With six automobile donations, three new exhibits, new programs, increased fundraising and a nearly completed plaza, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum offers a new experience to visitors in 2016!

The museum received six automobile donations in 2015 which include a 1931 Auburn 8-98 Sedan, 1935 Auburn 851 Speedster, 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton, 1931 Duesenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton, 1934 Duesenberg Model J Beverly Sedan and a 1932 Studebaker President.

“By helping to fill some gaps in our collection, these automobiles greatly benefit the history presented at the museum”, said Sam Grate, registrar of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum, “We are now able to educate visitors about additional body styles and coachbuilders that were previously absent from our collection.”

In addition to the donations, the museum opened three new exhibits.

The museum’s Raisbeck Engineering Hall of Technology was renovated and includes new interactive elements and a more in-depth look at the innovators with their innovations and mechanical aspects of automobiles and engines.

In celebrating Indiana’s automotive heritage, the exhibit titled Hoosier Made: World Driven opened in November. As an Indiana Bicentennial officially endorsed legacy project, the exhibit focuses on Indiana cars of the Classic Era of the 1930s. The exhibit is in collaboration with the Studebaker National Museum, which focuses on the pre-1915 brass era and the Kokomo Automotive Heritage Museum, which focuses on the Jazz Era of the 1920s.

The third exhibit is entitled Women Workers of the Auburn Automobile Company. This exhibit, created by Ethan Bowers, the museum’s Digitization and Access Manager, is a traveling exhibit exploring the roles of women in the Auburn Automobile Company and their influence on societal change in a small rural town. As the officially endorsed Indiana Bicentennial legacy project in the Northeast Indiana region, this traveling exhibit is making several stops in the Northeast Indiana region through 2016.

The museum began work this year on a massive archival digitization project. The aim of the project over the coming years is to catalogue the museum’s archival collection, about 70,000 pieces and counting. About two-thirds of the archival collection will be scanned and digitized and used as a public platform for greater accessibility to the collection. Over 8,000 pieces have been digitized since starting this summer.

With all of the exciting additions to the collection and new exhibits, improvements to the Museum’s campus are noticeable to anyone driving by on a daily basis. The Education and Exhibit plaza is near completion and is a space for car clubs to gather, a resting spot for travelers along the Indiana Upstate trail system, and a 24-hour art exhibit featuring life-size bronze sculptures depicting the likenesses and stories of the executives of the Auburn Automobile Company.

“Stop by the Museum today to see the new automobiles in the collection and view the new exhibits,” said Kendra Klink, chief operating officer of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum. “New and wonderful things are happening at the Museum in 2016. It is a great time for community members to visit and support this great National Historic Landmark as it grows and achieves even more successes in the future.”

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum – where the world’s finest cars of yesterday live today! Over 120 classic, antique, vintage and special interest cars are displayed with other automotive related exhibits on three floors. The museum is located in the original 1930s international headquarters of the legendary Auburn Automobile Company and is a National Historic Landmark. The museum is open from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Last admission one hour before closing. Visit the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum, a place where automotive history comes to life! Shop the Museum Store Online today! automobilemuseum.org