A very impressive collection. The era-specific exhibits were really detailed and not just automotive. Excited to go back when the next set of exhibits rotates in!

Small but packed with awesome cars and motorcycles from movies as well

The automotive isn’t the best that I have ever been to, but it is actually a pretty good museum.They have a really nice selection of classic and rare automobiles, and they do have a good amount of motorcycles. Most of these pieces are standard at the museum and don’t change. They are always there when we visit.This season they are featuring low riders and they have an impressive collection of exquisitely painted and detailed low riders. Most of them are Chevy Impalas, which are a staple of the low rider crowd. There was also a Lincoln Continental and an old school Buick Riviera.All in all it’s a pretty good Car museum for the $12 admission fee. I recommend going at least once.

San Diego Automotive Museum is situated in Balboa Park next to the Air and Space Museum. Having attended several other attractions in the park, I was first struck by the small relative size of the place. Dont get me wrong, the machines are amazing. I appreciated the historical way in which the Museum is laid out. I just thought it would be larger, considering the subject. They change exhibitions every 3 months or so, and unfortunately I caught the last few Muscle Cars as they drove away. Regardless, the exhibition was interesting and worthy of both time and pics. I cant wait for the next exhibit rotation in a few weeks! Certainly a must-see on your trip through Balboa.

Great selection of vehicles. Some iconic tv and film vehicles and other significant models and customisation. Friendly and informative staff. Can get up and close to see the vehicles.

Pretty cool place to see a lot of awesome cars ! We learned that the display changes so maybe double check what the current display is before you go just to make sure its something you want to see. Its not a huge museum but they had it full and the employees were all really helpful with information and offering to take pictures of us with cars if we wanted. For any car buff its worth the visit.

Definitely worth a stop if you are seeing some of the other museums in the area and want to kill some time. This is not a huge museum but they do have a great collection of cars to see and they rotate most of the cars out every 4 months, so you might end up seeing something new and unique the next time you stop by. There are cars, motorcycles, and few old vintage cars. The museum has a collection that closely resembles some of the automotives that are shown on the History channel show American Pickers. If youre into older automotives then this is definitely a good place to check out.

Small, but awesome. We super enjoyed our time here looking at these beautiful cars. Nice selection and some really interesting ones too.

Fantastic place to go and learn a great deal about American and European automotive history. I have to say though, the Automotive Museum has a great collection of motorcycle and associated history. My favorite part of the museum were the bikes!!! A lot of great cars but an even better selection of bikes to learn about the history of motorcycle development. I highly recommend this museum to anyone that is going up to Balboa Park!

As a car fanatic it is amazing. They give you information and quality cars. They make sure that the cars that are being borrowed are not touched or harmed. I cant wait to go their again when they rotate in new cars!

Honestly a letdown. I thought this would be a great museum and all but I have seen so many of the cars that were there and even have one more valuable then some of them. Also, the Plank Road display has so little information that I have read websites that had more info so it made that one pointless. The cars were in nice condition though.

This museum was worth the money! Look for the 2 for 1 admission coupon on the counter of the International Gift Shop - just $12 for 2 people. They had the Low-Rider event going on with amazing detail of cars and art. The displays were very informative and choice of cars were superb. The gentleman who was there was so interesting with details & stories. This is a smaller museum but packed with good displays!

Great prices, cool cars. We only spent a couple hours here but I love cars and it was cool seeing all these older cars with all the history attatched to them. They had lots of lowriders when I went which Ill be honest is definitely not my thing but I appreciate all automotive craftsmanship. I kind of wish they had a bigger gift shop but I got a couple cool metal signs while I was here. Great motorcycle section of the museum also, I learned a lot about lots of different cars I didnt even know existed and I learned more about cars that I did know about. Would love to come back here.

The museum has some very nice cars and motorcycles with some auto history you may not have been aware of before.

Cool place to clean out the car until the sprinklers come on as you have everything outside and you have to scramble to gather it all up real quick like...

This place is great! The cars and motorcycles are just awesome! We went when it opened at 10 and hardly anyone else was there. We were able to take our time and enjoy everything.

