Largest car museum in North America opening June 2 [Video]

Americans have a love affair with the automobile and LeMay will open the largest museum in North America to celebrate that ongoing affair. The museum is located in Tacoma, Washington on a sprawling nine-acre campus with a four-story museum housing one of the world’s largest auto collections. The LaMay museum opens June, 2nd 2012.

When the museum officially opens, it is estimated that $60 million worth of classic vehicles will be on display. Harold and Nancy LeMay have amassed the largest privately owned collection of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, other vehicles and related memorabilia in the world. The purpose and vision of the new museum is to celebrate our love affair with the automobile.

The museum covers 165,000-sq. ft. on a 3.5-acre showroom floor, and is starting off with a collection of over 200 cars. It is located 30 minutes south of Seattle, and has been under construction since the summer of 2010.

Uniting automobile enthusiasts worldwide

The LaMay museum will be a gathering place where automotive enthusiasts from around the world will be able to enjoy automobile history and celebrate the world’s automotive culture under one gigantic roof. The huge facility will eventually be able to house up to 350 cars, trucks and motorcycles from private owners, corporations and the LeMay collection, which amassed a Guinness Book record of more than 3,500 vehicles in the mid-‘90s.

“Everybody remembers their first car, family driving vacations, a sports car they fell in love with as a teenager,” says ACM CEO David Madeira. “Personal experiences with cars are at the heart of the American experience, and we’re going to showcase more than a century of automotive lifestyle and history as well as the future of transportation.”

The ACM vision

America’s Car Museum (ACM) has a vision to become the gathering place where automotive enthusiasts from around the globe can celebrate America’s love affair with the automobile. They also want the museum to be a place where auto enthusiasts, serious collectors and educational entities can create social networks. The LaMay museum will be more than just a look at past automotive achievements. It will also portray present achievements and future directions in the transportation industry, including design, technology and products. The new facility will also be home to an education center/library to promote automotive history, restoration and preservation.

“ACM is conceived on the premise that there is an important, unique automotive story to tell about the past, present and future of cars, trucks and motorcycles.  As a result, ACM will attract young and old alike, will inspire everybody who enters, and will help educate the drivers of the future.”

The exterior design is unique

The exterior design of the New LaMay museum is distinctly automotive looking, and conjures up images of a hood scoop or a fender from a vintage automobile. When the automotive campus is finally complete, the overall construction cost of the project will be approximately $60 million. The museum is expected to be a tourist destination and projected to bring in 500,000 visitors annually.

The new LaMay museum that opens on June 2, should be on every automobile enthusiasts bucket list, a must see before you “kick the bucket.”

Watch the preview video of the LaMay museum below.