Michigan is home to the “Big Three” American automotive manufactures – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. All three are headquartered in eastern Michigan, in or near Detroit, aka ‘Motor City.’ However, there are still several places in Michigan to appreciate its auto history that aren’t in Detroit. Some places focus primarily on historical models of cars. Other sites bring to life significant events surrounding the growth and development of the big three.
Here is a list and details to help you plan your visit to 10 places in Michigan to appreciate its auto history.
Map of Places in Michigan to Appreciate its Auto History
1. The Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford Museum is open daily from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. Tickets cost $25 for adults, $22.50 for seniors (62+), $18.75 for youth age 5-11, and free for kids 4 and under.
Because the Henry Ford contains exhibits featuring more than just cars, its possible to get lost touring the museum for hours. There’s SO MUCH TO SEE!
For the auto or history enthusiast, there are four exhibits not to miss. The first is titled With Liberty and Justice for All. The most notable transport item in auto history here is the infamous bus that Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on. During “normal times” it’s possible to enter the bus and actually sit down.
The second is Made in America: Manufacturing where one can check out all kinds of mechanical artifacts from the 18th through 20th centuries. This exhibit also features a participatory assembly line to build miniature Model T’s.
Third is Driving America. As the name implies, there are all kinds of historic cars to check out here! This exhibit even contains the oldest surviving American car, the 1865 Roper. Other notable relics here include a 1940s gas pump, 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Convertible, and the first car built by Henry Ford.
Finally, the Presidential Vehicles exhibit can’t be missed. Here you can check out the limo’s that once carried some of our most notable Presidents from the 20th century. The exhibit includes the JFK limo that Kennedy rode in when assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidential horse drawn carriage.
2. Automotive Hall of Fame
While the Automotive Hall of Fame is currently closed due to COVID 19, it is possible to take a virtual tour online! When the hall of fame is open, tickets cost $10 for adults, $6 for seniors (62+) and youths 13-18, $4 for kids 5-12, and free for under 4.
The galleries include permanent and rotating features that bring to life the history of the car, the rise of the international auto industry, and auto styling throughout the years. Notable items and features on display include the first car with an internal combustion engine and some of the first interstate semi trucks. There are also exhibits on the history of motorsports, auto innovations such as the creation of cruise control, and the history of auto dealerships and car sales. Also notable is the 11 foot high, 65 foot long mural celebrating the car’s impact on world’s history.
3. GM Renaissance Center
The Renaissance Center is the headquarters of General Motors in downtown Detroit. To appreciate the latest and greatest from GM, check out GM World on the main floor. Also, one can tour the RenCenter to learn about GM and the buildings history.
Unfortunately due to COVID, GM World and tours are not occurring. In the meantime, you can take a virtual tour on the RenCenter’s website.
4. RE Olds Transportation Museum
Next up is the RE Olds Transporation Museum. This museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm. Admission costs $7 for adults, $5 for seniors (65+) and students. If you’re a family of up to 2 adults and up to 3 children, admission is $15.
Guided tours are available. However visitors are welcome to tour on their own too. The museum contains a collection of over 60 Oldsmobile brand vehicles from years between 1886 to 2003. The museum rotates vehicles on display making this museum fun to keep returning to!
For those unfamiliar with this brand, Ransom E. Olds, a resident of Lansing, founded the Olds Motor Company in 1897. Later, in 1908, the brand was purchased by General Motors and ultimately discontinued in 2004.
Interestingly, this museum also contains an exhibit titled Lansing and the Lawnmower. R.E. Olds designed and patented a component that later became an early version of the lawnmower. In 1946, R.E. Olds entered the lawnmower industry making this innovation intertwined with Michigan’s auto history.
5. Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-7 Informational Site
This park is also known as the UAW Sitdowner’s Monuments & Memorial Park. It is a great place to learn about the history of the labor movement in America’s automotive factories.
It contains three plaques with historic information on how and why the strike happened. The park is dedicated to the men and women that participated in the strike in 1936-7 at the General Motors Flint plant. There is also a life sized sculpture of a scene from inside the strike.
