Construction has begun on a museum to house King Olav V's Cadillac

Vesterheim Trustee Mette Bowen and AMCAR President Harry Kjensli at the unveiling of the King's Cadillac in Norway in June of 2015. (Photo courtesy of Vesterheim Museum)

Two summers ago, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum returned King Olav's 1951 Cadillac limousine to the people of Norway.  The car, which was beloved by the king, had been in possession of the Decorah museum until it agreed to transfer the classic one-of-a-kind vehicle into the care of the American Car Club of Norway (AMCAR).

AMCAR, an 18,000 member American car club in Norway, had agreed when acquiring the car from Vesterheim the "King's Cadillac" would be prominently displayed in the lobby of the proposed new museum.

Bill Cary, who participated in the AMCAR 40th Anniversary festivities in Norway in July of 2015 as guests of AMCAR, says he was astounded by the nation-wide pride in having the King's Cadillac returned to Norway.   "Older Norwegian car enthusiasts actually cried when seeing this car again--their loyalty and respect for King Olav, the Car King and People's King, was simply amazing," he tells decorahnews.com.

The grand opening of the National Motor Museum in Oslo, Norway, is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2019.