The automobile is one of the complex machines we see every day. It has undergone a lot of changes over more than a century of evolution, and it's hard to see the features of a "sidecar" from the beginning of the last century in today's car. However, if you trace the changes from model to model, from year to year, it becomes clear how the car became what we are used to seeing. Automotive museums like the museum of transport greater manchester provide such an opportunity.

Germany is the homeland of the automobile and a country with reverence for its historical and technical heritage. So naturally, the most interesting car museums are located here.

Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart

The museum at the Daimler-Benz factory (now DaimlerChrysler) opened in 1923. In 2006 it moved to a new building in the huge Mersedes-Benz-Welt complex. This is the largest car museum in the world and on nine floors shows around 160 cars from the first motor cars of Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler to today's race cars. See the famous 1911 Silver Arrow, pre-war limousines and sports cars, the legendary Mercedes 300 SL Coupe, models of recent decades and futuristic prototypes.Price: adult 8 €, concession 4 €, children up to 15 years old free.Opening hours: wt-hs 09:00-18:00

Porsche Museum in Stuttgart

Stuttgart is also home to the Porsche Museum. This is not surprising, because Ferdinand Porsche started his activity in Gottlieb Daimler's workshop in the 20s of the twentieth century. The factory museum has been open to the public since 1976, and moved to a new building on the Porscheplatz in 2009. The museum exhibits around 80 cars from the first Porsche creations of the 20s and prototypes of the 1939 Beetle to the classic Porsche 356, 550, 911 and the 612hp Porsche Carrera GT. Most of the exhibits are in working order and periodically take part in 'veteran' runs. Modern multimedia technology is used extensively in the exhibit.Opening hours: wt-hs 09:00-18:00, ticket office closes at 17:00

VW Autostadt in Wolfsburg

Another excellent German car museum is the Zeithaus (Time House) presenting about a hundred models of passenger cars, mostly from the Volkswagen Group. It is located in Wolfsburg, the "hometown" of Volkswagen. The museum is located in the Autostadt, a town 5 km long where visitors can not only test-drive and buy a car but also visit the motorway, an amusement park, cinemas, restaurants and even stay at the Ritz Hotel.As for the museum itself, it showcases such models as a 1938 pre-war Beetle convertible, NSU with a rotary engine, Ford T, Rover Mini, 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, luxury Bentley models, Bentley Speed 8 race car. All cars can be touched and even be seated in them. In the Zeithaus, photography is allowed. There are experiment tables for children that demonstrate the physical principles behind the vehicles.Price: Adults 15 €, students 12 €, children from 6 to 17 years 6 €, free admission for children under 6 years.Opening hours: Mon-Fri 09:00-18:00

BMW Museum

The BMW Museum was opened in 1972 just before the Munich Summer Olympics. In 2008 the museum was refurbished during the construction of the BMW World. The old, hemispherical museum building from 1973, known affectionately as the "bowl", is still in use as an architectural landmark and as a venue for themed exhibitions.The permanent exhibition is housed in several pavilions. The "Treasury", for example, showcases the most important models of the brand which have had a significant influence on the development of the brand. "The "House of Motor Racing" tells the story of BMW's sporting achievements, "Atelier" shows new models and developments. The "House of Technology" aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the group's technology, while the "Visionen" section presents live examples of how the company has moved forward.More than 120 models in all are on permanent display. These include the historic BMW 3/20 AM4 (1932), from which the brand's independent development began, the BMW 315 roadster (1934), the pre-war BMW 328 Mille Miglia, the Lehmann BMW V12 and Formula 1 cars with BMW engines. The museum often hosts rotating exhibitions of various types, since there are more than 550 cars in the museum's storerooms.Price: 12 € for adults, 6 € for pupils and studentsOpening hours: wt-hs, holidays 10:00-18:00