View source for California Automobile Museum

{{Unreferenced|date=July 2011}}
'''California Automobile Museum''', formerly the '''Towe Auto Museum''', is an [[automobile]] [[museum]] located in [[Sacramento, California]]. It has a collection of over 160 [[classic car]]s, [[Auto racing|race car]]s, [[muscle car]]s, [[hot rod]]s and [[History of the automobile|early models]] displayed throughout {{convert|72000|sqft|m2}} of museum space.  The mission of the California Automobile Museum is to preserve, exhibit, and teach the story of the automobile and its influence on our lives. 

The Museum is conveniently located 10 minutes walking distance (south) of Old Sacramento in a large building. 

The '''California Automobile Museum''' was the first automobile museum in the west to be established in perpetuity.  Founded in 1983 as the California Vehicle Foundation, the museum opened to the public in 1987 as the Towe Ford Museum, proudly displaying the largest collection of Fords in the world, courtesy of Edward Towe, a Montana banker.  In 1997, the museum was renamed the Towe Auto Museum, as they began displaying vehicles of all makes and models.  In 2009, the Board of Directors officially changed the name of the museum to the '''California Automobile Museum,''' reflecting the expanded mission it has grown into over the last 25 years.

Most of the vehicles currently on display are on loan from private exhibitors.  Only approximately 25% of the vehicles are owned by the California Vehicle Foundation. Some of the cars are on loan for a month and some for five years, so the display is a constantly changing exhibit of rolling stock to better tell the story of the development of the automobile and its effect on our lives.

One of the latest additions is the Linda Ronstadt Porsche 911SC which is also on loan. It has been parked alongside Jerry Brown's blue Plymouth Satellite. Both cars are from the same era when Jerry Brown was first governor of California and Linda was his girlfriend.


==External links==
*[http://www.calautomuseum.org/ Official website]

{{coord missing|Sacramento County, California}}

{{automobile museums}}

[[Category:Automobile museums in California]]
[[Category:Museums in Sacramento, California]]

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