San Diego Automotive Museum

Once again, haven't been in here since COVID and they had been closed for sometime as they were doing alot of renovation. Today was free Tuesday for locals.
I actually had volunteered here for a few months.
I grew up around beautiful sports cars and really enjoyed myself while I was there. I really liked what they did to the space in there. And all the beautiful cars that were added today, they changed it up a few times a year. If you enjoy looking at beautiful cars from the 1800 and up be sure to check it out. There is a lot of history here and it is kid friendly. Also a small area gift shop. Here are some beautiful car's and some of my favorites. Oh, and if you are a motorcycle lover there are some great bikes here.

I usually visit every few years, and this time took advantage of the annual The Big Exchange reciprocal deal, and I'm glad that I did.

Although this museum is not massive, it's always interesting, enlightening, clean, and well laid out, and with good didactics. The cars are my favorites, although there are plenty of motorcycles also on display. I especially love seeing the unusual cars, and enjoy learning about the ones that I've never heard of. (This time, the Sonders, which is a beautiful car, with a very cool negative space/positive space logo). Reading the signage, although pretty informative, usually leaves me with a few questions, so I am always glad that there is a knowledgeable person present, who will happily answer questions.

The current display includes a short video on how the shape of a car is arrived at: CAD and then carefully carving a life-sized clay model! What a great job!

Some reviewers claim that this is too small of a collection, but quite frankly, I think Peterson's (though I have not been there, yet) sounds overwhelming and daunting. The size of this museum suits me just fine.

Free for San Diego residents on the 4th Tuesday of every month. Double check website for details. Nice museum with a bunch of different cars to look at. It would be nice if the museum was larger in size, but it's still a San Diego treasure and a fun family outing. Inside the gift shop they have reasonably priced ice creams for kiddos and adults. Staff is friendly and helpful if you have any questions.

The Breaking Bad suv is here!

They have a kids corner with 2 arcade racing games free! Legos and race track thing and race car to pose in for kids.

Back to Future like car and old old old school car, you can get into both.

The car along the mirror wall is something EVERYONE will enjoy!!!! Just trust me. I read a review saying the same and yes! It's true. Purposely not posting any photos of this car I'm talking about because I want you to be as surprised as we were. Don't spoil it. See it for yourself.

Workers are super polite and helpful, just ask.

Clean bathrooms

I could care less about cars, I'm a Toyota girl because they last and i can change the oil, tires, n alternator but that's about it. I still enjoyed this visit. Kids did too.

Museum Month brought me to the San Diego Automotive Museum.

A 17,000 square foot clear span building contains the exhibits, which also include trucks and motorcycles, despite the museum's limiting name.

Speaking of motorcycles, there are several very well curated exhibits of Harley, Honda, Indian and other brands. Good collections, antique to modern examples.

I was very surprised by the gullwing 2011 Corvette. I had no idea such a car existed. Apparently is was a prototype or a custom car. Oh, and if you want to go Back To The Future, you can sit in an unrestored DeLorean car. Yep, gullwings again, made in Ireland. A few lowriders show off beautiful paint and pinstriping.

It's a modest museum, but very well-organized and decidedly well-staffed. The staff members that I talked to were very knowedgeable and friendly. The gift shop is excellent, displaying interesting souvenirs, clothing, vehcle models, shot glasses and other items for both tourists and locals.

Well worth a visit.

Cute. Not nearly as large as the Petersen, but a great stop among the other museums. Louie Mathews car is an interesting labor of love.

Museum itself was quite small but lots of interesting cars! I liked the racing car in the "kid" area and also the delorean.

As we left, there wasn't really anyone manning the souvenir shop. I guess no one wanted to take our money but then we just went to the check-in area and paid there.

I went here for the first time on an early Thursday in February and unfortunately, I was very underwhelmed. It literally took 15-20 minutes to walk through the whole thing. If you're comparing it to the Peterson Automotive Museum in L.A., you'll really be disappointed and the admission price for Peterson is just $4 more per person and it's a whole lot larger. But, I don't know unless I go, so it's over now. I wish I had my money back.

I think even the The Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo has more vehicles, but it could be about the same. I know it took me 15-20 minutes to walk through there as well,

Too small we were done in 25 minutes. few cars no luxury cars
Wast of time and money
I'll not attend again .

Lots of older and late model cars to see. Lots of motorcycles, too. All are labeled with a brief description. The museum is not real big, but it's big enough to keep your interest. We enjoyed it. Check your reciprocating memberships before arriving.