Plan: 1hr

Cadillac-LaSalle Club Museum Hours:

9-5 pm M-F 9-6 Sat-Sun

cadillaclasallemuseum.org

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