Public Private Museum Collections
Last week was great. I look forward to the NAAM conference every year. If you are associated with a museum in some way, I highly recommend
Apr 26, 2026
It has been a rough start to 2026 for automotive museum founders. On February 19th, Jon Oscher passed away. I had the privilege of meeting Jon, and he was the founding benefactor of not only the great Savoy Automobile Museum, but also Tellus Science Museum, Bartow History Museum and Booth Western Art Museum. Jon got to live to 93 years old, but the legacy he left behind will last for centuries.
Just three days earlier, on February 16th, the great George Barber passed away at the age of 85. George was well known for many things including the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. This museum also holds the record for being the largest motorcycle collection in the world.
I never got to meet George, but I’ve been to his museum multiple times. I can tell you with certainty, the Barber Museum is one of the greatest automotive museums in the world.
Unfortunately, museum founders passing away is inevitable. What happens next can sometimes be very disappointing. Click HERE to see how many automotive museums I’ve had to mark closed just in the last 6 years.
Fortunately, Barber and Savoy aren’t going anywhere, but in 2021 Larry Klairmont passed away and by 2025 the Klairmont Kollections Museum was permanently closed.
James “Bozo” Cordova, who was the founder of Route 66 Auto Museum passed away in 2025 and the museum is still open for now. I did visit this museum during one of my cross-country trips, and it was a cool stop, but I will be surprised if it lasts long-term. So I recommend visiting sooner rather than later.
In 2023, Peter Mullin, the founder of Mullin Automotive Museum passed away. In 2024, the museum was closed. This was an amazing museum, I unfortunately never got to visit in person.
In 2022, Dr Fred Simone passed away, but luckily, the Simone Foundation Automotive Museum lives on. This museum is still on my list of museums to visit. Fortunately, Dr. Simone ensured we’d all have the opportunity.
As the founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum, this is something I think about constantly. Granted, I’m at least half the age of all these other great founders, but I also don’t have the resources they all did to create their wonderful museums.
I wouldn’t want to do any of this if I thought there was an expiration date. My goal is to ensure when I am gone, hopefully many decades from now, that Miles Through Time Automotive Museum will still be a place where automotive history and stories can be preserved and shared with visitors from all over the world.
If you want to see more, visit the Weekly 3.
Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum
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.
Savoy Automobile Museum allows visitors to explore the history and diversity of automobiles through changing exhibits, educational programs, and engaging experiences.
With its creative architecture and great attention to detail, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is home to over 1,400 motorcycles that span over 100 years of production.
Assembled over 50 years by renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Frederick Simeone, the Museum contains over 75 historically significant cars including Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Bugatti.
Last week was great. I look forward to the NAAM conference every year. If you are associated with a museum in some way, I highly recommend
This week I'm in Dayton, Ohio, for the National Association of Automobile Museums' (NAAM) annual conference.
There was a time when I came really close to traveling the country in an RV just to visit and film automotive museums.
There is always some sort of milestone that can be achieved. Sometimes, you may not even realize it's a milestone until it happens.
There are a lot of automotive museums with seasonal hours. This could be staffing constraints, weather, seasonal tourist locations, etc.
Free automotive museums are great. There are not that many options, but there are a few, usually with limited hours, and in most cases, donations are encouraged or at least greatly appreciated.
A few years ago, I did my first sweepstakes for Miles Through Time Automotive Museum.
If you read nothing beyond this first paragraph, do just this one thing. Scroll all the way to the bottom of this email, where you should see three sections.
This week, I've got three automotive museums to share with you that are all incredibly different from each other.
The odds are you have some sort of automotive passion running through your veins. You do not need to start a museum, but visiting automotive museum will help feed your passion.
Last week was great. I look forward to the NAAM conference every year. If you…
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