Many automobile manufacturers build museums for their own makes and some are quite stunning, indeed. But I doubt that any can compare with the Toyota Automobile Museum in Japan. With three display halls and nearly 200 hundred vehicles, it prominently displays other manufacturer’s cars, offering a virtual history of the automobile since its beginnings. For example, one entire building is devoted to American and European cars, another to Japanese makes (mostly unknown to North Americans), and a third to lifestyles and the automobile. Best of all, and again unlike other manufacturer’s museums, it has a wonderful Web site where you can see every car in the museum, using a simple interactive system. Placer your cursor over a colored disc and the car name is displayed. Double-click and an excellent photo appears in a separate window. I’ve chosen a 1936 Toyoda Model AA (Toyota vehicles were originally named after the company founder Kiichiro Toyoda) as an example of the fascinating Japanese cars to be found there. Go to the Web site, have fun, and enjoy a free history lesson. Thanks to my tokyo-based friend Harley Ferguson for this tip.

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