The National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV contains over 200 classic cars. Most are from the collection of deceased casino founder William H. Harrah, who amassed what was then the world’s largest collection of historic cars with about 1,450 automobiles. One of the museum highlights is a 1907 Thomas Flyer, winner of the 1908 New York to Paris automobile race. The vehicle traveled 22,000 miles over land and sea west from New York to Paris, claiming victory in 169 days.

During a two-night stop in Reno, we spent an enjoyable afternoon exploring the museum. The collection is quite impressive, and includes some quite rare and unusual vehicles.

Below are highlights from June 28th, 2021. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

National Automobile Museum Position: 39°31.57’N, -119°48.55’W The 1890s to 1910s gallery at the National Automobile Museum. In the foreground is an 1897 Leon Bollee Voiturette, with a single-cylinder gasoline engine that displaced 49.8 cu in (16.38 mL).

Drag Racer Position: 39°31.53’N, -119°48.48’W Most of the National Automobile Museum’s collection is from the 1950s and earlier, but it does have a gallery of unique cars from the 1950s onward. Don “Big Daddy” Garlit won 1974 the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) championship in this Wynn’s Charger which has a top speed of 247.72 mph (397 kph) and a standing-start quarter mile time of 5.87 seconds.

Flying Caduceus Position: 39°31.53’N, -119°48.48’W The Flying Caduceus, built in 1960, was the world’s first jet propulsion land speed car. At the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1963, it reached a speed of 359.7 mph (578.9 kph), not enough however to beat the standing record of 407.45 mph (655.73 kph).

Sun 900 Position: 39°31.56’N, -119°48.53’W James trained on the Sun 900 scope motor tester in the late 1970s, back when he was an auto mechanic.

Silver Ghost Position: 39°31.56’N, -119°48.53’W The coachwork for this 1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost at the National Automobile Museum in Reno was built using full sheets of solid copper. The price tag was $16,000, about $250,000 in today’s dollars.

Thomas Flyer Position: 39°31.54’N, -119°48.55’W One of the highlights of the National Automobile Museum collection is this 1907 Thomas Flyer, winner of the 1908 New York to Paris automobile race. The vehicle traveled 22,000 miles over land and sea west from New York to Paris, claiming victory in 169 days.

Evening Sun Position: 39°32.01’N, -119°43.43’W The evening sun lighting up the mountains, viewed from our hotel room in Reno, NV.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.