With the hot and humid Texas weather making me long for cold days with snow, there is no better time to reminisce on a little winter field trip I took 4 months ago. To clarify, the purpose of my March trip was not to fly to the “biggest little city in the world” and do sight-seeing, but to ski the glorious mountains around Lake Tahoe, and glorious they were with record breaking snow falls this past season! For the geographically unaware, Lake Tahoe is split across the California-Nevada state line, therefore flying into Reno is the easiest way to get to the Lake Tahoe area – a mere 45 min drive! After three days of fantastic skiing, it was time to head home, but my flight wasn’t until late afternoon in Reno… slot machines not being my scene… I was scratching my head asking myself how does one kill some time in Reno? Some quick Googling – “things to do in Reno” – turned up the National Automobile Museum (NAM) as the top attraction on Trip Advisor. Needless to say, I was sold at “automobile museum.”
First things first, you may have noticed this museum is marked as the “Harrah collection.” – Let me interrupt your scrunched face and wondering – yes, it’s that Harrah, famous founder of Harrah’s Hotels and Casinos. Who knew he was an avid car collector?! – “Few material things have been as important to America as the automobile. The manufacture of the automobile was the root of our industrial growth… We are all tied to the automobile by history, by business, by emotion. The automobile deserved to be preserved and remembered.” – Bill Harrah, 1911-1978
According to the museum history, Bill amassed a collection of around 1400 cars of which “only one was built or only one remained in existence, the first and last of a series, and cars that had notable engineering features, history, or owners.” All the cars were stored in warehouses in the city of Sparks, Nevada – a whole 4 miles from Reno if you were curious. Not having days of time to spend in the museum, viewing 1400 cars would have been a daunting task, but the NAM actually only has over 200 cars on display.
What happened to the 1200 or so other cars in the collection? – Sadly, with the passing of Bill Harrah in 1978, Holiday Inn acquired the Harrah hotel-casino company and with it, Bill Harrah’s entire automobile collection. A mere three years later in 1981, presumably since Holiday Inn is not known for curating cars… the company decided to sell the collection! This decision was not met with public approval, but outrage, and repeated efforts to save the collection were for naught, until a non-profit group formed which eventually built the NAM in 1989. As a result, the Holiday Inn donated a portion of the collection to the museum… a whopping 175 cars… the rest were sold to auction. Another 60 cars were donated to the NAM by private collectors. Roughly 1400 down to ~200… still quite the collection including cars built as far back as the 1890s. Marques ranged from the obscure (Mercer, KRIT) to the known (Fiat, Ford, Porsche, Renault). Let’s take a moment now to highlight some of the more “unique” finds.
1902 Capitol
A chariot steamer developed by Frank Goodwin and produced by the Capitol Auto Company in Washington, DC. “Powered by a two-cylinder engine, it generated six horsepower through a chain drive to the rear axle. The boiler, located under the small front seat, developed 160 pounds per square inch and was supplied from a 34 gallon water tank.” #zeroemissions
1914 Detroit Electric by Anderson Electric Car Company
Fun fact: 13,000 of these cars were made between 1907 and 1939. They had huge appeal among women and doctors who didn’t want the hassle and difficulty of hand cranking an engine to start the car, these electric cars were “instant” on. The Detroit Electric’s 68 batteries only had a 50-85 mile range per charge with a speed of about 20 mph. #noludicrousmode
1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
I’m not sure “silver” was the correct element off the periodic table to select as this car’s namesake being that it is pretty much entirely made of copper. “This Rolls-Royce, with a body from Brockman Coachbuilders, was assembled using full sheets of solid copper 0.065 thick in order to avoid welded seams and rivets on the body and fenders. Its 454 cubic inch, six cylinder engine moves the car along at modern speeds with the same smooth, silent performance of years gone by.” #copperallthethings.
1931 Lewis Airomobile by Lewis American Airways, Inc.
Fun facts: “the prototype was driven more than 45,000 miles throughout the United States in a promotional effort to raise production capital. While the Airomobile proved itself a technical success by performing creditably at speeds of up to 80 mph and averaging 43.6 mph of fuel, it failed to attract financial backing.” This prototype was the only Airomobile built. #flightlessbird
1977 Jerrari
A 4WD Wagoneer with a 4.4L V12 engine and 5 speed manual transmission swap from a Ferrari 365 GT. Fun fact: this was the second Jerrari built. The first was a 1969 Jerrari that was a complete mishmash of a Wagoneer and 365 GT. Not only was the engine and trans swapped into the Wagoneer, but an entire 365 GT front end was mated to the Wagoneer chassis. Why were these cars even built? Well, when Enzo Ferrari refused to build a 4WD Ferrari by request from Bill Harrah, Bill commissioned the ultimate “project car” to be built (boy was he ahead of his time! Ferrari would finally build its 4WD vehicle around 40 years later, the Ferrari FF). You can do anything with a little money… #butshouldyou
And here are some additional “honorable mentions” and favorites …
I’m glad I made the pitstop to the NAM. It showcases a very unique collection of vehicles while offering an interesting glimpse into the evolution of the automobile. Viewer be warned though – the majority of cars on display are pre-1950s. Don’t let this deter you. If you are into the historics and find yourself in the Reno area, this is definitely a must-see museum, but even if you are just a general car enthusiast its still worth a visit. For these any many more photos of cars on display at the NAM, checkout The GTM Photo Vault.
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