{"id":29665,"date":"2022-08-17T09:48:23","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T13:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=29665"},"modified":"2022-08-17T09:48:23","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T13:48:23","slug":"six-days-of-cruisin-what-to-look-for-as-the-woodward-dream-cruise-kicks-into-high-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/six-days-of-cruisin-what-to-look-for-as-the-woodward-dream-cruise-kicks-into-high-gear","title":{"rendered":"Six days of cruisin’: What to look for as the Woodward Dream Cruise kicks into high gear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bloomfield Hills<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Dream Cruise week started rolling Monday as cruisers were already lining Woodward Avenue with their hoods up and lawn chair legs down.<\/p>\n

Culminating in the 27th official Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday, the auto-palooza will have it all, from hot rods to Oscar Mayer hot dog cars and gas guzzling V8s to Dodge\u2019s first electron-guzzling, electric muscle car. There will be car shows and car parades and Fords and Chevys. With Mother Nature promising sunny, low-80s, Pure Michigan days, an expected 1.5 million people and 40,000 classic cars will descend on a 16-mile stretch of southeast Michigan\u2019s most famous street from Ferndale to Pontiac.<\/p>\n

\"Bob<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Tom Geloneck, 78, was at the corner of Square Lake and Woodward at 7:30 a.m. with the hood up on his gorgeous\u00a01964 Pontiac Grand Prix stuffed with a three-carb, 427-cubic-inch V8 with four on the floor.<\/p>\n

He and his St. Clair Shores posse have been cruisin\u2019 since the inaugural 1995 event. Well, his pal Terry King, 71, of Chesterfield may have missed one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI missed 1996 because my daughter got married on that Saturday,\u201d smiled the owner of a yellow\u00a01973 Camaro Z28 with a wicked, 383-cube V-8 under the bonnet. \u201cI don\u2019t know how she thought that was a good weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Terry<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

A little over a mile north of Square Lake in Pontiac, Dodge has taken over the M1 Concourse Event Center to introduce \u201cSpeed Week\u201d \u2014 a showcase for its new vehicle lineup.<\/p>\n

Monday night, Stellantis NV\u2019s performance brand announced plans to wind down production of two of the Cruise\u2019s most revered muscle cars \u2014 the V8-powered Challenger coupe and Charger sedan \u2014 which will end production in late 2023. On Tuesday, the brand will roll out a new Hornet SUV, followed by Wednesday\u2019s historic debut of Dodge\u2019s first electric muscle car.<\/p>\n

The Electric Age promises to be a controversial topic on the Woodward strip, where V8s are king.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never own an EV,\u201d said Martin Peters, 66, another member of the St. Clair Shores group who drove his V8-powered 1956 Chevy Nomad to Woodward on Monday. \u201cI just bought a 2019 Ford Flex. If I bought a Ford Mustang, it wouldn\u2019t be an electric Mach-E \u2014 it would be a real one with a V8 in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further down Woodward in a parking lot next to Royal Oak\u2019s abandoned Art Van furniture store, Christina Kowalenko, 54, of Troy said electric cars leave her cold. \u201cOur electric grid can\u2019t handle what we have now,\u201d said the car fan who has been coming to the Cruise since 1995. \u201cThey\u2019re inconvenient to charge on the road, and it\u2019s expensive to put a charging station in your house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christina<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

More her speed is the striking red\u00a01968\u00a0Dodge Dart GTS convertible she parked on Woodward. Daren Borza, 57, from Warren parked his topless \u201969\u00a0Plymouth Barracuda next to Kowalenko\u2019s steed.<\/p>\n

A dealer of Mopar parts with Mancini Racing, Borza is intrigued by electric power\u00a0but\u00a0skeptical that EVs will be more than a niche vehicle even as governments try to regulate internal combustion engines out of existence over the next decade.<\/p>\n