6. Gilmore Car Museum
The Gilmore Car Museum is open every day from 10 am to 5 pm. Admissions is $16 for adults, $11 for youth (11-17), and free for veterans and kids 10 and under.
First, the Gilmore Car Museum isn’t connected to any specific manufacturer unlike the 9 other places. Founded in the 1960s by vintage auto collector Donald Gilmore, he eventually purchased over 90 acres to house his collection. A couple years later, he turned his private collection into a museum and applied for nonprofit status.
Today, this museum is the largest vehicle museum in North America! Within it, there are a number of buildings containing exhibits, including rotating special exhibits. Some of these, such as the Historic Campus, are only open from April through November.
If you’re able to walk through the entire campus, you’ll check out around 400 cars of all makes, years, and models. And opening soon is the Muscle Car Building, showcasing – well, I’ll let you guess. Once it opens, this is where my husband and I will beeline to!
7. Ford Rouge Factory Tour
Related to the Henry Ford Museum is the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. Purchase tickets online or in person at the Henry Ford Museum then a bus will take you to the factory for your tour. Tours run Monday to Saturday 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. Tickets cost $19 for adults, $17.25 for seniors (62+), $14.25 for youth age 5-11, and free for kids 4 and under.
It’s advertised that during this guided tour, you will walk along an elevated platform above the assembly line to watch as a Ford F-150 is assembled. However it’s possible you may tour the Dearborn Truck Plant when the F-150 isn’t being built as all vehicles are built based on demand.
Besides watching a pickup come to life, the tour includes watching a historical film about the Rouge complex, another film on the making of the F-150, checking out the plant’s observation deck to see its ‘living roof,’ and viewing the Legacy Gallery. The Gallery showcases a number of well known cars that were once manufactured at the Rouge factory.
8. Detroit Historical Museum
The Detroit Historical Museum is open from Thursday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday 1 pm – 5 pm. It costs $10 for adults, $6 for children, and $8 for veterans, seniors, and college students.
Within the museum, automotive history in Detroit is featured in the permanent exhibit America’s Motor History. This exhibit is three-fold, it shows how cars built Detroit and how Detroit built cars. Finally it explains why Detroit became the motor city.
Contained in this exhibit is an old interactive Ford you can get into for a photo op. There’s also a stationary assembly line you can walk along and view from above.
9. Genesee County Historical Society
You can schedule a tour of the Genesee County Historical Society at the link above. Otherwise, the museum, located at the Durant-Dort Foundation, is open on Mondays and Fridays from 10 am to 3 pm.
The historical society is located in the building where William C. Durant developed plans for his first carriage and automobile company. Who was William Durant? Well, he founded what eventually became known as General Motors.
Originally, the company was the Durant-Dort Carriage Company and manufactured horse drawn carriages. Durant reluctantly became involved in the automobile industry. To improve the safety of the early car, Durant first purchased the troubled Buick Motor Company in 1904. He turned around the company in one year, and it became the best selling automobile in the US. Then in 1908, he cofounded General Motors.
10. Ford Piquette Plant
Tickets to visit the Ford Piquette Plant are available for purchase online or in person. The museum is open Thursday to Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission costs $15 for adults, $10 for seniors (65+), Veterans, and college students, $5 for youths aged 5-17, and free for 4 and under. Also guided tours are available two times a day for those interested.
The Piquette Plant is the birthplace of the Model T, Ford’s most significant early innovation. Because of this, this site is one of the most important auto heritage sites in the world! Built in 1904, the plant saw Ford Models B, C, F, K, N, R, S, and T manufactured here. After the first 12,000 Model T’s were manufactured, Ford moved production to Highland Park and sold the building to Studebaker.
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Michigan’s auto history is over 100 years strong. There’s been some good times and tumultuous times during its history but throughout it all, Michigan remains the epicenter of American auto manufacturing. With the rise of electric vehicles and the pivoting going on among the “Big Three,” our auto history is bound to continue into the future!
Have you visited any of the 10 places in Michigan to appreciate its auto history yet? What did you enjoy most about the place you visited?
from Michigan with Love,
Jackie
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