There is a building in southeastern Minnesota where a legendary Sox and Martin drag racer sits just a few feet away from a tiny pedal car that looks like a shrunken Jaguar. Most people driving through the area have no idea it exists.
Inside, roughly 35 cars tell a story that stretches from the earliest days of the automobile to the golden era of American muscle. Every single one of them earns its spot on the floor, and that is what makes this place so worth knowing about.
Where the Museum Calls Home
Winona, Minnesota is the kind of river town that surprises you. Tucked along the Mississippi River bluffs in southeastern Minnesota, it is not the first place most car enthusiasts think of when planning a road trip.
That changes the moment you find Remlinger Collector Car Museum at 3560 Service Dr, Winona, MN 55987.
The building sits quietly on a service road, giving little away from the outside. But once you step through the door, the scale of what owner Jim Remlinger has assembled becomes clear fast.
This is not a warehouse stuffed with dusty project cars. Every vehicle here has been chosen carefully, restored thoughtfully, and displayed with real pride.
The location makes it an easy stop whether you are passing through on a Mississippi River road trip or making a dedicated visit. Either way, plan to stay longer than you think you will.
The Man Behind the Collection
Jim Remlinger is the kind of collector who opens his museum on a Monday morning for a five-year-old’s birthday. That actually happened, according to people who have visited, and it says everything about his relationship with these cars and with the people who love them.
He has spent years tracking down vehicles that most collectors only dream about. His eye for authenticity is sharp, and his knowledge of each car’s backstory runs deep.
Visitors who have been lucky enough to get a personal tour from Jim describe it as a two-hour conversation with someone who genuinely cannot stop talking about something he loves.
That enthusiasm is contagious. Even people who walked in knowing nothing about muscle cars have walked out with a favorite.
Jim’s passion is the invisible engine running the whole place, and it shows in every car on the floor.
The Sox and Martin Legacy Cars
The most talked-about cars in the entire collection are the Sox and Martin racers. Ronnie Sox and Buddy Martin were one of the most dominant factory drag racing teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s, campaigning Plymouth and Dodge products at tracks across the country.
Their cars are genuinely rare pieces of American motorsport history.
Finding one Sox and Martin car in private hands is unusual. Finding two in the same building, in Winona, Minnesota, is the kind of thing that makes serious drag racing historians do a double-take.
These are not replicas or tributes. They are the real thing, preserved and displayed where anyone can walk up and look at them closely.
Standing next to one of these cars, you get a real sense of how purpose-built factory racers looked. Low, aggressive, and built with one job in mind.
They are the undisputed stars of the museum.
A Floor Full of Dodge Muscle
The collection leans heavily toward Mopar, and specifically Dodge. Chargers, Challengers, and other Dodge performance cars take up a significant portion of the showroom floor.
For fans of Chrysler’s golden era of performance, this alone is worth the drive.
What stands out is the condition of these cars. These are not barn finds sitting on flat tires.
They are polished, complete, and presented the way a car show winner would look, except here you can walk around all of them at your own pace without a crowd pressing in from every direction.
The variety within the Mopar lineup keeps things interesting even for visitors who thought they had seen every configuration before. Different model years, different engine options, and different color combinations fill the floor.
Each car represents a specific moment in Dodge’s performance history, and together they tell a story that no single car could tell alone.
The Jaguar Surprise
Not everything here is American muscle. The collection includes several Jaguars that catch visitors off guard in the best possible way.
Jaguars have a completely different energy than a Dodge drag car. They are elegant, long, and sculpted in a way that makes you want to slow down and look at every curve.
Seeing a Jaguar parked next to a factory race car is one of those museum moments that only works because someone deliberately made it happen. The contrast is striking, and it gives the whole collection a broader personality than a single-marque museum would have.
For visitors who come in expecting nothing but American iron, the Jaguars add a welcome layer of surprise. They are beautifully presented and represent a completely different chapter in automotive history.
The mix of British elegance alongside American brute force is one of the things that makes this collection feel genuinely well-rounded rather than one-dimensional.
The Miniature Cars That Steal the Show
Nobody expects this. Tucked among the full-size classics is a group of miniature cars, often called kiddy cars or pedal cars, that represent some of the earliest and most charming automotive collectibles in existence.
These tiny vehicles were built to mimic the full-size cars of their era, and some of them date back to the very beginnings of automobile production.
Kids absolutely love them, and so do adults who grew up in the era when these were common backyard toys. There is something about seeing a perfectly scaled-down version of a classic that triggers a strong wave of nostalgia in almost everyone who walks past.
These miniature cars are not an afterthought. They are a genuine part of the collection and add a layer of history that the full-size cars cannot provide on their own.
They remind you that car culture has always started young, and always will.
Early Automotive History on the Floor
Some of the most historically significant vehicles in the collection come from the earliest years of automobile production. These are not muscle cars or drag racers.
They are fragile, hand-built machines from an era when the car itself was still a novelty, and most people had never seen one moving under its own power.
Seeing one of these early cars parked near a Sox and Martin Mopar racer creates a timeline that spans nearly the entire history of the automobile in one room. The gap in technology between the two is almost incomprehensible when you are standing there looking at both.
Automotive historians and casual visitors alike tend to spend extra time near these early vehicles. The craftsmanship is completely different from what came later.
Every detail was made by hand, and the fact that these cars have survived at all is remarkable. They anchor the entire collection in a way nothing else could.
The 1957 Cadillac Biarritz
Among the many standout vehicles in the collection, the 1957 Cadillac Biarritz has earned a reputation as a must-see. Visitors who have seen it up close describe it as one of the most visually stunning cars on the floor, and it is easy to understand why.
The 1957 Biarritz is one of the most extravagant American cars ever built.
