{"id":28458,"date":"2021-12-21T12:30:49","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T16:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28458"},"modified":"2021-12-21T12:30:49","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T16:30:49","slug":"payne-4fest-off-road-autopalooza-will-be-detroits-fourth-major-september-auto-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/payne-4fest-off-road-autopalooza-will-be-detroits-fourth-major-september-auto-event","title":{"rendered":"Payne: 4Fest off-road autopalooza will be Detroit’s fourth major September auto event"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you like beer, go to Munich for Oktoberfest. If you like autos, fall in the Motor City is looking a lot like Septemberfest.<\/p>\n

The 4th annual Detroit 4Fest will be held Sept.\u00a016-18, completing a diverse quartet of major auto events next fall including\u00a0the Detroit Auto Show, Sept.\u00a014-25; the American Speed Festival at M1 Concourse, Sept.\u00a029-Oct.\u00a02;\u00a0and the Hagerty Concours\u00a0d\u2019Elegance at the Detroit Institute of the Arts with a September date yet to be determined.<\/p>\n

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Held at Holly Oaks ORV park in Oakland County, Detroit 4fest powered by Jeep will be the month\u2019s signature\u00a0event for off-roaders, showing off the talents of dirt-kickers like the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco in their natural habitat.<\/p>\n

The 2022 event hopes to gain momentum from 2021\u2019s successful gathering that saw some 5,000 attendees and nearly 600 vehicles. As automakers drift away from static auto shows, experiential events like 4Fest are a chance for brands to show off their wares to customers in real-world surrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of cool thing to bring\u00a0to southeast Michigan (next year). Unlike traditional auto shows, 4fest is\u00a0very participative,\u201d said Detroit 4fest CEO Tom Zielinski in an interview. \u201cYou get to go\u00a0off-roading\u00a0for real. That makes it an especially attractive\u00a0place for all automakers\u00a0to show off their latest greatest vehicles. On top of all\u00a0that, it’s an environment for the aftermarket\u00a0companies to show off their wares in places where you can go use them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Detroit 4fest vendors include a who\u2019s who of off-road products like Polaris, CanAm, Rebel, America\u2019s Most Wanted, Fox, Hypercraft, Rancho Suspension \u2014\u00a0in addition to familiar automotive\u00a0brands like Ram, Ford\u00a0and Jeep.<\/p>\n

Jeep introduced the 2022 Wrangler Willys to 4Fest media in ’21 with the Xtreme Recon package that includes huge\u00a035-inch tires and\u00a0specially-tuned shocks. And Ford Motor Co. showed off its all-new Bronco with rides to\u00a04Fest attendees\u00a0over Holly Oaks challenging terrain.<\/p>\n

The park’s terrain\u00a0is a showplace for the capabilities of features\u00a0like four-wheel-drive, descent control\u00a0and swaybar disconnect.<\/p>\n

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The pandemic dove-tailed with a market trend\u00a0toward\u00a0SUVs and more off-road capable vehicles. Exploring the outdoors\u00a0is a lifestyle choice and as customers looked to take their vehicles overlanding, automakers fed the urge with new choices like the Bronco Sport, Wrangler 4xe, Wrangler 392, Chevy\u00a0Silverado Trail Boss, Wilderness trims of popular Subaru SUVs, and more.<\/p>\n

“Go out and have a fun weekend all weekend long, spray the mud off, and you have your daily driver to go to work,\u201d smiled Zielinski.<\/p>\n

4Fest has grown in popularity\u00a0with this trend with events in ’21 including Detroit4Fest, Minnesota4Fest, and Texas4Fest in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

Detroit4Fest is structured for the hardcore enthusiast who wants to assault\u00a0trails in their\u00a0side-by-side mudder\u00a0\u2014\u00a0or for the novice who wants to learn the capabilities of their new SUV. Seminars and\u00a0demos are available from industry experts including Offroad Skills 101, Tread Lightly principals, and Vehicle Setup.<\/p>\n

For 2022, Detroit 4fest is also cooking up some off-road racing.<\/p>\n

\"Dave<\/p>\n
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\u201cKing of the Hammers President Dave Cole and I are plotting and conspiring,\u201d said Zielinski of one of the best-known off-road racers in the country. \u201cWe may have some really cool racing features to add to\u00a04Fest next year. There may even be an EV component which adds a cool modern twist. There\u2019s some cool stuff coming in the EV space.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to off-roading on Holly Oaks\u2019 network of trails, attending seminars and shopping in the vendor village, visitors can chow down at food trucks. The event is free to the public, while drivers can register their vehicles beginning on Jan. 10, 2022.<\/p>\n

Holly Oaks\u2019 121-acre arena is gaining a reputation as one of the nation\u2019s premier off-road destinations since it opened in 2020. 4Fest hoped to open an additional 71 acres to participants in 2021, but rainy weather prevented bulldozers from prepping the area. It should be available come next fall\u2019s Septemberfest.<\/p>\n

Detroit 4Fest<\/strong><\/p>\n

When: Friday, Sept.\u00a016\u00a0(media only). Saturday-Sunday, Sept.\u00a017-18\u00a0public days, registration opens Jan.\u00a010, 2022<\/p>\n

Where: Holly Oaks ORV Park, 13536 Dixie Hwy, Holly, MI 48442<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you like beer, go to Munich for Oktoberfest. If you like autos, fall in the Motor City is looking a lot like Septemberfest. The 4th annual Detroit 4Fest will be held Sept.\u00a016-18, completing a diverse quartet of major auto events next fall including\u00a0the Detroit Auto Show, Sept.\u00a014-25; the American Speed Festival at M1 Concourse, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28458"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28459,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28458\/revisions\/28459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}