2024 Year in Review

January 22, 2025

As the year comes to a close, we reflect on the incredible accomplishments we’ve achieved together in 2024 and look ahead to what’s possible in 2025. Thanks to supporters like you, our mission to honor the past, celebrate the present, and drive the future of America’s automotive heritage is more vibrant than ever.


At LeMay – America’s Car Museum, we set new milestones this year. Our Shinka: An Immersive Japanese Automobile Exhibit saw the most attended opening in our history. Community engagement soared with festive events like Trunk or Treat and Día de los Muertos. We also expanded our educational programs and talk series, inspiring visitors of all ages, and topped 2,000 Museum members. Our Austin Healey sweepstakes has further energized our community, both locally and far beyond the Pacific Northwest, with donations coming in from 43 states and five countries, driving support for the Museum’s vital programs and automotive culture as a whole.


The RPM Foundation is also celebrating transformative achievements. This year, 12 apprentices were placed to gain hands-on experience at world-class restoration shops. The Great Race X-Cup reached full capacity and we awarded a record 15 scholarships during the annual event. We're also excited to announce that a car is already secured for the 2025 Race! We proudly presented the prestigious Restorer’s Award at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals and Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance, allowing us to shine a light on excellence in restoration.


All the while, America’s Automotive Trust continued to strengthen its foundation as we pursued these accomplishments. Wheels & Heels, our annual gala, raised more than $1 million, and we secured a grant to enable an RPM apprentice to join LeMay – America’s Car Museum’s talented team of classic car maintenance and restoration professionals.


These successes reflect the incredible support of donors and enthusiasts like you—but there’s still much more to accomplish. Through the Drive Forward Campaign, we are committed to raising $15 million by the end of 2026 to expand STEM education programs, grow career training opportunities in restoration, and ensure that future generations can engage with and appreciate America’s automotive heritage. To date, we’re a quarter of the way to meeting our goal, and we look forward to working with incredible supporters like you to close the gap.


As a nonprofit organization, we depend on your generosity to keep these programs running and to drive our mission forward. This holiday season, please consider making a year-end gift to the Drive Forward Campaign and support the work of America’s Automotive Trust and its entities. Together, we can honor our past, celebrate our present, and drive an inspiring future.


Help us continue driving our mission by making a tax-deductible donation today!


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2025 AAT Awards

By AAT • October 1, 2025
In early September, we hosted our annual Concours Club Gathering and Wheels & Heels Gala, in which we celebrated not just the achievements of America's Automotive Trust and its entities, but the efforts of several people who have left a major mark in the automotive world. From racing and design to collecting and restoring, the America's Automotive Trust Awards honor individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the automotive industry, car culture, and preservation. Our 2025 winners are: Nicola Bulgari Award: Keith Flickinger Edward T. Welburn Automotive Design Award: Ralph Gilles and Wayne Cherry Jay C. Ackley Master Craftsman Award: Travis LaVine Hagerty Master Collector Award: Wayne Carini American Racing Legends Award: Bob Bondurant (posthumous) and George Follmer We hope you join us in congratulating each of them and their loved ones. You can read more about the winners of our 2025 AAT Award winners here.

RPM Foundation Featured in Hot Wheels video series

By AAT • August 4, 2025
A new episode of Hot Wheels Legends: Local Icons spotlights the RPM Foundation and its mission to train the next generation of restoration professionals. Filmed during the 2025 Great Race, the video captures the energy and purpose behind RPM’s support of the X-Cup division—an educational rally experience for high school and college-age teams passionate about vintage vehicles and automotive preservation. During the 2025 event, RPM raised over $50,000 and awarded more than $60,000 in grants and scholarships to support participating youth teams. These funds help cover vehicle restoration, travel costs, and career-building opportunities, ensuring young enthusiasts have access to hands-on learning that honors the past and drives the future of car culture.

Summer is in Full Swing at AAT!

By AAT • July 29, 2025
Per usual, summer is flying by! We hope you're racking up the miles and enjoying the sunshine. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, there's still plenty of exciting automotive events in the near future. Perhaps we will see you at Pebble Beach in a few weeks, or Hilton Head a little later this fall. Does car season ever really end? If you're as enthusiastic as us, the answer is no! In recent news, the RPM Foundation managed and participated in the Great Race X-Cup, racing from Minnesota to South Carolina. Throughout the journey, the Foundation raised ~$50,000 and awarded nearly ~$60,000 in grants and scholarships! Just a few weeks later, the RPM Foundation team, connected with Lucky Kraken production company, went cameras up at LaVine Restorations in Nappanee, Indiana to film the first episode of a new educational docu-series Endangered Skills , as seen in the cover photo above. At LeMay - America's Car Museum there has been a fantastic response to our current exhibit, Rare & Luxurious: 100 Years of Exceptional Automobiles . If you've yet to see it, be sure to visit soon. It will be closing at the end of September to make room for a brand new, can't miss exhibition. Keep an eye out for an official announcement about this exhibit that is being put together with the help of a guest curator with a name you'll surely recognize! In the coming weeks, we will be hosting Cars & Cigars followed by our annual gala, Wheels & Heels, both of which will take place at LeMay - America's Car Museum in Tacoma, WA. If you'd like to join us at the gala on September 6th for a celebratory evening don't hesitate to RSVP, as limited tickets remain! More information about Cars & Cigars can be found below! We here at the Trust truly appreciate your support, whether that's as a Museum visitor, donor, volunteer or someone simply sharing our passions for automotive history, vehicle preservation, and driving! Thank you for joining our mission to honor the past, celebrate the present, and drive the future of car culture.
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