Western Montana

Located next door to the Old Montana Prison is the auto museum. My friend and I stepped in to a large winding display of cars, which had around 150 cars on display. I had been to the Henry Ford Museum a few years ago so I knew what the “momma” of all car museums was like but I found that the Montana Auto Museum was filled with many gems. The Montana Auto Museum is also nice since it saves you from the long trip to Detroit!

The display had many cars to worship that it was hard to choose just which one was my favorite. A few highlights of the exhibit were a 1928 Reo Speedwagon, a classic Ford Thunderbird with a port-hole top, always a favorite of mine, a 1966 GTO, and the 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 fastback, you may remember this one as it had a staring role as Eleanor in the Gone in 60 Seconds movie remake a few years ago. The car even had the stick shift with the nitrous button “go baby go” included on it.

As we walked around we found some of the cars were for sale, most of them around $35,000, which made me wish I had some extra money to take home a true souvenir. I kept my wallet in my pocket however and continued around the museum where I found many interesting things such as wooden spoked wheels, a military dune buggy and the most intriguing, a 1974 Citi Car. The Citi Car is an electric car that was built in Florida. The car had a listing price of $2,988 and this was one of 608 made. It was a rare find and also perhaps ahead of it’s time as hybrid cars are now quickly catching on. According to the sign provided next to the car, it could range up to 50 miles between battery charges, which could be recharged between 400 to 600 times.

The auto museum was a great addition to our trip and can satisfy anyone from a gear head to a common admirer. The museum does have a revolving exhibit so if you are interested in seeing a specific car they recommend to call ahead at (406) 846-3111 to make sure that it is there. A complete list of the cars on display can be found at http://www.pcmaf.org/wordpress/auto-museum-vehicle-list/ .

If you would like to see the Montana Auto Museum they are located next to the Old Montana Prison at 1106 main street. Free admission is granted with your purchase of the Old Montana Prison ticket for $9. The museum is open 7 days a week from 8am to 6pm.