“Normally, car shows are in the middle of a parking lot, but imagine being able to show off your car in the middle of SPAC and the Spa State Park,” Alan Edstrom, director of programs and events for the Saratoga Automobile Museum, said. “It’s a beautiful setting to have a picnic in the park and look at great cars.”

The auto show will showcase hundreds of automobiles and motorcycles competing for trophies in some two dozen classes. This year’s event will feature legendary “Cannonball Racer” Brock Yates as Grand Marshall and the prestigious Keeler Cups will be awarded to the best of each brand sold at Keeler’s multi-dealership Latham complex.

“A lot of people, especially those who are retired, finally get the car they always dreamed of and want to show it off,” Edstrom said. “Then we get the people who are very competitive and want to win awards.”

Keeler personnel will also be on hand to display the automotive world’s latest sensation in the Smart car. The car is a small vehicle that gets about 45 to 50 miles per gallon and has been a popular automobile in Europe for a number of years. Mercedes Benz manufactures the car and is now looking to market them in the United States. They have already become a big hit in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Miami where many people use them for their short commutes.

This year’s show will also bring in an array of car clubs, including a local Viper club which will drive more than 45 Vipers simultaneously into the state park. Select cars from various marques and clubs involved will also showcase their vehicles on the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s lawn, which will coincide with the museum’s summer-long lawn show series.

Aside from a multitude of unique cars there will also be face painting from “Faces of Ferdinand” and food will be available as the museum unveils its newest edition of the late Dottie Madison’s 1925 Model TT Popcorn Wagon. The popcorn wagon, which is one of only two like it ever built, was a staple in Cambridge since arriving there by rail from Chicago in 1925.

The museum, including a number of supporters, recently joined together to purchase the wagon, which also received bids from notorious auto collector Jay Leno. According to Edstrom, Leno had bid against the museum for the wagon on two separate occasions, but decided he didn’t want to be known as the rich guy from Los Angeles who took away a piece of area history. The museum has restored the wagon to running order and will serve fresh popcorn on the museum’s lawn during the auto show.

The cost to enter a car is $10. Funds raised from the annual auto show will go towards supporting the museum’s educational programs and exhibits, which take place at the museum throughout the year. According to Edstrom, the museum hopes to raise between $10,000 and $25,000 for educational programs and exhibits at the museum this year. Aside from various auto shows, the museum receives a majority of its funding through admissions, its gift shop, marketing partnerships and memberships.

“We get money to bring 5,000 students through the museum each year and we want to expand that to 10,000 for next year,” Edstrom said.

The Saratoga Automobile Museum, was created five years ago, and is housed in the totally-restored and renovated Saratoga Bottling Plant. The purpose of the museum is to educate students, the general public and enthusiasts of all ages about the role that automobiles and carriages played in the region’s social and economic development, and the important engineering and design accomplishments these vehicles represent.

The museum is chartered by the Board of Regents of the State of New York Department of Education and is a not-for-profit institution. It is also a member of the American Association of Museums and the National Association of Automobile Museums.

The building has three major gallery spaces and exhibitions, which are changed twice a year. 

The current gallery, which is on display through June 7, is the highly acclaimed “Romance of the Roadster” exhibit that features Ricky Nelson’s 1932 Ford as seen on the “Ozzie and Harriet” Show and includes various other classic two-seaters.

In the middle of June, the GTO National Convention will bring a multitude of GTO’s to the museum to be showcased through July 20. Starting July 27, the GM Heritage Collection will display an array of vintage Cadillac’s through Nov. 7.

“We have a limited amount of space, so we want to have the ability to be flexible and bring exhibits that have great stories and great cars as well,” Edstrom said. “Since we have a lot of repeat customers we are always changing the exhibits to keep things fresh.”

For more than a century, New York State played a key role in America’s automotive industry.

More than 700 different makes of passenger cars and trucks have been built in the state. Great motorsports venues include Long Island’s Vanderbilt Cup raceways, Watkins Glen’s world-famous road courses and the Syracuse State Fairgrounds mile track.

Famous racing drivers, including the Bodine Brothers - Geoffrey, Brett and Todd - female drag racing immortal Shirley Muldowney and Indianapolis “500” stars Jim Hurtubise and Lee Wallard are all New York State natives among other historic racing stars. The Saratoga Automobile Museum mission is to provide a venue to help celebrate the people, places and the machines that have made New York State a prestigious place on the country’s automotive map.

“Before Detroit was Detroit there was New York,” Edstrom said.

The Auto Show starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 18 and tickets are priced at $8 per person and $20 for a family pack which allows entry for two adults and up to four children - children under 12 get in free and museum admission is included in the car show ticket. This spring and summer the museum is open Tuesday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

You can learn more abut the Saratoga Automobile Museum by visiting: www.saratogaautomuseum.org.