Wow, there are some really cool cars to see here! Unfortunately only half the museum was open the day we went and they were also taking more cars out while we were walking around. So many motorcycles to see also. Was a lot of fun to see such a great mixture of old and new cars plus lots of fun facts that Id never heard before.

Quick Facts:Size: SmallPrice: $12Est. Time in Museum: 45min - 1 hr.Recommended for: Car enthusiasts, Adults, TeenagersBest Feature(s): Delorean car from Back to the Future.Disclaimer: This review is geared more towards people who DO NOT have a strong interest in cars (e.g. the average person).All of the cars in this museum are organized in one open showroom rather than areas that are partioned in sections like most other museums (note: there is no air conditioning here so avoid going on a really hot day). There are about 40 cars on the floor, with a range of cars dating from the 1900s and 1910s up to the 1990s and 2000s. Most cars here could be classified as either sports, luxury, or muscle cars- although there are a few oddities (the Delorean car from Back to the Future is here). Most are American brands but about 1/3 are European cars. Not alot of Japanese cars (with the exception of the motorcycles).In the rear of the museum is the motorcycle section with about 35 bikes. Bikes date from the 1910s up to the 1980s, with bikes from a variety of American, British, and Japanese motorcycle companies. However, I did notice that most of them were not restored or cleaned up as well as the cars, so some were definitely showing some wear and tear.There is a small section near the front where kids can hop inside a toy indy car and motorcycle.All of the cars and motorcycles have a plaque with 3-4 paragraphs of information explaining the development and significance of the vehicle.For someone who is not really into cars, it is hard for me to recommend this museum to most people. There are about 4 or 5 other museums in Balboa Park I would recommend ahead of this one, especially if you have limited time. (The Air and Space museum next door is a better choice). There is nothing really bad per se about this place, but I dont think youd be missing much by not going. There are some rare cars here that Ive never seen in person, but about 1/4 of the cars are ones that Ive occasionally seen on the road and/or cars you might find at local vintage car clubs.

Pleasant experience! Its just the right size! The price was well worth it! The vehicles change several times a year with a fresh batch of cars! We look forward to going back again.

Not as good for the price when considering other museums in California as well as the Barber Vintage Museum in Alabama. Small assortment of vehicles and very difficult to find parking since its shared with the air museum and yhe Prada. It took us over 30 minutes to park and if you have a disabled family member you wont even find an available disabled parking space.

This museum is an interesting stop when in the park. As others have mentioned, it is small probably 20 cars and the same number again of motorbikes. Depending on how much you want to read about the cars it would probably take between half an hr to an hr to get through this. It is a nice mix of cars from classic exotica to american muscle and some one off with a bit of history to them.

Good history of cars, motorcycles, other stuff to bring memories back.

Modest sized museum with a nice selection /variety of themes and marquees. A nice half day visit, currently emphasizing rat rods.

I love the museum. The current selection of cars was a bit questionable being all lowriders. But its still a good place to check it out. Volunteers are very helpful. Some very good pieces to check out.

What a unique and fun experience. I have been here several times and always enjoy walking around to see all of the cool cars and motorcycles they have on display. Some of the display stays the same month to month but they also bring in different themes for variety. Such as movie star cars was really a fun display to see!

Some historical vehicles and good information in them. Not a real large place but quality vehicles including motorcycles and cars. It seems they have different themes at times. The ficus when we where there was the Socal lowrider culture.Its right in Balboa Park.

Nice little museum. Some pretty nice cars. Not much to do for the kids. We’ve spent half an hour in the museum (12 dollar for adults, 6 for a kid)

Small eclectic assembly of cars, many motorcycles. We went on the free Tues. Guess what? Its not ENTIRELY free! They have a special section with an exhibit for $2.00. Now I know $2 is not much.But if they say its free, it should be FREE.The reason for 4 stars. The cars on show are wonderful.The International harvester is the quintessential Horseless carriage. The Reo is early sophistication. The Cord is Glamorous and the Cadillac is substantial even back then.Nice way to spend the morning.

So many awesome cars motorcycles fast cars great day

Quiet low stress place to visit during COVID-19. Good visual exhibits and information.

A car and motorcycle fans dream. They recently had a low rider exhibit that I really enjoyed. The mainstays are great, historical and interesting. Love the three eyed Tucker and the old Indian and Harley bikes.