The tailfins on a 1957 Cadillac are almost theatrical. They sweep upward with a confidence that perfectly captures the optimism of postwar American design.
In a collection that includes race cars and early antiques, the Biarritz holds its own by being something completely different from everything around it.
It is a car that rewards slow observation. Walk around it once and you notice the chrome.
Walk around again and you start to appreciate the proportions. By the third pass, you understand why it has become one of the most talked-about cars in the entire building.
The Pontiac Bonneville in the Mix
The Pontiac Bonneville is one of those cars that defined an era without ever quite getting the same level of attention as a Corvette or a Mustang. Inside this collection, it gets the respect it deserves.
The Bonneville represents Pontiac at its most confident, a brand that was pushing hard to establish a performance identity separate from the rest of General Motors.
Seeing a Bonneville alongside a Cadillac Biarritz and a group of Mopar drag cars highlights how diverse American automotive ambition was during the mid-twentieth century. Each manufacturer had a completely different idea of what a great car should be, and this collection captures that diversity beautifully.
The Bonneville tends to attract visitors who have a personal connection to Pontiac, often people whose parents or grandparents owned one. That personal history turns a museum visit into something more meaningful than just looking at old cars.
It becomes a conversation with the past.
Motorcycles and Bikes in the Collection
Cars are the main attraction, but they are not the only attraction. The collection also includes motorcycles and bikes that add another dimension to the overall experience.
For visitors who appreciate two-wheeled machines as much as four-wheeled ones, this is a welcome bonus that many smaller collector car museums simply do not offer.
The motorcycles fit naturally into the space without feeling like a distraction from the cars. They occupy their own area and give the collection a broader sense of mechanical history.
Seeing a vintage motorcycle parked near a classic car from the same decade creates an interesting comparison in how transportation was evolving simultaneously across different vehicle types.
Kids especially enjoy the motorcycles. There is something about the exposed mechanical detail of a classic motorcycle that sparks curiosity in a way that a closed-body car sometimes does not.
The bikes bring a different energy to the room and keep the visit feeling fresh from start to finish.
Car Memorabilia Throughout the Space
The cars get all the attention, but the memorabilia filling the walls and display cases deserves a closer look. Racing posters, period advertisements, trophies, and other automotive artifacts are scattered throughout the space in a way that feels organic rather than forced.
They give context to the cars without turning the museum into a history textbook.
Some of the memorabilia is directly tied to the race cars in the collection. Seeing a piece of documentation or promotional material connected to a specific Sox and Martin car makes that car feel even more significant.
The memorabilia bridges the gap between the vehicle as an object and the vehicle as a cultural moment.
First-time visitors often find themselves stopping to read a poster or examine a display case they almost walked past. The memorabilia rewards curiosity, and it gives the museum a layered quality that keeps the experience interesting well beyond the initial impression of the cars themselves.
The Car Auction Experience
The museum is only part of what happens at this location. Remlinger also hosts car auctions that draw serious buyers and curious spectators from across the region.
The auction atmosphere is completely different from the quiet museum experience, and both are worth showing up for on different occasions.
Auction days bring a different kind of energy to the building. Bidders come in with lists and intentions, but the room has a way of tempting even the most disciplined visitor.
Cars that were not on anyone’s radar suddenly become the most interesting thing in the room once the bidding starts and the crowd leans in.
Food is served during auction events, which makes the whole thing feel more like a community gathering than a formal sale. People come with friends, stay for hours, and leave having either bought a car or spent the afternoon wishing they had.
Either outcome makes for a great story.
A Showroom That Works as an Event Space
The showroom does double duty as an event space, and it is one of the more unusual venue options in the Winona area. Special event dinners have been held here, with guests eating among the cars in a setting that no conventional banquet hall could replicate.
The cars become part of the atmosphere rather than just a backdrop.
For car enthusiasts planning a private event, the appeal is obvious. But even people without a strong automotive background tend to find the setting impressive.
There is something genuinely theatrical about sitting down to dinner next to a 1957 Cadillac Biarritz or a factory drag racer.
The space is large enough to accommodate a meaningful number of guests while still feeling intimate because of the cars filling the floor. Events here tend to generate the kind of conversation that keeps people at the table long after the meal is finished.
The cars give everyone something to talk about.
Visiting Tips Worth Knowing Before You Go
A few practical things are worth knowing before you make the trip. The museum is not always open on a standard walk-in schedule, so calling ahead or checking the website at remlingermusclecars.com before visiting is genuinely important.
Showing up unannounced on a random weekday may leave you looking at a locked door.
Appointment-based visits have actually worked in many visitors’ favor. Getting a personal tour from Jim Remlinger himself is something that has happened for a number of guests, and that kind of access turns a museum visit into something much more memorable than a self-guided walk-through.
The address is 3560 Service Dr, Winona, MN 55987, and the building is straightforward to find once you are in the area. Bring your phone for photos, wear comfortable shoes, and set aside more time than you think you need.
The cars have a way of slowing you down in the best possible way.
Why This Collection Stays With You
Most car museums feel like archives. This one feels like a conversation.
The mix of drag racers, European classics, early automobiles, miniature cars, and motorcycles creates an experience that works for enthusiasts and casual visitors in equal measure. There is no single type of person who walks out disappointed.
The scale is also part of what makes it work. About 35 cars sounds modest, but when every single one has been chosen with intention, the quality of the overall experience is higher than a warehouse holding three times as many vehicles of mixed significance.
Curation matters, and it shows here.
Winona already has a lot going for it as a Mississippi River town with natural beauty and a genuine sense of place. Adding a museum like this one to the itinerary gives the area another reason to be on your radar.
Once you have seen the Sox and Martin cars in person, they are very hard to forget.
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