Roush Automotive Collection — Attraction in Livonia

My almost 16 year old son and my 76 year old dad both thought this place was fantastic. While visiting my folks in Detroit, we were looking for something to do, and my son asked if there were any car collections we could see. A Google search turned up several options, but this one was the only one closer than an hour that was open to the public. We weren't expecting a whole lot, but for a ten minute drive and free admission, we figured we could check it out. It was phenomenal! A really interesting assortment of cars, from really old (an all-electric car from before 1910) to really new (a brand new Ford GT they only got 3 weeks ago), from actual NASCAR race cars to family sedans. It's basically just two HUGE rooms full of cars that you can walk all around - we saw a couple of security people at points, but I think only the brand new GT was roped off (at about a foot from the car). You're really on your own and you can do just about anything except actually touch the cars. A few of the cars have very interesting signage that explain the history and the significant of the car, and I think I probably read every one. We probably spent about 2 hours there, and came home with dozens of pictures. An employee even stopped and answered our questions for about 15 minutes. And they have a really cool store full of Roush stuff, and the person staffing the store was just about the nicest and most helpful person I have ever met. Definitely an excellent way to spend...

Second time I've been here.. as neat as the car were. It was the people I got to talk with that were the high light for me.. there was Bill that I met in there, and he was really a pleasure to talk to.. we were just chatting and some of the things he told me gave character to the cars. That was better than the cars. It gave the cars a soul rather than just metal. Susan's mechanic was in there working on a few things.. it was great to hear him talk about some of the work he'd done on some of the cars because it made the cars real. I'm a mechanic, and it made the cars easier to see for the craftsmanship he'd put into them. The lady at the register told me about a few of her days ..she...

It's a great place if you're a car geek, especially if you like Fords that go fast, but there's one problem visitors like me will experience

I use a rollator (wheeled walker) to help me keep my balance. There are so many cars in this undersized building that my walker was too wide to pass down most of the very narrow aisles between the cars. I didn't see much of the exhibit because I couldn't get access to it.

If you don't have this issue, you'll probably have a fine time here. But if you use a walker or a wheelchair, or if you're really large, there are things here you won't be able to get to. You can't put ten pounds of sugar in a...