Another automotive museum is growing and moving into a new building
I'm back now that it is 2025. Quite a few people thought I was done completely when I said last week's email was the last one for 2024.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is amazing how fast time flies. Christmas and 2025 are right around the corner. I, for one, cannot wait until summer already.
With 2024 coming to an end, it also marks the time when people start to think about where they may make some charitable donations before the tax year is over. In my experience of operating an automotive museum, there are three main reasons someone donates a substantial monetary amount or an artifact.
The first reason is that the donor wants to share their story with the museum’s visitors. Donating family heirloom vehicles or artifacts that are precious to the donor means a lot and the donor sees value in being able to share with people from all over the world.
The second reason takes a special kind of person. This is one a donor donates just to help support the museum. It could be any monetary amount, or it could be something like a vehicle that is donated specifically for the museum to be able to sell and raise funds to help support the museum.
These kinds of donations are great because a museum can generate a lot of publicity from selling a donated vehicle, which compounds the impact it makes on the museum.
The third reason people donate significant amounts or high-dollar artifacts is simply for the tax benefits. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this and most of the time the donor really does want to help the museum, but at the same time, lowering their taxable income can be a huge financial win. This scenario is usually a win-win.
Choosing the right automotive museum to donate to can only be made by the donor. The museum does not have to be the closest one to you. I’ve actually gone from Georgia to California to drive back a donated vehicle to Miles Through Time Automotive Museum.
My one piece of advice for anyone considering donating anything substantial would be to fully understand why you are choosing to donate to a particular museum and will the museum be capable of meeting your expectations.
For example, if you donate your dad’s car because you want people to see it, will the museum have it on display or will it sit in their storage for three years and then sell it.
What kind of impact do you want to make on the museum with your donation? Some museums receive twice as many vehicle donations a year as Miles Through Time has received in 4 years. Granted, the specific museum I’m referring to has been around for many decades and is set up to store and sell donations annually, if they do not go on the display floor.
Some people want to donate to the biggest museums, just to be able to say they did. Or have the ability to say their car is at a specific museum, and that’s okay too. There are no right or wrong answers or reasons for any of this.
Just have a clear understanding of why you are doing what you are doing and make sure the museum you’ve chosen aligns with you. I hate hearing stories of people being upset because they had one expectation and that did not align with the museum’s abilities.
In the end, automotive museums have to be able to change exhibits and sometimes raise funds. No matter what an automotive museum does with your donation, as long as it is actually a nonprofit, your donation will help support the museum no matter what. If the museum is not a nonprofit, you can’t expect anything, so also be aware of that.
The North Carolina Transportation Museum is a 60 acre complex with trains, cars, trucks, planes and motorcycles. I’ve had the privilege of visiting, and the original buildings are amazing.
The Panhandle Plains Historical Museum has a focus on the petrol aspect of the automotive industry. Plus, the museum is a full history museum, so there is way more than cars on display.
The CNY Living History Museum is actually three museums in one. You can visit Brockway Trucks, Homeville Museum (local history) and Tractors of Yesteryear.
Have a great week!
SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S 3 AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS.
Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum
Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum
P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum features a permanent exhibit called The Panhandle Petroleum Story which features a neat automotive collection.
North Carolina Transportation Museum is a family-friendly place and is a 60-acre site filled with immersive exhibits and special events.
The CNY Living History Center consists of 3 separate museums: the Brockway Truck Museum, the Homeville Museum, and the Tractors of Yesteryears.
I'm back now that it is 2025. Quite a few people thought I was done completely when I said last week's email was the last one for 2024.
Today is Veterans Day, and although today is the day, we specifically recognize veterans for their patriotism, love of the country, willingness to serve and sacrifice.
This is it for 2024. I've been sending an email like this every week for almost three and a half years.
Change is inevitable. There is no guarantee change will be better or that you'll like it, but it constantly happens without our consent and will forever.
Some stories may be similar or have some aspects in common, like a big car collection, a wealthy benefactor, or a group of enthusiasts joining forces.
