Friday, September 21, 2007

VIRGINIA - Fred's Car Museum

Fred's Car Museum
Highway 24 East
Appomattox, VA 24522
(434) 352-0606
Features: More than 65 classic and antique automobiles made from 1906 to 1980 are on display under one roof.

Jumbo Antique Fire Engine Museum
500 North Augusta Street
Staunton, VA 24401
(540) 332-3886
Features: This facility is home to the last remaining 1911 Robinson Chemical Fire Engine. The museum, founded in 1982, houses a collection of fire service items, some from the Civil War era.

Luray Caverns Car & Carriage Caravan Museum
970 U.S. Highway 211 West
Luray, VA
(540) 743-6551
Features: The museum is an exhibit of milestones in transportation, including authentically restored cars, carriages, coaches and costumes, dating from 1725 to 1941. The centerpiece of the collection is the 1892 Benz, one of the oldest cars in the country still in operating condition. Other highlights include a Conestoga Wagon, a 1908 Baker Electric, a 1913 Stanley Steamer, and Rudolph Valentino's 1925 Rolls Royce.

Morgan-McClure Motorsports Museum
26502 Newbanks Road
Abingdon, VA 24210
(276)628-3683
Features: Exhibits include the 1994 and 1995 Daytona 500 winners, as well as numerous other racing related exhibits. Features at the Museum include the Morgan-McClure Motorsports Race Team from the early years to the present. Other exhibits include a pictorial history of past drivers; past and present uniform display and pit equipment display.

Roaring Twenties Antique Car Museum
Route 1, Box 576
Hood, VA 22723
(703) 948-6290
Features: Displays cover cars manufactured from 1900 to 1935, and include most major American marques as well as some seldom-seen ones such as the '52 Henry J seen here. Facility also is an antiques center.

Wood Brothers Racing Museum Shop
21 Performance Drive
Stuart, VA 24171
(276) 694-2121
Features: This Patrick County is dedicated to one of the most successful racing teams in NASCAR history, located 30 minutes from Martinsville Speedway. Wood Brothers Racing is one of the oldest continuously operating teams in NASCAR.

Monday, September 3, 2007

NEVADA - Imperial Auto Collections








Imperial Auto Collections
Imperial Palace
Las Vegas, NV
(702) 794-3174
Features: More than 250 cars are displayed in the 125,000 square foot showroom. Among some of the models on display: Elvis Presley's 1929 Duesenberg J Derham Phaeton, Marilyn Monroe's 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood, and such rarities as a 1933 Pierce Arrow Silver Arrow and a 1961 Aston Martin DB4/GT Zagato valued in excess of $3 million.

Don Laughlin's Classic Car Collection
Riverside Resort & Casino
500 South Casino Drive
Laughlin, NV
(702) 298-2622
Features: This free-admission collection includes a changing array of rare and unusual vehicles, from limos once owned by notorious historic figures, to movie cars, to the battered motorcycle Steve McQueen rode to get away from it all.

National Auto Museum
10 South Lake Street
Reno, NV 89501-1558
(775) 333-9300
Features: This is the famous Harrah Collection, which includes period street settings and clothing to enhance the classic auto displays. In addition to a large number of classic cars, there also are numerous celebrity-owned models (such as James Dean's 1949 Mercury Series 9CM 6-passenger coupe seen here) and vehicles featured in various films.

Nevada Vintage Race Car Museum
250 SunPac Avenue
Henderson, NV 89015
Features: The museum contains vintage races cars from different eras and includes sprint cars, midgets, Indy Race League (IRL) cars and engines, as well as aircraft models depicting various eras in aviation history. It also has an extensive gallery of motor sports and aviation photos, artifacts, trophies and memorabilia.

Carroll Shelby Museum
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, NV
Features: This facility, located at the entrance to the speedway, honors the racing legend who set record as a driver, owner and race car developer. Shelby set land speed records in 1954 at Bonneville, won the 24-hour Le Mans in 1959, created the legendary Shelby Cobra, and then, in 1991 after heart transplant surgery, created the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation dedicated to providing assistance for acute coronary and kidney care for children in need.

Sunbelt Classic & Antique Automobile Museum
Bruce Street & Washington Avenue
Las Vegas, NV
Features: An esoteric collection of such unusual display models as Frazer, Willys, Jeep, LaSalle, Hudson, Crosley, Dual Ghia (seen here) and other models along with the usual Ford, Chevy, Chrysler and other familiar makers' works.