The Weekly 3
Well, this is it for 2025. This email is the 233rd I’ve sent, which is about four and a half years of trying to maintain automotivemuseumguide.com so it doesn’t become so inaccurate that it doesn’t serve its purpose.
Featuring at least three automotive museums each week keeps me organized to keep the Automotive Museum Guide constantly updated. Sharing the updated museums with you made sense, and adding a little bit from my personal perspective in the automotive museum world seemed like it might be interesting for some. I’m aware that some do not want to hear from me. 😉
Ultimately, if I can keep automotivemuseumguide.com as current as possible and draw traffic back to the website, then it makes sense for me to keep doing this. I do apologize for how annoying the Google Ads can sometimes be, but the revenue generated from those does cover the expense of the domain, hosting, and maintenance of the website.
Ideally, at some point, there will be very specific advertisers listed in the Automotive Museum Guide, so I can remove the Google Ads, but I’m not there yet. If you ever need any advice on how to create a ton of free work for yourself, I’m your guy.
To be fair, I do believe automotivemuseumguide.com will only continue to grow, and help more visitors find automotive museums to visit. I also believe in the potential of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum to become one of the long-lasting great museums.
Yes, getting paid anything would be nice, helpful even, but that’s not why I do all of this. I’m coming up on a decade of trying to turn a one-car museum into something worthy of having a 100,000 square foot forever home. I believe we’re close.
St. Charles Motorcycle Museum has just started their journey. Andy Koczwara is the man behind this museum, art gallery, event space and bar. This is a unique adaptation of what a museum can be, and I hope I can see it in person soon.
Idle Ridge Car Museum is another story. This museum was slated to open over the summer, but so far it has yet to open. It was the late James Feneis’ wish to transform his collection into a museum, but as I’ve seen way too many times now, it’s not always that easy.
The Kansas City Automotive Museum opened in 2014, three years before Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. The museum was created by a group of car enthusiasts in the Kansas City area and had success opening a 10,000 sqft museum.
Eleven years later, they are ready to build a brand-new facility 4 times the size of the current one. The renderings look amazing, and I really hope we get to see them in their new home in the near future.
I hope you’ve had a great 2025. I’m excited to see what 2026 brings. Visit as many of these museums as you can.
WHICH AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM WILL YOU VISIT NEXT?
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.
Explore Automotive Museums in
ILLINOIS
St. Charles Motorcycle Museum
The St. Charles Motorcycle Museum & Art Gallery just opened in 2025 by Andy Koczwara. The location also serves as an event space and bar.
Explore Automotive Museums in
MINNISOTA
Idle Ridge Car Museum
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.
Explore Automotive Museums in
KANSAS
Kansas City Automotive Museum
The Kansas City Automotive Museum began as an idea by a group of car enthusiasts and soon turned into a reality for the Kansas City car community.
Check out Past Newsletters
Would you name your museum after yourself
Every so often I get asked if my name is Miles while I’m at Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. If my name was Miles that would have been an amazing double entendre.
From a group of car enthusiasts and a racing team to a trucking empire
One museum was founded after a successful racing career. One was created after making a fortune from a well-known truck stop, and one came to fruition after a group of guys came together and created the only car museum in their state.
Do you know what museum is named after both the city and the founder?
I tell everyone I talk to at every museum I visit, that every museum is different, and they are all worth visiting, even if you only visit once.
Getting Creative with Automotive Museums
The good news for people like us, is that there are no shortage of cool places to visit all over the world.
The Price of Admission
The price of admission is always a subject of debate. It is also one of the most common updates to museums listed in the Automotive Museum Guide.
You can see 5 vehicles or hundreds
One of the cool things about the Automotive Museum Guide is that you can use it as a resource at your pace. Most people do not travel the country specifically to visit automotive museums.
Closed for the season is better than closed for good
I’m on the road again this week, so this one will be brief. Last week I had to share the unfortunate news about a few automotive museums closing very soon.
These two museums are closing VERY soon
I have unfortunate news about two automotive museums that are closing this year. The first one I had a heads-up about it, so I knew it was coming.
For a Short Time, There Were 3 Cadillac Museums
There are two Cadillac museums you can visit in the USA. For a short time, my one-car museum could have been the third Cadillac museum in the country.
Underground storage is a thing
This was by far one of the most unique and cool places I’ve ever been to pick up a vehicle. The vehicle had been stored inside the side of a mountain for the last decade in a place called Brady’s Bend Underground Storage.