{"id":33199,"date":"2024-08-17T11:41:06","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T15:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33199"},"modified":"2024-08-17T11:47:25","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T15:47:25","slug":"ford-gts-dman-charity-rides-kick-off-rainy-dream-cruise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/ford-gts-dman-charity-rides-kick-off-rainy-dream-cruise","title":{"rendered":"Ford GTs, DMAN charity rides kick off rainy Dream Cruise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bloomfield Hills<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Friday morning on Woodward, the Hills were alive with the sound of music.<\/p>\n

Ford supercar music, that is.<\/p>\n

Twenty gorgeous Ford GTs \u2014 their thundering V-8s and screaming, twin-turbo V-6s in full song \u2014 rolled out of the Kingsley Inn at Long Lake and Woodward at 8:15 a.m. for a cruise south down Woodward. Destination? The mother ship in Dearborn.<\/p>\n

\"Rich<\/figure>\n
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Rich Brooks, 50, of Monroe with his Ford GT, which joined a parade of the supercars starting on Woodward in Birmingham on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, ahead of Saturday’s Dream Cruise. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis is our second year getting together. We\u2019ve got GT owners from Florida, Seattle, Texas \u2014 from all over the country,\u201d said Rich Brooks, 50, of Monroe. The group are staying together in a block of rooms at the Kingsley, a traditional hive of Cruise activity.<\/p>\n

Hearkening back to the legendary Ford GT40 that won Le Mans in 1966 \u2014 a feat immortalized in the hit movie “Ford v Ferrari” \u2014 Ford Motor Co. built two production versions of the GT from 2005-06 (powered by a V-8) and from 2017-2022 (twin-turbo V-6). Both versions are included in the Brooks\u2019 Ford GT parade, including his own 2005 car.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a lot of waves from people up and down Woodward,\u201d said Brooks, who visited M1 Concourse in Pontiac for some track laps Thursday. \u201cI\u2019ve been coming to the Cruise for years in everything from a \u201955 Chevy to a Mustang, but the GT is Ford\u2019s iconic supercar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charity rides<\/h2>\n

Birmingham<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 The intermittent raindrops didn\u2019t deter the DMAN Foundation Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The charity gives rides to people with disabilities every year at Long Lake and Woodward on the day before Dream Cruise Saturday. Owners of convertible muscle cars \u2014 Camaro, Firebirds, Corvettes, and more \u2014 volunteer their time and line up to give DMAN members a thrill ride down Woodward.<\/p>\n

Joseph \u201cBig Country\u201d Cadwallader, 36, of Pontiac uses a wheelchair, having lost use of both legs. It\u2019s the seventh year he\u2019s participated in the event and he was looking forward to a ride in a convertible Camaro or Mustang.<\/p>\n

\"Ziad<\/figure>\n
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Ziad Kassab, 41, of Rochester Hills (left) founded the DMAN Foundation after his brother, Danny, a quadriplegic, passed away in 2009.Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe volunteers here are incredible,\u201d said the Pontiac native, his tight arm tattooed from shoulder to wrist with a rippled American flag. \u201cParaplegics are usually transported while strapped into the back of a van. This experience helps us feel something normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

DMAN \u2014 short for Danny\u2019s Miracle Angel Network \u2014 is the brainchild of Ziad Kassab, 41, of Rochester hills. His brother Danny was paralyzed from the neck down at age 7 and ultimately passed away in 2009. Shortly thereafter, Ziad \u2014 who had entertained Danny by taking him for drives \u2014 created D-Man in his brother\u2019s memory to bring that thrill to others. In the ensuing years, D-Man has expanded to include vacation trips, helicopter trips and regular music therapy for those with physical disabilities, brain injuries, cerebral palsy and more.<\/p>\n

\"Joseph<\/figure>\n
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Joseph “Big Country” Cadwallader, 36, is paralyzed from the waist down but enjoyed a ride down Woodward courtesy of the DMAN Foundation. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Members like Big Country are loaded into convertibles with a crane. As a sinister, black, fifth-gen Camaro peeled out of the loading tent and onto Woodward, Big Country smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the classics,\u201d he said. \u201cThe metal, the roar, the horsepower!\u201d<\/p>\n

Waitin\u2019 out the wet<\/h2>\n

Birmingham \u2013<\/em>\u00a0Big slicks mean big trouble in the wet, so Jim Pranis and his Pittsburgh pals waited out the rain Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n