It’s hard to think back to the 1970s, a time without the internet or cell phones, when long-distance calls were so expensive that few people placed calls to another city. Communication was mainly through letters or newsletters or in-person gatherings .

Accordingly, since its founding in 1969, SAH members have continued to meet at the large annual Fall meeting and car show held in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is organized by the Antique Automobile Club of America.

The activities of the SAH Leland Chapter focus on the automotive heritage of Detroit, Flint and Southeast Michigan, and often feature local automotive personalities and historic sites.

The Leland Chapter is also a member of the Historical Society of Michigan (HSM), where many Leland members have been keynote speakers.

The Chapter has teamed up with the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, MI to assist in updating and revising the Hall’s extensive archive of inductee biographies and tributes, providing a great example of how SAH members can provide valuable assistance to local institutions.

The Leland Chapter has over 45 active members, many of whom come from the automotive industry, but all are welcome. Engaging young enthusiasts and students in the research, recording and presentation of automotive history is one of the priorities of the chapter. For more information please contact President Peter Hollinshead or Secretary-Treasurer Mary Elton.
The Wisconsin Society of Automotive Historians (WSAH) is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Wisconsin Historical Society as well as the Society of Automotive Historians.

The purpose of WSAH is to preserve, advance, and disseminate knowledge of the history of the automobile in Wisconsin, the United States, and worldwide.

The majority of members are Wisconsin residents, but the Society has members from other states and welcomes north inquiries and membership from anyone, anywhere. For more WSAH details and membership info, please contact Ken Nimocks.
The goals of the SAH Motor Sports chapter (SAHMS) are to encourage and support scholarly study, research, publication, and dissemination of international automotive competition history by developing relationships with motorsport organizations, research centers, libraries, museums, publishers, sanctioning bodies, schools, colleges and universities, and community events.

The chapter encourages the development and expansion of publicly accessible international automotive competition archives and databases, and aims to foster the study of under-represented groups involved in international automotive competition.

One of the major activities of the chapter is to assist the IMRRC in organizing the annual Michael R. Argetsinger Symposium on International Motor Racing History, held at Watkins Glen, NY. For additional information about SAHMS and international automotive competition history, please contact H. Donald Capps.
The San Diego/Inland Empire Chapter of the Society of Automotive Historians was founded in October, 2018, but were put on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic. Efforts are under way to see if Chapter Activities can resume. This Chapter is currently closed, but if anyone is interested in bringing it back online please contact the SAH Board.

In addition, SAH encouraged the formation of regional chapters, where members could meet and connect. The first chapter was established in Toronto, Canada, in 1977, soon followed by chapters in the United Kingdom, the Northeast, Detroit, Wisconsin, California, and Indiana.

While several chapters have come and gone over the years, the internet now provides a means to form virtual communities around any interest. For instance, the SAH Motor Sports Chapter was formed in 2004 in this way. Always keen on building community, the SAH is hopeful that more virtual chapters will be established in the future.

International Partners

Various countries around the world have organizations dedicated to the preservation of automotive history, including Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and the Netherlands. The SAH has cordial relations with all these groups. To learn more about them click on the icons below.

Automotive Historians Australia (AHA) was founded in Melbourne in 2015 to promote the understanding and enjoyment of automotive history by promoting scholarly research, education, archival collection and the dissemination of knowledge though publications, discussions and events.
AHG Logo The Automobil-historische Gesellschaft (AHG) is an association of experts who research and publish in the field of automotive history. Historians, publicists, technicians, lecturers, chroniclers, archivists, museum operators, curators and private collectors are all represented. The AHG is supported exclusively by its members and by donations.
Associazione Italiana per la storia dell’automobile (AISA) was founded in 1987 to bring together historians, enthusiasts and witnesses of the known and lesser-known aspects of automotive history. The association has published over 120 monographs to date, and has organized over 100 meetings.
Conan logo Contactgroep Auto- en Motorrijwiel Historie (Conam) is the society of automotive historians of the Netherlands. Founded in 1991, its members are active in historical research, as well as promoting interest in automotive history and safeguarding automotive heritage. Apart from daily contacts, members meet four times each year to visit automotive collections and exchange information. Conam publishes the quarterly Conam Bulletin and also publishes the quarterly Conam Bulletin. Members have written many publications on the automotive history of Holland, written in Dutch.
Logo for Phaf Patrimoine & Histoire de l’Automobile en France, (PHAF) was founded in 2018 to bring together historians and enthusiasts interested in the history and heritage (patrimoine) of the automobile in France, to promote research on the history of the automobile and its associated activities, to promote exchanges and mutual aid between historians and researchers, and to publish research, as well as save archives and make them available to researchers.
Logo of the SAHB The Society of Automotive Historians in Britain (SAHB) was originally established in 1980 as a Chapter of the Society of Automotive Historians. The SAHB became an entirely independent organization in 2015-2016. The principal purpose of the SAHB is to encourage research, preservation, recording, compilation, and publication of historic facts concerning the development of the automobile and related items, from its inception to the present day, throughout the world.