MotorCities National Heritage Area and The Walter P. Chrysler Museum

MotorCities National Heritage Area is among the regions in our country recognized for making significant contributions to America's story. You are encouraged to visit the region's museums and towns, drive along backroads and byways and pause to think about the impact the auto industry has had on your life.

Southeast Michigan is the home of the automobile companies responsible for building close to a billion automobiles and trucks during the last century. The significance of this vast production is commemorated all across the area by museums large and small, historic houses and sites, plus all kinds of automobile-themed events.

One such museum, the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, located at Chrysler Headquarters in Auburn Hills, opened to the public October 5, 1999 after three years of construction.

At the W. P. Chrysler Museum, learn about the Chrysler heritage and the individuals that have been a part of the evolution of the automobile industry. Among other exhibits, Forward Thinking is a long-term exhibition highlighting Chrysler design, engineering and marketing successes since the 1950s, featuring the first HEMI, turbines, muscle cars, minivans and popular Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge concept and production vehicles.

The three-level museum building covers approximately 55,000 square feet and rests on 10 acres at the southeast edge of Chrysler's North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The building's exterior of red granite and black glass reflects that of the neighboring Chrysler Technology Center.

In November 1998, DaimlerChrysler was created through the merger of Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corporation. On May 14, 2007, DaimlerChrysler announced that Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm, will take over an 80.1 percent equity position in Chrysler Group and its related financial services business, with Daimler retaining the remaining 19.9 percent. The new Chrysler Holdings name will take the place of DaimlerChrysler.

The Chrysler Group designs, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brand names. Chrysler offers original equipment and performance quality parts through a fourth brand, Mopar.

The Chrysler Holdings/Chrysler Group Headquarters are located in Auburn Hills, Michigan on the same site that Chrysler Corporation existed before Daimler-Benz was ever involved.

When visiting the area, the full-service Somerset Inn is a preferred hotel of Chrysler Holdings/Chrysler Group. The Somerset Inn is located just minutes away from the Chrysler’s North American Headquarters, including the Chrysler Technology Center and the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. Ask for special rates.