Leah Nash / New York Times News Service A 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante waits in the Portland Art Museum's sculpture garden after being unloaded for the "Allure of the Automobile" exhibition.
What better destination for a summer road trip than an auto-themed museum? Here are a handful of destinations around the U.S. that feature the famous, the rare and the just plain odd.
LeMay Museum update
LeMay -- America's Car Museum, located in Tacoma, is scheduled to open its 165,000-square-foot, $60 million expansion next May. It will have about 150 vintage vehicles on display. In the meantime, the LeMay Family Collection Foundation at Marymount is open to visitors. lemaymuseum.org, lemaymarymount.org
Portland Art Museum, "Allure of the Automobile" exhibition
Portland, Ore.
The exhibition, which runs through Sept. 11, features nearly all of the same rare vehicles displayed at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta in 2010. Among the 16 cars are a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT race car (a class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans), a 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato, a 1937 Hispano-Suiza and a 1933 Pierce-Arrow. portlandartmuseum.org
Petersen Automotive Museum
Los Angeles
Two exhibits make this institution worth visiting -- or revisiting -- this summer. "Scooters: Size Doesn't Always Matter" features two-wheelers from as far back as 1915 and runs until May 2012. "Supercars: When Too Much is Almost Enough" runs until Oct. 16 and features Ferraris, Porsches, Bugattis and more. petersen.org
Erik S. Lesser / The Associated Press
Microcar Museum founder Bruce Weiner walks through his museum in Madison, Ga., The museum near Atlanta has a collection of 300 microcars rarely seen in the U.S.
The Henry Ford
Dearborn, Mich.
A short spin from Ford's world headquarters, this museum displays more than 200 vehicles, including the Lincoln limousine in which President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Also on the grounds is the Automotive Hall of Fame. thehenryford.org, automotivehalloffame.org
Model T Automotive Heritage Complex
Detroit
The Model T museum is set in Ford's Piquette plant, the birthplace of the iconic car. The museum's third level is virtually unchanged from 1905 and includes the Experimental Room, where the Model T was developed. Displayed are nearly two dozen Model T's and other cars. tplex.org
Rusty's TV and Movie Car Museum
Jackson, Tenn.
This collection features 20-plus cars seen in TV shows and movies, including the original neon-green Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by actor Paul Walker in "The Fast and the Furious" and a remake of the classic "Ghostbusters" Ectomobile. rustystvandmoviecars.com
David Joseph / New York Times News Service A former Packard dealership in Dayton, Ohio, is now America's Packard Museum.
America's Packard Museum
Dayton, Ohio
The history of the Packard Motor Car Co. is on display at a former dealership, complete with period furniture and about 50 vehicles. Rare cars such as a 1928 six-cylinder Convertible Coupe, a 1914 Model 48 Runabout and a 1942 Clipper U.S. Army staff car used by Gen. Douglas MacArthur are on display. americaspackardmuseum.org
Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum
Madison, Ga.
This is a large museum that celebrates the tiny cars produced in Europe in the 1940s and '50s. The museum houses about 300 cars with engines smaller than 750 cubic centimeters, such as the Messerschmitt KR-175, the Isetta (in which the door is the entire front of the car) and the French-made 1957 Rovin Z-4. microcarmuseum.com
The New York Times News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
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