San Diego Automotive Museum
by Edenista M.
The museum showcases a nice collection of American and European automobiles and motorbikes. Some of the classics include a 1954 corvette that looks amazingly fancy and a replica of the Porsche 550 spyder that James Dean owned and crashed with.
by Anita L.
The museum is not big. In fact, they've managed to cram quite a few classic cars into this small space.I'm not a huge fan of cars. In fact, I wasn't even sure I'd enjoy it, but it wasn't all bad. Lots of Ferraris.Hubby and the young man both enjoyed it.Took about 20 mins to get through the whole museum (for me at least).
by Yuki M.
Small. Very small, but with a select collection of cars. I'd say that this rotating exhibits lend a nice change to this single story half floor space "museum," though it could stand for some expansion. The Petersen in Los Angeles is far more extensive and expansive, though the long standing displays are more curious than awesome.It's fairly cheap so I don't mind paying the $10 for a 30 minute walk and a change of scenery. *shrug*I'd most likely not come back unless there was something amazing on rotation. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, then most likely don't try it again.
by Jenn S.
I took my parents here since my dad loves classic cars. They have a very nice collection and it is always fun to look around and read the history of the cars. There were two interesting videos playing in different areas of the museum where you could sit and relax in a car seat (yup... it is an automotive museum, right). The website says they have about 80 vehicles, but it didn't actually feel like there were that many on display. I guess I wasn't expecting the motorcycles to be counted and they have a large selection of those. I really enjoyed learning about the Louie Mattar's $75,000 Fabulous Car. It's amazing that this car drove from Alaska to Mexico non stop in the 50s. Overall, this is a great museum, but if you are interested in just looking at classic cars, you might enjoy a classic car show more.
by Grace T.
This place is a disappointment especially if you've been to the Petersen Automobile Museum in LA. The $12 admission is a little steep for this place.
by Luana S.
This is a good place to see some classic cars and motorcycles. It is small though, so you'll get though it real fast. The Aerospace museum and Hall of Champions are there too, so you can spend a couple of hours looking at all of them. Every fourth Tuesday they're free for San Diego County residents and active military. There is a small play area for kids to sit in cars and on a motorcycle.
by Courtney W.
I wanted to take my husband and I out of the house for awhile last Sunday so I suggested we go to the Automotive Museum because I LOVE cars. He asked if we could also go to another museum after that... yea sure honey whatever you want. The price was $12 for both since we have AAA. They are doing a Hot Rods exhibit right now so there were a lot of NICE cars to look at. I love looking inside old cars and imagining someone back in the day driving it. There was lots to look at, even a section of old motorcycles if you are into that. They have a nice gift shop as well.My Favorite part was getting to see and learn about Louie Mattar's Fabulous Car! I have seen something about this special vehicle on tv and all the add ons the original owner did. But it was pretty awesome to see in person. A car that drove from Alaska to Mexico non stop. Amazing. Oh and there is a freaking hookah in the dash! Nice. lol.We did end up visiting the Air and Space Museum which will be my next review if you are interested...
by Princess Kim R.
Wow. For a girl who loves cars (me!), this was a GREAT place to spend an hour on a Friday afternoon.My husband and I were enjoying our Friday, all-day date, and we had some time to kill after having tea at the Tea Pavilion near the Japanese Friendship Garden. We arrived at the San Diego Automotive Museum at roughly 4:00 p.m., and the exhibit closed at 5:00 p.m.. We thought we might have to rush a bit, but we both REALLY wanted to see the cars (hot rods were on display!), so we went inside.Admission for both of us came to a total of $16.00. For me, the $8.00 was totally worth it. There were hot rods, Ford Roadsters, Ferraris, a 1953 Jaguar XK 120, really cool old cars like the 1909 International Harvester and the 1905 Tourist, and my personal favorite, the 1932 Ford Sport Coupe. PIMP! There were other cars, but I'd be here all day if I tried to list them. There is also an old motorcycle section, but I missed it, because I spent all of the hour photographing and documenting the cars.As a photography lover, I definitely appreciated that they allowed pictures to be taken. As we were walking in, the guy working there said, "Feel free to take pictures of anything you see." That's just awesome!The staff was really friendly. I liked them; they added to the great day I had. If you have nothing to do on a weekday and want to drool over some great cars (not on the paint job, fool), the San Diego Automotive Museum is the place to do it!
by deb n.
http://www.sdautomuseu.../Cars, motorcyles and special exhibits. When I went in May, they had a dunebuggy and sandrail special exhibit. $6 entrance. Has a gift shop with car memorabilia. Near the Air and Space Museum, depending on where you are and parking, you might want to use the free red park shuttle to get there.
