Automobile Driving Museum
DETAILS:
Location: 610 Lairport Street, El Segundo, CA 90245
Hours of Operation:
Tuesday thru Sunday; 10AM to 4PM.
Sunday rides in select classic cars included with price of admission; 10AM thru 3:30PM
Parking: Free parking lot & ample street parking.
Cost: $10 Adults / $8 Seniors / $5 Children 11-17, children 10 & under are free / $25 for family of four
Time Commitment: 1-2 hours will be plenty.
Miscellaneous: For Sunday rides, please check their website (listed below under “resource”) to find out which cars will be available for rides on the Sunday you plan to visit since these cars rotate each week. No rides will be given in rain or inclement weather.
Whether it’s taking Route 66, the most famous road in the world, all the way to its end on the Santa Monica Pier or just stuck in rush hour on the 101 Freeway, Los Angeles has always been defined by its car culture. It’s no coincidence then that there are some pretty great car museums in the area like the Peterson Automotive Museum and the Marconi Automotive Museum. But the most unique one of them all just might the Driving Automobile Museum near LAX. I won’t pretend to be the world’s biggest car buff and I couldn’t begin to tell you what the heck limited slip differential is, so the fact that this museum captivated my interests was pretty impressive in deed.
This can be directly attributed to the museum’s two main features that sets it apart from all the rest. In regards to the first feature, it goes without saying that the Automobile Driving Museum has its obligatory gallery of vintage and classic cars on display along with placards that summarize pertinent info on each. All these cars are absolutely stunning and worth the price of admission alone, but what elevates this experience to the next level is that you actually sit behind the wheel of many of them in order to get a hands-on feel of what it must’ve felt like to drive these beauties in their respective eras. Having that tactile connection gave each car a whole new perspective as a functional piece of machinery (which they are), instead of just some piece of museum art (which they are as well) only to be admired from a far.
But the museum’s 2nd feature is what makes the visit unforgettable. Each Sunday, you have the opportunity to take a ride in the classic cars they’ve made available for that day. On our visit, we were given rides in a 1957 Lincoln Premier Convertible, a 1964 Plymouth Valiant Signet Convertible, and a 1947 Packard Super Clipper. It felt like a real life Disney ride as we cruised around the neighborhood, feeling each car’s particular rumble vibrate throughout our entire body as we drove along. We most likely pestered our driver with an annoying amount of questions on each car as we continued to drive, but he happily answered each one. I guess that because it’s never hard to get someone talking about what they’re really passionate about. Like how I could talk about tacos for days. Each ride only lasts a couple of minutes so it’s not a long commitment if you chose to partake, but the memory will stay with you for much longer. So if you’ve got a free Sunday, why not make a pitstop at the Automobile Driving Museum?
RESOURCES:
Automobile Diving Museum website.
