Automotive history

aspect of history

Automotive history contains museums, car factories, motorist meetups and other places where old motor vehicles can be seen and driven.

The vehicle industry pioneered the assembly line and became highly specialized. It has traditionally had high union membership; see history of organized labor.

Destinations

Europe

The Volvo Museum is about more than just cars and trucks
  • 🌍 World of Volvo (Gothenburg, Sweden). An exhibition centre for Volvo Cars and Volvo Group (the commercial vehicle brand). 
  • 🌍 Museum of Science and Technology (Tekniska Museet) (Stockholm/Östermalm, Sweden). This large museum tells the tale of Sweden's rich tradition of engineering, with objects from past centuries, and one of the server racks from a 2008 police raid against the Pirate Bay. 
  • 🌍 Mobilia (Kangasala, Finland). The Finnish automobile and road museum. The collections include almost 63,000 objects. (updated Jul 2024)
  • 🌍 Uusikaupunki Automobile Museum (Uusikaupunki, Finland). An automobile museum in the immediate vicinity of the Valmet Automotive factory. (updated Jul 2024)
  • 🌍 Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile (Turin, Italy). The collection houses over 170 vehicles, from 18th-century carriages to Formula 1 racers, and lots of gorgeous red sports cars. (updated Sep 2021)
  • 🌍 BMW Museum (Munich/North, Germany). Extensive museum displaying the evolution of motoring technology, from the earliest days to future concepts. 
  • 🌍 Rolls-Royce Museum (Dornbirn, Austria). This museum is the most extensive of its kind in the world. Founded in 1999, it houses more than 1000 exhibits, including several dozen classic vehicles, in a space of about 3000 m². The museum also organises special rides. 

Asia and Oceania

  • 🌍 Tofaş Anatolian Car Museum (Bursa, Turkey). Bursa is a major centre of Turkish automotive industry. This museum showcases its evolution from horse-drawn carriages to the present day. 
  • 🌍 National Motor Museum (Birdwood, South Australia). Contains one of the largest collections of cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles in the world. The collection comprises over 300 vehicles dating from the turn of the century to the present day. 
  • 🌍 Beijing Auto Museum (北京汽车博物馆) (Fengtai District, Beijing, China). (updated Jul 2024)
  • 🌍 Shanghai Auto Museum (上海汽车博物馆) (Jiading District, Shanghai, China). 

North America

  • 🌍 R.E. Olds Transportation Museum (Lansing, USA). A museum dedicated to the founder of Oldsmobile, which was later bought by GM and was for years a popular US auto brand. 
  • 🌍 Canadian Automotive Museum (Oshawa, Ontario). A two floor trip through old-time cars in a former car dealership. Cars on display include a hundred-year-old fire truck, a Ford Model T, a boat/car hybrid, a steam powered car, one of the world's first Rolls-Royces and a 1983 Delorean. 

Itineraries

See also

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