Guests to Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation will recognize this prominent artifact: our Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Passenger Coach Replica. But did you know that this railcar has a special connection to our 90th anniversary? Learn more from our Curator of Transportation Matt Anderson.

Th...

The Henry Ford pays tribute to racing legend Dan Gurney with the Edison-Ford Medal for his ingenuity and lifetime of innovative achievements. In addition to a number of memorable wins in a variety of racing categories, Gurney established himself not only as one of racing’s most successful drivers...

The 1965 Lotus-Ford is one of the seminal cars in American racing history. In 1965 Scotsman Jim Clark drove this car to victory in the Indianapolis 500. A few years earlier, legendary road racer Dan Gurney concluded that the proper application of European Formula One technology could capture the ...

In 1965 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, brothers Bill and Bob Summers set a new land speed record for a wheel-driven automobile – 409.277 miles per hour – with Goldenrod, a bullet of a car powered by four Chrysler Hemi V-8 engines producing 600 horsepower each. Goldenrod simultaneously represented ...

Driver Salt Walther suffered serious injuries in a crash at the 1973 Indianapolis 500. He recovered and returned to race the next year.

The remains of Walther's McLaren race car are a reminder of the importance of safety in racing. Walther's survival can be partly attributed to past safety inno...

Our conservation team is hard at work with our Budd XR-400 Concept Car.

The Budd XR-400 Concept Car has been in artifact storage for 10 years, and conservator Cuong Nguyen shows us what it takes to get it back in running condition and other necessary conservation maintenance practices.

The Budd...

It's an old auto industry cliche -- "you can't sell a young man an old man's car, but you can sell an old man a young man's car." It's also true. The sporty Mustang was a young man's -- and woman's -- car. The under-30 crowd loved it. But older people also bought them, often as a second car. The ...

Few auto racing efforts were as ambitious as Ford’s quest to beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most important sports car race, in the 1960s. Ford’s dedication paid off, first in 1966 when GT40s finished 1-2-3 at the French endurance race, and then again in 1967 with an all-Amer...

Ford supplied the pace car in 1953 – a special Sunliner convertible. Ride along in it with us in this video. Join curator Matt Anderson for this fun ride into history!

A step-by-step video on how to fire up a coal-burning steam locomotive. Railroad Mechanic Jacob Malbouef takes you inside the cab of the 1897 Baldwin for an up-close look at what it takes to make a trip around the Weiser Railroad.

This locomotive pulled passenger trains on the Detroit & Lima Nor...

Ford Motor Company introduced its Model TT - essentially a Model T with a heftier frame and drivetrain - in 1917. For built only three trucks the first year, but more than 40,000 TTs left the factor the following year. Join Curator of Transportation Matt Anderson from The Henry Ford to explore th...

Cars and food have always gone hand in hand, but instead of just eating on the road, what if you cooked there, too? Culinary-inclined drivers of the past concocted ways to cook using heat from an automobile’s engine. Our very own Curator of Transportation Matt Anderson and Chef Eric Schilbe test ...

Hudson Motor Car Company began dominating the burgeoning stock-car racing circuit in 1951 upon the release of the Hornet model. Though Hudson didn’t originally intend for the sporty Hornet to go racing, thanks to a bulletproof, 145-horsepower Twin H-Power engine, class-leading handling from the “...

The 1966 Ford-Ferrari battle at Le Mans can be seen on the big screen. Mose Nowland was there, building engines for GT40s, in 1966 – and again in 1967 when Ford won a repeat victory. Today he’s a dedicated volunteer in our Conservation Department. In this video, he shares his memories of one of r...

Esau and Janie Jenkins dedicated themselves to improving the lives of Black residents on Johns Island, South Carolina. Esau Jenkins purchased this Volkswagen van around 1967, and the couple used it in much of their work. The van's rugged character is a tribute to the selfless service of Esau and ...

Trekking through the battlefront’s rough terrain and even sustaining a bullet hole traced to the Second Battle of the Marne, the service record of the 1918 Cadillac Type 57 is a testament to Cadillac's lasting legacy and involvement in U.S. military wartime efforts. Learn about the history of thi...

The Stutz Bearcat, introduced in 1912, was perhaps America's first true sports car. Stutz individually tested each Bearcat at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and many were raced with great success. Stutz dropped the model in 1924 only to bring it back in 1931, hoping the beloved name might improve s...