A Guide to Pennsylvania’s Automotive Museums

Pennsylvania has a rich automotive history, as the longevity of the Pennsylvania Automative Association can attest. It’s also evidenced by the sheer amount of automotive museums throughout the state. 

Eastern Pennsylvania alone contains a multitude of museums featuring vintage car collections, educational exhibits, and detailed historical accounts. Here are a few of our favorites, each just a short road trip away from Allentown Kia. 

Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum (Philly) 

Philadelphia’s premier automotive museum is one of the world’s greatest collections of racing sports cars. They’ve been assembling their Collection for over 50 years, amassing 75 historically significant cars from Ferrari, Bugatti, Jaguar, Aston Martin and many more.  

The museum also holds Demo Days throughout the year, giving the public a chance to witness history come to life, as these marvelous machines whirl into action. The next Demo Day is a celebration of Brass Era Racing. It’s scheduled for May 25 and features a 1911 Mercer 35 J Raceabout, a 1912 National Speed Model 40, and a 1916 Stutz Bearcat.

AACA Museum (Hershey) 

A collecting institution presenting permanent and temporary exhibitions, the AACA Museum in Hershey celebrates both vehicle and collector. It’s dedicated to the preservation of the automobile industry, in a manner that both educates and entertains. They house dozens of vintage vehicles, and exhibitions honor golden era muscle cars, legacy series vehicles, and more. 

The AACA Museum is also home to a museum… within the museum. The Museum of Bus Transportation is a permanent attraction that features the country’s largest display of full-sized, vintage buses. You can even check out a pair of buses that were used in the movies Forrest Gump and Speed. 

America On Wheels (Allentown) 

Across more than 23,000 miles of exhibit space, the America On Wheels Museum – located just three miles from our Lehigh Street location, in the heart of the Lehigh Valley – features over 75 cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bikes. They cycle exhibits in and out every six months, with the current exhibit opening up just last week, on April 27. This current showcase celebrates 60 years of the American icon, the Mustang. 

After spending the winter completing some minor maintenance projects, America On Wheels has been all systems go since reopening to the public at the beginning of March. Tours and field trips are offered regularly, as the Allentown museum seeks to inspire the next generation of auto enthusiasts. 

Eastern Museum of Motor Racing (York Springs) 

Located just under two hours west of us, the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing stands as a monument to the history of auto racing. Built on a wooded hillside overlooking the Latimore Valley Fairgrounds and Racetrack, this 40-acre museum features drag racing events. For instance, tomorrow (May 4) from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., you can check out a Vintage Race Car On Track Exhibition. Meanwhile, next Saturday (May 11) is the EMMR Hot Rod Annual.

Admission into the EMMR is free, and as of the start of May, they’re open from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Swigart Museum (Huntingdon) 

It’s a modest road trip to the Swigart Museum, located approximately two and a half hours west of our location. But it’s worth it to experience the oldest antique automobile museum in the country. The automobiles and carriages displayed in the Swigart collection date back to 1896. They also boast the largest collection of automobile emblems, badges, and license plates in the country. 

The Swigart Museum opens its doors for the season on May 25 and remains open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. through October. You can normally view 30 to 35 automobiles when you visit the museum, but the collection is so vast that Swigart utilizes the winter months to swap out the vehicles on display. So even if you’ve perused the museum’s display before, this spring should offer an entirely different experience. 

Create Your Own History 

The past might be etched in stone, but the future is what you make it. And what’s the future if not the history of tomorrow? Stop in at Allentown Kia today and begin writing your own history. Whether you’re ready to go green with the 2024 Kia EV9 or looking to accommodate the whole family in the award-winning Kia Telluride, our inventory has you covered. 

Whatever you drive, don’t let your Kia become ancient history; contact our Service Center, where our expert technicians provide your Kia vehicle with the exceptional level of service our customers have come to expect. Schedule your service today and ensure you stay on the road – so that you can get to your next history lesson.