DFW Car and Toy Museum Wins Fort Worth Magazine's 2025 'Best Family Outing' Award

The DFW Car and Toy Museum, Texas' largest car museum located in Fort Worth, has been named Fort Worth Magazine's 2025 "Best of Fort Worth" Reader Pick Winner in the Family Outing subcategory of the Nightlife and Entertainment category. This prestigious recognition comes just seven months after the museum's opening in April 2025, signaling rapid acceptance and popularity among Fort Worth residents and visitors.

Ron Sturgeon, founder and owner of the DFW Car and Toy Museum, expressed enthusiasm about the award. "We're elated by the outpouring of votes," Sturgeon said. "It's genuinely an honor to be chosen by the good people of Fort Worth for a prestigious award such as this." The museum's origin story traces back more than 40 years when Sturgeon began collecting toy Mercedes cars, eventually expanding his interests to include rare and vintage automobile-themed items, race cars, scale models, vintage toys, unique signs, automotive memorabilia, and other historic collectibles.

The museum represents more than just a classic car collection according to Sturgeon. "It's an experience. We're proud to offer a space where visitors can immerse themselves in automotive culture. Whether you're admiring a beautifully restored car, reliving childhood memories through our toy collection, or learning about the evolution of automobile design, our museum will leave you inspired." The facility occupies more than 150,000 square feet of dynamic display space and features a captivating combination of whimsy and delight with extraordinarily rare exhibits and breathtaking backdrops.

Visitors to the museum discover a veritable treasure trove of more than 3,000 vintage collectible toys and an extraordinary, multi-million-dollar collection of more than 200 classic and unique cars. The automotive area showcases rare exotic cars, European masterpieces, celebrity-owned vehicles, unique oddities, and historic race cars, each with fascinating stories representing decades of automotive innovation and craftsmanship. The museum also features modern supercars including a 647 hp 2017 Ford GT and a 986 hp 2022 Ferrari SF90, along with a row of 1 million rare classic cars.

A perennial visitor favorite is the carefully curated cache of favorite space toys from the mid-1900s, including rare collections of 1950s and 1960s robots such as Gumbo, Electroman, and Big Loo. Gumbo the Robot Dispenser stands nearly five feet tall as a rare Italian coin-operated gumball vending machine from the late 1950s featuring orange illuminated eyes and mouth with a clear chest panel displaying the gumball storage area. The exceptionally rare Electroman, known as "the holy grail" of robot collectors, features stunning lithograph detailing with automatic mouth movement and illuminated energy chamber. Big Loo, manufactured by Louis Marx and Company for the 1963 holiday season with limited production of about 5,000 units, stands more than 38 inches tall with multiple functions including rocket firing, ball launching, dart shooting, water squirting, and object grasping.

The DFW Car and Toy Museum offers free admission to all visitors with ample free parking available. The facility is dog-friendly and serves as a popular private event space in Fort Worth. The museum's recognition as Fort Worth's best family outing destination underscores its significant contribution to local tourism and family entertainment options, providing an educational and nostalgic experience that appeals to multiple generations while preserving automotive and toy history for future enthusiasts.