Detroit Auto Culture

Located just outside Detroit in Dearborn, The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation houses a vast collection of transportation history from planes to trains to automobiles! Stroll through the permanent exhibit, Driving America, a collection of more than 100 historic vehicles and learn how the invention of the automobile changed our everyday lives from the way we eat to the way we travel. It is one of the most expansive automotive-centric experiences in the museum world. The permanent collection also features several presidential vehicles, including the 1961 John F. Kennedy Presidential limo and the beautifully restored Rosa Parks’ bus. Looking for a gift for the car lover in your family, or yourself? The Henry Ford has a fantastic gift shop.

The Ford Rouge Factory Tour departs from the Henry Ford Museum 6-days a week and includes a 5-part experience and the opportunity to see trucks being assembled in real time. The Rouge Factory opened in 1928 and still produces vehicles to this day.

Also within The Henry Ford complex, you can ride in an authentic Model T through Greenfield Village, which is open from May through December. The village is a collection of historic structures from across the country, ringed by a functioning steam railroad, including Henry Ford’s childhood home, a replica of the garage where he built his first Quadricycle and a replica of his first factory, which originally sat on Mack Ave. Other historic structures include the 1860 Detroit Central Market Vegetable Shed, the Wright Brothers bicycle shop and a replica of Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park research laboratory.

Located across from The Henry Ford, the Automotive Hall of Fame celebrates the contributions of over 800 men and women who pioneered automotive innovations throughout the 20th Century and today. Think Henry Ford, Eiji Toyoda, Walter P. Chrysler, Soichiro Honda and many others.

The venue is also home to the Hall of Honor, which is considered one of the largest single pieces of automotive fine art, along with Diego Rivera’s 1933 Detroit Industry fresco cycle, which is on display at the nearby Detroit Institute of Arts.

You can also walk the plank floors where the first 12,000 Ford Model Ts were assembled at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum. This is the actual birthplace of the most significant automobile of the 20th century. It is where Henry Ford got his start. You’ll learn about his story of innovation, his early successes, his many false starts and his failures that drove him to do better next time. You can get up close to more than 65 rare automobiles including Henry Ford’s “Letter Cars,” unique Model T conversion vehicles, and other antique cars manufactured in Milwaukee Junction.

Next, you’ll want to check out America’s Motor City exhibition at the Detroit Historical Museum in Midtown Detroit. It tells the “fascinating stories of both how cars built metro Detroit and how metro Detroit built cars, as well as why Detroit became the Motor City.” It also features an assembly line and special exhibit on how Detroit automakers pivoted to wartime production to defeat fascism during WWII.

At the northern end of Woodward Ave. lies the industrial city of Pontiac, former home to the Pontiac brand (1926-2010) as well as GM Truck & Bus. The Pontiac Transportation Museum opened in 2024 and celebrates the brand’s history with a car collection that would make Jay Leno envious.

Stahs Automotive Museum in Chesterfield is a non-profit that exists in order to preserve, restore and exhibit specific vintage vehicles of the 20th century for educational purposes. It features an extensive collection of early 20th century vehicles and is open on Tuesdays from 1-4 or by appointment.

Roush Automotive Museum in Livonia is a 30,000 sq. ft. private facility. Housed within the collection are a wide variety of displays, multi-media exhibits, artifacts, memorabilia and 110+ vehicles dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of Roush Enterprises. The museum and gift shop are open 9:30-4pm M-F.