Destinations Magazine

National Automobile Museum Reno: Review and Travel Guide

By Kenin Bassart @Constantramble

There’s one thing we love almost as much as we love travel and our doggies: CARS! This is why we jumped at the chance to visit the National Automobile Museum Reno, NV. The National Auto Museum features a deep collection of cars and memorabilia covering an entire century of automotive history. Many of the vehicles featured are part of the Harrah Collection of cars and there are several one of a kind vehicles on display!

National Automobile Museum Reno - Review

National Automobile Museum Reno

NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM RENO

When visiting Reno you too might be struck by the glitz and glam of the great food and casinos like we were, but at some point you have to stop gambling and take in some sights. That’s where the National Automobile Museum Reno comes in to save the day.  It was an affordable and fun way to spend some time in the city. Considering how much we enjoyed it we felt it was an easy addition to our Reno travel guide. At the time of our visit admission was only $10.00 per person and that included a free recorded audio tour, if you’re so inclined (we weren’t 

:-)
 ). The Museum is split into several galleries that are themed by era, and include much more than just cars. The first area we came to was their rotating gallery which featured this beauty!

National Automobile Museum Reno 1938 Phantom Corsair

1938 Phantom Corsair – National Automobile Museum

After, we had a chance to peek in on their maintenance shop where they put lots of hard work, and elbow grease, into keeping these cars looking absolutely amazing.

Maintenance Shop at National Automobile Museum Reno

I would love to spend a day in here

From there we went into the first Gallery which features many fine specimens from the turn of the century. As you can probably guess, one of our favorites was this 1912 Rambler.

1912 Rambler Titanic -  Reno Travel Guide

1912 Rambler from the movie Titanic

There were also many vehicles and  other displays from the early age of automotive innovation.

Old Time Car National Automobile Museum Reno

Imagine riding in this guy!

Yellow Car National Automobile Museum Reno

Let’s go Racing!

Old Motor - National Automobile Museum Reno

Cool motor design!

The next gallery we visited featured vehicles from the golden age of automobiles. There were so many amazing cars that showed off what automotive beauty can really be.

Yellow Classic - Natinoal Automobile Museum Reno

Look at those curves!

This Chrysler once owned by Lana Turner in beautiful orange was one of my absolute favorites.

1941 Chrysler Newport 1 - National Auto Museum Reno

1941 Chrysler Newport

1941 Chrysler Newport 2

It’s so huge!

We couldn’t be the VW lovers that we are if we didn’t include this little gem hiding out in the gallery 

:-)

Original VW Beetle at National Automobile Museum Reno

Such a Classic!

The museum doesn’t just include old classics though. There was a whole gallery dedicated to motorsports that featured race cars and other sporting vehicles. One of the ones that really stood out to us was the 1907 Thomas Flyer car. He used this car to win a New York to Paris race, by driving across three continents. Its mind-blowing when you really think about just how amazing of a feat that was considering it was completed in 1908.  It made our Florida to Alaska trip pale in comparison, but also made us feel a bit like kindred spirits.

1907 Thomas Flyer - National Automobile Museum Reno

Imagine driving this thing all across the USA and Europe!

There were some really cool race cars in the gallery,

1955 Kurtis National Automobile Museum Reno NV

Love the exhaust!

and a dune buggy or two I would love to take for a spin!

Dune Buggy National Automobile Museum Reno

Looks like an awesome time!

The last gallery in the National Automobile Museum Reno  included lots of trucks and working class vehicles. One of the coolest things was the fact that many of these trucks were on the road until they day they were bought and restored for a collection.

There was an awesome fire truck,

Detail of an old Fire Truck - Natinoal Automobile Museum Reno

I can’t imagine these tanks holding very much water

a bread delivery truck

Helms Bakery Truck - Auto Museum Reno Nevada

and, of course, a wine delivery truck 

:-)

Wine Delivery - National Automobile Museum Reno

I would love some wine delivered to my door!

In addition to all the fine automobiles there was a bunch of cool automotive memorabilia throughout the museum. There were lots of old metal signs and other functional pieces of automotive history.

OLD CAB STAND SIGN - Reno Travel Guide

Wait here for a cab please 

:-)

Old Red Gas Pump in National Automobile Museum Reno

Imagine pumping gas with this thing

Some of the coolest though were the pedal cars that were spread throughout the museum.

I personally liked this Bugatti one the best…

Bugatti Kids Car things to do in Reno

I wish I had one in adult size

but this little guy is pretty cool too!

Creme Colored Kiddies Car - Reno Travel Guide

All in all the whole museum tour took about 2 hours and was a really great time. You don’t just have to be a motor head to enjoy it though. It’s so well themed that it’s really fun for the whole family. If you find yourself in Nevada, the National Automobile Museum Reno, is definitely a place you have to visit!

For more information regarding HOURS and ADMISSION visit National Automobile Museum Reno.

If you enjoyed this Reno Travel Guide you might also enjoy

Road Trip Planner: Rambling and Gambling though Reno and Las Vegas

Historic Car Show in Montessano Washington

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Note this review was NOT sponsored in any way

Here’s a gallery with some of our other photos from the National Automobile Museum Reno.


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