The exhibit space is limited but there are a few gems. The museum really needs a major update. The front desk should list available discounts. I should gave asked about Triple A.

Great museum with plenty of interesting cars and good explanations on the history and specifications of each make and model.

The DeLorean DMC-12... No words...

It was really cool to see these collectibles! I enjoyed my visit here and recommend it if you stop by San Diego, they offer military discount.

Great museum. Not the highest number of cars on display but really nice quality . A super library for anyone researching a project. Staff were friendly and helpful even offered to photocopy any information I was interested in. Would definitely recommend a return trip. My wife even liked it.

Very small, not worth the $8 unless maybe you are a car/motorcycle nut. The air/ space museum is way better and bigger.

Honestly a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be. We visited during the Japanese Steel exhibit, so I saw some really neat JDM cars. The most crazy part was seeing a 2000 GT in person. Such a rare and valuable car and I got to stand 3 feet away from it. They also had a Countach on display!! Very cool to see a classic Lambo up close. Pretty good selection of old motorcycles too if youre a bike lover. Unfortunately, we did finish looking at everything in about 20ish minutes due to how small the museum is. Overall its still worth seeing if youre in the area, but dont plan on making a day of it, as there is really not a lot to see.

Loved the cars!!! Walk through the exhibition and guess which cars are worth more than US$1mil - hint: there are 4 of them.

A must visit for vinatge car enthusiasts

One of the coolest museums I have been to. Amazing cars and history behind all of them.

Great museum to visit, we had dinner there with private event organized by the Lamborghini club.

A nice place to see many old cars in good condition.

Nice display of cars, and motorcycles.

Always a great experience. Such amazing cars on display and the staff is welcoming and knowledgeable. I love visiting this museum!

Motorcycles, cars, cars from movies! Great collection! Must see!

Smaller then expected however much better then I could have dreamed.

Great exhibition lots of vehicles to see great time with Family

I was expecting to see a vehicle in particular, it wasnt there. All the vehicles are beautiful and very old which is nice to see. Nice to go there.

Parts of the museum were free on Tuesday so my friend and I went down to see the advertised cars. When we approached the advertised section of cars they wanted $2.00. The small amount of money was not a problem but advertising deceptively was a problem. I call it lying. Next time you advertise be honest. Just charge $5.00 for adults to see everything. That would be a deal.

So much history to see. I am amazed by the pieces from the apollo missions. Hard to believe they could pack so much in one building.

Great place to visit to see great automobiles and motorcycles

Wonderful displays of cars and motorcycles.

It is an interesting but smaller place to visit. Many highly customized 50s era show pieces. Some original old automobiles and motorcycles. Once you have visited the LeMay museum in Tacoma, WA, few car museums compare. The LeMay is awesome and many times the size.

Small, cute museum with lots of classic cars and motorcycles.

What a great museum. Dont miss the Louie Mattar Cadillac which drove from Anchorage to Mexico City!

Pretty small, could probably get round it in less than 30mins but some decent cars and bikes in the collection. Very reasonably priced too.

Great experience. Beautiful antique cars and motorcycles. Great graphics on the walls of each exhibit add to the ambiance. Very informative too. Nice gift shop with unique gifts for car buffs. Bought a beautiful coffee table book on vintage airstream trailers. Great gift!

Get to the museum at 10am opening and get to take all the nice photos! Currently, the museum is having a Wagon theme. Youre in for a treat! Be sure to pick up a Balboa Park map after you enter! Bring the whole family over!

MY FATHER STARTED IT ALL BACK IN THE BEGGINING WHEN HE MOVED THE CLOGGERS OUT AND THE CARS IN. I ORGANIZED THE BIKES AND SPENT OVER 20 YEARS IN AND OUT OF HER.

Unique vehicles & motorcycles, many are on loan from local families.

Friendly staff. A small but interesting/cute place. You can spend up to an hour there. At gate, admission for adults is $10 but if you check Groupon, it’s $8 for two.

Cool exhibition, kind of small but really beautiful cars and motorcycle selection

Great museum with a lot of interesting motorcycles plus cars and a steampunk exhibit going on for another few weeks!

