Taking A Tour Of The Pioneer Auto Show

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It would be nice to have a crystal ball to peer into the future, would it not? If we had one of these clairvoyant devices, we would have known that many of the hot rods and muscle cars that were commonplace in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s would be worth small fortunes today. Alas, many of these cars today are relegated to private collections or automobile museums.



During my recent cross-country expedition, I came across a car museum unlike any other I have ever been to (and I’ve been to a lot of car museums!) Called the Pioneer Auto Show, it is located in Murdo, South Dakota, the very definition of isolated rural America. The Pioneer Auto Show is home to hundreds of cars and pieces of nostalgia, but what really sets it apart from other places are the facilities themselves.


Pictures: Nicole Werner

Unlike many car museums, like say the museum at the Imperial Palace Casino in Las Vegas, the Pioneer Auto Show is not equipped with fancy, climate controlled garages. In fact, it doesn’t have any garages or showrooms at all. These cars, some of them over 100 years old, are stored in dilapidated barns and rundown sheds. Hundreds of cars, many the likes of which I’ve never seen before, protected from the elements by barns older than many of the cars themselves.


Oddities like this twin-engine, all-wood car are abound at the Pioneer Auto Show

I found Murdo quite by accident, looking for a place to stay the night. I was surprised to see a car museum in such an isolated town, so I knew I had to check it out. The following morning my girlfriend and I woke bright and early to check the place out. We weren’t quite sure what to expect.

First, a brief history. The Pioneer Auto Show was started by AJ “Dick” Geisler in 1954. Originally, Geisler opened a Philips 66 Gas Station, and displayed old vintage cars in front to entice travelers to stop. It worked so well that Geisler kept building his collection until he had a museum’s worth of cars. They also started adding other collectibles like board games, lunch boxes, and vintage toys to the collection. Today, the Pioneer Auto Show has 30 buildings and over 250 classic cars and tractors, and thousands of pieces of vintage memorabilia.


The centerpiece display, one of the Duke boys' original Dodge Chargers in pristine condition

After buying a ticket and entering the first room, we were greeted by the original Charger from the Dukes of Hazzard. Other cars that shared this room were Cadillacs and a car made entirely from wood. All these vehicles were in pristine condition, and so we moved on to a memorabilia room. Here we saw all kinds of antiques, including old arcade games, action figures, and other such stuff. Automobile memorabilia adorned every building throughout our tour, including many old dealership signs and advertisements. It was like talking a step back in time, before the Internet (or feather dusters, judging by the amount of sediment covering most of the displays).


There is plenty of old world memorabilia adorning every corner and wall through the Auto Show, like these classic pinball machines

We moved through the first few rooms, marveling at old cars at Geisler’s haunting voice followed us via a gravelly recording (he died back in 1973). The grounds are devided up between 30 buildings or so, with a large open area in the middle. We moved on to the Mustang barn which, as you might have guessed, was full of Mustangs. Oddly enough, there was also a Dodge Superbird there as well, collecting dust and flat tires. If a true original, this car is worth upwards of $500,000, and it sits uncared for.


This Plymouth Superbird lay unloved as dust slowly collects on it, and every other car it shares the barn with

It only got worse as we walked through some of the other barns. Almost all the cars were missing their radiator caps (to dissuade thieves) and many were up on wooden blocks. There cars were real antiques too; at least three of the barns were chock full of pre-World War II cars. Many were overstuffed, even, and there were no doors; just thin strips of plastic divider to keep the elements out.

In fact, the only thing keeping the people off of the cars was a chest-high wire fence. It felt more like an animal corral than an auto museum at times. Yet there is something to be said that many of these cars have survived as long as they have in the care of the Pioneer Auto Show. There are many rare, well preserved cars on the lot, like a ’37 Cord and a 1913 Ford Peddler Truck. Many of the muscle cars are well taken care of too, including a Camaro SS/RS and GT500 Mustang among others.


Most of the barns looked like this, with as many as 40 cars crammed in close quarters under an old roof

There are other attractions there too, like a barn full of classic motorcycles. Elvis Presley’s motorcycle is in the collection, as is a early 20th century motorcycle-powered Go-kart. There are many rare cars here too, like a 1913 Hupmobile. Never heard of it? Neither did I until I went to the Pioneer Auto Show. There is an open-air shed full of classic Jeeps and pickups and tractors, including the world’s first motor home. How it wound up here, I don’t know, but it is still relatively well preserved, and a true piece of automotive history.


The 1921 White Motor Home, a precursor to RV's everywhere and a true piece of Americana

Unfortunately, the sad truth of the matter is that many of these classics are slowly rotting away. The last barn we toured including some timeless classics like a ’37 Chrysler Airstream, a car truly ahead of its time when it came to aerodynamics. Alas, this particular Airstream was covered in rust and equipped with broken glass and flat tires. A damn shame, especially considering the excellent condition of many of the other classics. It is in good company, sharing a building with a ’58 Edsel and a ’51 Henry J. It was a sobering end to a tour that began so well.


The Chrysler Airflow was a flop in its day, as were many cars ahead of their time. This one has been neglected for many years, yet still it survives

The Pioneer Auto Show is a survivor of history, just like many of its displays. And many of those displays are for sale, as the Auto Show doubles as an auction house. It is a shame seeing so many great and rare cars slowly rotting away…but the fact of the matter is, many of these cars were likely saved from fields and barns where they would rot away, unseen. At least now, we can see some of the lost glory from decades past, and marvel at how cars built before we were born still survive today. They just don’t make cars (or car museums) like this anymore.




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