If you’re a car guy or gal visiting Detroit, you won’t want to miss out on seeing GM World. Admission is free to this part showroom/part auto museum which features a rotating display of about thirty cars and trucks, all GM products, of course, including vintage, classic and currently available models.

Located on the ground floor of the riverfront tower, GM’s exhibit space is huge, almost the size of a football field, and features twenty large scale interactive video screens that give an overview of GM’s century of history, as well as the particular history and features of the vehicles currently on display. You can take your time, look around, and kick the tires. Well, okay, they might mind if you kick the tires, but you can sit in the latest models and some of the old standards, remembering your glory days or imaging those just around the corner.

GM World also rotates in special displays. For example, in 2003 to celebrate the Corvette’s 50th anniversary, GM brought in 18 different versions of the Corvette through time, starting with a ‘53 Corvette and hitting all the highlights between then and now.

What else to see while you’re there: When you’re done with the GM World auto display, make sure you check out the Renaissance Center itself. At 758", it’s easily the tallest building in Detroit. There are shops, a hotel, restaurants, and exhibits that will keep you looking around for at least a couple hours. When you’re done, you can head up in a glass elevator to the Coach Insignia restaurant on the 73rd floor, where you can splurge on a posh meal, or simply take in a pretty amazing panoramic view of Detroit, the Detroit River, and Windsor, Ontario.

Detroit Historical Museum

Location: 5401 Woodward Avenue, Detroit 48202

Phone: (313) 833-1805

Size: 80,000+ sq ft

Admission: $4-$6, Children under 4 are free

Open: Wednesday through Sunday

Just three miles up Woodward from the GM World Headquarters, you’ll find the Detroit Historical Museum, another must-see attraction when visiting Detroit. The Detroit Historical Museum, as the name suggests, features more than just car exhibits, but this being Detroit, cars feature heavily in both the city’s history and the museum’s exhibits. On the first floor, across from the main entrance, you will find the first of the museum’s two auto exhibits. Known as the Motor City Exhibit, this permanent but perpetually updated collection features the first car ever driven in Detroit, a Tin Lizzie that you can sit in or crank, and a bit of history about Detroit’s long and sometimes tumultuous love affair with the auto industry. In the words of the museum’s website, the display seeks to educate visitors on "how cars built metro Detroit and how metro Detroit built cars." When you’re done checking out what the first floor has to offer, you can head upstairs to the second floor and what many gear heads will love best about the museum, an auto assembly line replica where you can see cars being put together.

Sloan Museum

Location: Flint Cultural Center Campus, 1221 E. Kearsley Street, Flint 48503

Phone: (810) 237-3450

Size: Multi-site

Admission: $3-$6, Children under 2 are free

Open: Daily (Buick Gallery closed on Sundays)

What else to see while you’re there: The Detroit Historical Museum has too many features to list, but many locals will tell you that their favorite part of any visit is the Streets of Detroit exhibit in the museum’s basement. Travelling down a flight of stairs will take you back in time. You’ll get a sense of what Detroit looked like at different points over the course of the city’s over 300 year history.

For many people who’ve never been to Detroit, and even for some who have, their only familiarity with the city of Flint comes from Michael Moore’s 1989 movie Roger & Me. The Sloan Museum is named for Alfred P. Sloan, who was President and Chairman of General Motors long before Roger Smith came on the scene.

Flint, located about an hour north of Detroit, is tied to the city in literal terms by I-75, but also by the auto industry. If you’re in the area, and you love cars and car history, travelling up to Flint to visit the Sloan Museum is definitely worth the trek. Like the Detroit Historical Museum, the Sloan Museum features far more than cars, but the car exhibits are simply not to be missed.

The museum features a number of permanent exhibits, like the Flint and the American Dream gallery which showcases Flint as the birthplace of General Motors. But where this place really shines is in its rotating selection of special features, like the recent sixteen week Arts, Cars, and Stars exhibit, which featured a fun mix of history, hands on interactivity, and some really fascinating cars, like the Buick Bug.

Photo courtesy of Douglas Wilkinson

The Sloan Museum is also home to the Buick Gallery and Research Center, where you can see more than 25 locally manufactured classics and concept cars, including a ‘51 XP-300, a ‘54 Wildcat II, a ‘56 Centurion, a ’63 Silver Arrow, and a ’77 Phantom.

Beyond the main museum and the Buick Gallery collections, The Sloan Museum is a sort of epicenter for car enthusiast happenings in the area, so if you’re planning on visiting, check the museum’s website for special events. For example, the Sloan Museum’s annual Auto Fair, which happens every summer, has been referred to by local press as "a car fanatic’s paradise." Last year’s theme was "Muscles, Speed, and Performance." The event drew over 600 cars. This year will mark the fair’s 38th year.

What else to see while you’re there: When you’re visiting, you’ll probably want to plan enough time to see the rest of the museum, and not just the car exhibits. This place has something for everyone, but is especially loved by kids. There are science exhibits and a planetarium with laser shows and a ‘50s style diner.

Photo courtesy of the Detroit Historical Society

By Maria M.

Maria is a freelance writer.