I got a 3-star review last week for my museum, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum.
With Thanksgiving this Thursday, I’m sure you’re very busy, so I will keep this week’s email brief. Remember, if you don’t care to read any of this, all you have to do is scroll to the bottom of the email, and you’ll see the three main automotive museums I mention.
Keep in mind that my intention is not to tell you everything about every museum. All I want to do is make you aware of a place you could visit if you want to. You can click on the hyperlinked name of the museum in this portion of the email or click to read more at the bottom to learn more about the museums.
The theme this week is Hall of Fame. There are quite a few “Hall of Fames” across the country, and each one is unique to the individual museums. In fact, I counted 18 of them. You can use the search function on automotivemuseumguide.com to find all of them. Just type in “hall of fame” and you’ll see them all.
The three halls of fame I share with you this week are some of the oldest additions to the Automotive Museum Guide. Which, of course, is why I chose to update them and share them with you.
First up is the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. This is a 15,000-square-foot museum located at the Daytona International Speedway. As you can imagine, this museum is packed with various racing artifacts.
The NASCAR Racing Hall of Fame is another museum specific to racing but also even more specific to just NASCAR. I’ve been to this museum before I had any idea I’d be engulfed in this automotive museum world. It is a big, impressive museum located in downtown Charlotte and you do not have to even be a NASCAR fan to have a good time.
The Automotive Hall of Fame is another museum I’ve had the privilege of visiting. This museum isn’t packed with vehicles, although there are vehicles on display. Instead, the museum focuses on a broader aspect of automotive history, beyond just the vehicles. There is a lot to read and learn at this museum, and if you need to see a few more cars afterward, you can literally walk to The Henry Ford Museum next door.
That’s it for this week. Let me know what your preference is. Do you prefer to just see what the 3 museums are and delete the email? Or do you enjoy some of my automotive museum insights and experience?
Either way, I hope you find value in learning about automotive museums you can visit.
Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving!
SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S 3 AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS.
Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum
Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum
P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Museum will wow, thrill, and amaze you by documenting the feats of men and women who dared to dare.
NASCAR Hall of Fame includes artifacts, hands-on exhibits, a 278-person state-of-the-art theater, Hall of Honor, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, NASCAR Hall of Fame Gear Shop & NASCAR Productions-operated broadcast studio.
The Automotive Hall of Fame attracts visitors from around the world. It is located next door to The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan.
I'm back now that it is 2025. Quite a few people thought I was done completely when I said last week's email was the last one for 2024.
Today is Veterans Day, and although today is the day, we specifically recognize veterans for their patriotism, love of the country, willingness to serve and sacrifice.
This is it for 2024. I've been sending an email like this every week for almost three and a half years.
Change is inevitable. There is no guarantee change will be better or that you'll like it, but it constantly happens without our consent and will forever.
Some stories may be similar or have some aspects in common, like a big car collection, a wealthy benefactor, or a group of enthusiasts joining forces.
I got a 3-star review last week for my museum, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum.
How do you choose where to give?I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is amazing how fast time flies. Christmas and 2025 are right around the corner. I, for one, cannot wait until summer already. With 2024 coming to an end, it also marks the time when people...
With Thanksgiving this Thursday, I'm sure you're very busy, so I will keep this week's email brief.
When I first started to create the Automotive Museum Guide, I really had no idea how it would take off.
When I first started to create the Automotive Museum Guide, I really had no idea how it would take off. Initially, only the biggest automotive museums were listed, like Petersen and The Henry Ford, and then the little museum I started, Miles Through Time.
It wasn’t intentional that only the biggest museums were listed in the guide, but the reality was they were the easiest automotive museums to find to add to the guide. Most of the automotive museums took a lot of research to discover.
In some cases, if you’re local to a small automotive museum, you’d be able to relatively easily find the museum. However, most museum visitors are not local, they are travelers looking for things to do and, often, learning about a car museum to visit wasn’t always possible.