Great collection of automobiles, and motorcycles. Lots of information relating to the cars, also had staff around if you had any questions.

Really cool little museum with some awesome cars. When we went they were having a sale steampunk exhibit, really neat! Its just a small walk-around museum with a very small gift shop area. I only didnt give it 5 stars because it was really hot in there. Otherwise, it was a great little place to explore. Admission was cheap too, two adults for $20. Not bad in my opinion.

I got to see some great cars. My favourite was seeing Louie Matters fabulous $75k car

Nice collection of interesting cars. Worth the stop for any car enthusiast.

Excellent guides and very interesting cars!

It was alright not as much as I would have liked. Louie Mattars Fabulous $75,000 Cadillac, was pretty cool. Never heard the story before.

Auto Museum was good fun. I was a bit disappointed that about a quarter of the exhibit was filled with Steam Punk auto creations.Mildly interesting. Just not my thing.Still worth the admission price.

Very very much the best Museum ever

Some very nice cars and historical vehicles. A lot more motorcycles than I expected. Well worth the visit just to see Louie Matters Fabulous Car.

Nice auto collection.

A smaller car-motorcycle museum, but has quality displays and good restorations. Well worth the visit!

Relatively small but full of interesting exhibits of all ages, and from around the world not just the US. We were personally shown the best bits by a local, very enthusiastic, retired ex US Navy volunteer. Reasonably priced, and highly recommended.

Good selections. Not the best Ive been in, but not bad!

Small yet interesting collection of antique cars with great history associated with them.

Fun place for old car and motorcycle enthusiasts!

Not a huge museum but a fabulous collection none the less. Many unusual and one-of-a-kind items in the collection. Probably the most notable is the $75,000 car that was capable of changing tires while in motion. If you dont believe it theres a video that shows you exactly how this worked. Many other automobiles from all eras, all shiny and beautiful.

Pretty small but has some very cool cars and bikes. Depending on what catches your interest you can see it in 30 mins or an hour. But the price to get in isnt bad at all.

The only thing that I didn’t get ! Why you say that you are open if you are not IMAO !Is it hard to change or what ? We came over there... but it’s been close ! That’s weird !

Love the very unique cars, excellent environment specially if are a car enthusiast, theres a alot history with each car. The staff members are very knowledgeable and passionate highly recommended to take the tour

A must visit museum if you are interested in the history of automobiles and motorcycles. The museum is easy to access from Balboa park. The Delorean from Back to the Future movies and the car that travelled non stop from South America to North are my picks among the exhibits here. In case you are flying in to San Diego pick up the coupon at the airport that will give you two tickets for the price of one.

Cool Lowriders to look at plus well air conditioned & theres a kids area to color & take pic inside a race car

Great place. If you like vintage cars this is a must.

Great place to visit!

Great way to spend some time if you are strolling through Balboa park. The vehicles on display Very well organized. They also have different displays that you can interact with but most cars are off limits to touch. (of course) if you have any interest in cars or even turn your head at a nice car you while driving give this museum a try. There is some serious eye candy to droll over.

If you are into hot rods and old collection of cars and motorcycles, the. You don’t want to miss this place.

So cool! Great museum to spend an hour or two.

Small collection but good. I enjoyed the temporary low rider exhibit.

A great place to discover the journey of cars in US. You can find lot of vintage car ; concept cars ; motor bikes starting from the ages of 1900 . There are three models of orginal Indian Chief motor bikes ; early harley Davidsons. Then there are is section on historical San Deigo to Arizona wooden highways and the cars driven over there.Overall its a good for knowledge; but ticket price is little too high for such a small place.

An interesting place if you like to see classic automobiles and motorcycles.

It was ok, kinda run down and dirty. Needs a make over and more cars.

Auto museum in 1920s building built for the worlds fair. Exhibits change on occasion so museum will give you discount for only being partially open. Very nice vintage motorcycle displays with history of there evolution

Very distinct attractions of automobiles.

A small but very interesting collection. My father would have loved it. High praise indeed.

Kind of small but that would be good for younger kids......If only they allowed strollers......

Nice collection but could use an update. Nice space, great staff, clean facility. $9 admission is a bit steep for what is available to see.

Great way to see nice cars