Centered around an unparalleled collection of historically significant vehicles, this remarkable mix of authentic artifacts, digital media, interactive play and personal accounts focuses on the enormous influence the automobile has had on American culture—from the automotive innovations that have changed our lives to the everyday choices we make.
“Driving America is different because it isn’t really about automobiles, but about how much the automobile has influenced American culture. It thoroughly examines the car from a perspective seldom viewed, that of the user.”
- Bob Casey, Senior Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford
Some 18 interactive 42-inch touchscreens are sprinkled throughout Driving America, offering hundreds of additional details, images, videos and oral histories.
Hundreds of artifacts on exhibit have their own digital record, so you can tap and enlarge, view automobile exterior and interior images, look at a 360-degree view, scan through original advertisements, repair manuals and much more.
A handy Driving America smart card, given to you when you enter the exhibit, can store what you experience as you walk the exhibit and then digitally transfer your personalized compilation for online viewing later.
“Talk Like a Trucker” but keep it clean - we’re talking CB radio! Approached in a fun, participatory way, this interactive game introduces you to wonderful auto-centric lingo through a recording created at the height of the CB radio craze
For those that are all about the cars themselves, Driving America doesn’t disappoint, offering up a stellar and unprecedented collection of some of the most important and recognizable from century-old electric cars, to old and new hybrids, muscle cars, racers and modern-day SUVs.
Take a peek at the 1896 Ford Quadricycle, Henry Ford’s first automobile.
Feast your eyes on the 1865 Roper, the oldest surviving American car or the 1896 Duryea, it’s the last remaining example of America’s first production car.
Stop and stare at the 1967 Ford Mark IV race car, the first all-American car and team to win at Le Mans.
A feature of Driving America, the 1931 Bugatti Royale Type 41– it’s a stunner and the story of its escape from Nazi Germany is amazing.
The Driving America Timeline offers a quick glimpse of the exhibit’s major themes and stories.
The exhibit features 20 focal areas that cover everything from hot rods and road trips to road food and racing.
Keep your eyes peeled for Lamy’s Diner where all are welcome to sit down at the counter, slide into a booth or grab a chair on the attached patio and enjoy some coffee and light fare 1940s diner style.
“Everybody can relate to something in Driving America, because this exhibit is about more than automobiles, it is about American culture and how much of it has been influenced by the automobile over the past 100-plus years,”
- Patricia Mooradian, president of The Henry Ford.