It has taken years to add all the automotive museums all over the world. Adding automotive museums is only one aspect. Maintaining automotivemuseumguide.com to ensure information is as accurate as possible is time-consuming.
Luckily, museums have been sending me updates directly, and people have been sending me information about any museums not listed or museums that unfortunately are no longer operating.
Between museums sending updates and individuals helping maintain the guide, automotivemuseumguide.com has grown into a very robust directory of automotive museums all over the world that is used by millions.
I have to admit, I wasn’t really sure how helpful the Automotive Museum Guide would be. I was optimistic it would be useful for people to discover museums, and help automotive museums get found by visitors.
Turns out, automotivemuseumguide.com has become a very useful resource and I will continue to make improvements and maintain the directory. I have no idea what the future of the guide is. Perhaps it will become a part of something larger in the future.
There seems to be an ebb and flow of automotive museums. Some museums close and new ones are created. Idle Ridge Car Museum is a brand-new museum slated to open in the summer of 2025.
This museum was created because Jim Feneis set up the James Feneis Charitable Foundation to turn his personal collection into a museum after he passed away. Unfortunately, Jim passed away, but soon visitors will be able to visit and see what a lifetime of collecting looks like.
4Speed on 50 Auto Park is an automotive museum you can visit now. This museum is full of classic vehicles, collectible vehicles and memorabilia, plus there is a full restaurant, 4Speed on 50 Diner.
Not every museum is just a “car museum.” Admittedly, some car museums are pretty much just car museums, meaning they are buildings full of cars and if you’re not into cars, you’re not going to care to visit.
Every “car museum” has the potential to be more, it just depends on how the museum is presented. I created Miles Through Time Automotive Museum as a history museum, an art museum, and, of course, automotive themed. This way, the only visitors that wouldn’t find the museum interesting would not have to be into cars, history or art.
The Frick Pittsburg Museums and Garden is another good example of being more than a car museum. The Frick Car and Carriage Museum displays carriages and some of the first horseless carriages that had a major impact on Pittsburg.
Plus, the Frick has a garden, art, and other historical artifacts on display that have nothing to do with cars, but they have created a museum that can be enjoyed by almost everyone, especially with free admission.
That’s it for this week. If you ever find a museum is missing, closed, or needs to be updated, just email me, I’ll get it taken care of. If you represent an automotive museum or your favorite automotive museum doesn’t have the “Featured Museum” badge, let me know and I can send it.
Have a great week!
SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S 3 AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS.
Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum
Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum
P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.
4Speed on 50 Auto Park Museum offers an eclectic collection of classic automobiles, historical vehicles and other interesting artifacts providing a look back through the history of the automobile industry and more.
The Idle Ridge Car Museum is the collection of the late James Feneis. Before Jim passed away, he set up the James Feneis Charitable Foundation to turn his collection into a museum.
In the Frick Car and Carriage Museum, visitors can travel back to the time of carriages, see some of the first horseless carriages to have an impact on Pittsburgh.
I'm back now that it is 2025. Quite a few people thought I was done completely when I said last week's email was the last one for 2024.
Today is Veterans Day, and although today is the day, we specifically recognize veterans for their patriotism, love of the country, willingness to serve and sacrifice.
This is it for 2024. I've been sending an email like this every week for almost three and a half years.
Change is inevitable. There is no guarantee change will be better or that you'll like it, but it constantly happens without our consent and will forever.
Some stories may be similar or have some aspects in common, like a big car collection, a wealthy benefactor, or a group of enthusiasts joining forces.
I got a 3-star review last week for my museum, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum.
How do you choose where to give?I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is amazing how fast time flies. Christmas and 2025 are right around the corner. I, for one, cannot wait until summer already. With 2024 coming to an end, it also marks the time when people...
With Thanksgiving this Thursday, I'm sure you're very busy, so I will keep this week's email brief.
When I first started to create the Automotive Museum Guide, I really had no idea how it would take off.