Speaking of regulation, the convertible pair were among the few Cruisers parked in Royal Oak \u2014 notorious among the Dream Cruise\u2019s nine jurisdictions for its heavy-handed permitting during Cruise week. Come Saturday, the epicenter of the Cruise will be Memorial Park at 13 Mile and Woodward \u2014 its grassy lawn littered with car clubs.<\/p>\n

\"Jerry<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

But this Monday it is quiet \u2014 as is the dealership on its north flank, which will house Chevrolet\u2019s latest cars and trucks on Saturday. As the Woodward traffic jam grows, Ford will set up shop Saturday in Royal Oak at Kruse & Muer at the corner of Woodward and Catalpa \u2014 filling the restaurant\u2019s parking lot with its latest hardware. Ford has made news here in the past with Mustang dragsters and Bronco off-road racers, but this year is expected to bring a lower profile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe avoid Royal Oak,\u201d said Chesterfield\u2019s King, though he admits Cruisers in general are better-behaved since the early days. \u201cOne year I hooked up a hose to a donut shop in Royal Oak so cars could do burnouts. I felt a tap on the shoulder and a police officer said I better put the hose away unless I wanted to pay for new asphalt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Joe<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

When Dodge is done with its product unveils at M1, the car club will put on its own event Friday. The 2nd annual Woodward Dream Show Presented by Comerica Bank will show off the \u201cbest of the best\u201d cruise cars, including the debut of a modified \u201966 Lincoln Coupe by revered Detroit body-shop Mobsteel to celebrate the brand\u2019s 100th birthday.<\/p>\n

The 87-acre facility has become a focus of car enthusiasts since its opening in 2016. The Dream Show is an event within the Cruise event with live music, 1,000 shaded seats\u00a0and free admission for kids.<\/p>\n

The Dream Show boasts more than 600 jaw-dropping cars in 13 juried classes. In addition to the Mobsteel reveal, Dream Show attractions include\u00a0rides around Champion Motor Speedway, a historic Hudson Hornet, 1970 Challenger Black Ghost, 50 copies of the 1932 Ford \u201cDeuce\u201d on its 90th anniversary, and 100 Corvettes.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s not enough Corvettes for you, then come out to Woodward at 7 p.m. Wednesday, when more than 500 samples of Chevy\u2019s iconic muscle car will roll out of Birmingham\u2019s Doubletree Hotel parking lot and tour the strip for the Woodward Drive2EndHunger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite a sight. Over 500 Corvettes from all eight generations rolling down Woodward,\u201d said Ken Lingenfelter of Lingenfelter Engineering, who helps sponsor the event.<\/p>\n

Kicking off three days of Metro Detroit festivities, the Corvette gathering supports the Open Hands Food Pantry in Royal Oak \u2014 the terminus of Wednesday\u2019s Corvette parade.<\/p>\n

Official Dream Cruise events kick off Friday in Ferndale with a 5 p.m. ribbon cutting, Emergency Vehicle Show\u00a0and Light \u2018n\u2019 Sirens Cruise. Ferndale is anchored by Mustang Alley, the Cruise\u2019s largest car show featuring every generation of the iconic pony car \u2014 and its Mach-E EV stablemate.<\/p>\n

Other community events along the strip include a Berkley classic car parade and Pontiac Classic Car Show in Pontiac on Friday, then a Saturday Ford Bronco Show in Pleasant Ridge. Find more information at the Dream Cruise\u2019s official website:\u00a0http:\/\/www.woodwarddreamcruise.com<\/a>.<\/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":"

Bloomfield Hills\u00a0\u2014 Dream Cruise week started rolling Monday as cruisers were already lining Woodward Avenue with their hoods up and lawn chair legs down. Culminating in the 27th official Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday, the auto-palooza will have it all, from hot rods to Oscar Mayer hot dog cars and gas guzzling V8s to Dodge\u2019s […]<\/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\/29665"}],"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=29665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29666,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29665\/revisions\/29666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}