DETROIT – An estimated 1.2 million car enthusiasts – roughly one out of every four people living in metropolitan Detroit – turned out to see 30,000 –40,000 cars and trucks roll along Woodward Avenue amidst the smells of automotive exhaust, intermingled with the tempting aroma of barbeque, at the 13th annual Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 18.
The Woodward Dream Cruise originated as a rolling car show of shiny paint and chrome for baby boomers who longed for the days when “Cruisin’ Woodward” was a coming of age ritual where raging hormones set off impromptu street races and the pecking order was established by how fast your GTO could go.
This was the spot where the Big Three’s engineers, like Pontiac’s John Delorean, would roll into Woodward’s fabled Drive-Ins and challenge the local teens to races as they tested the mettle of the metal on this real-world test track. They often went home with new respect for what the locals were doing in their backyards. It was a time of innocent, high-octane fun that defined a generation and helped to create the muscle car era.
This auto crazed town salutes its past once a year with enough polished relics of its glory days to melt a glacier as it celebrates the era when Detroit iron ruled Woodward and the world.
Officially it’s only a one day event but participants, hungry for the Woodwardin’ experience, start cruising the 16 mile route from the Michigan State Fairgrounds just south of Eight Mile Road, to Pontiac, where Woodward ends, days in advance. There is talk of extending the cruise farther south into Detroit as neighborhoods along the avenue are going through a resurgence.
The popularity of the event attracts automotive manufacturers, supplier companies, and aftermarket retailers such as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler who showcase special vehicles while mingling to the crowds.
This mechanical Woodstock creates a traffic jam worse than any rush hour and this slow crawl is an ironic twist to the street races it’s meant to celebrate.
The roar of muscle car engines from late 1960s and early 1970s vehicles, greeted viewers’ ears, along with the occasional screech of tires as some drivers burned rubber. Temperatures hovered in the upper 70s and it was sunny for much of the day though clouds rolling in toward evening and the first droplets of rain fell at night.
One of the car enthusiasts participating in the cruise was American Airlines Captain Al Smith of Farmington Hills, MI, a Detroit suburb that is about 14 miles west of Woodward Avenue. He brought out his two-tone – mostly red and white – ’57 Chevy convertible, powered by a 540 cubic inch Chevrolet engine and four-speed automatic transmission.
“We also put in a custom interior and a racing suspension,” added Smith who finished restoring/modifying the Chevy in March just in time for Detroit’s AutoRama show of custom cars. “This is my first dream cruise with it. It was a basket of parts when I got it.”
Another vehicle that appeared along Woodward for the dream cruise could be considered the last, best ride that anyone could have. The white, nearly 20-foot-long 1940 LaSalle hearse is owned by Detroit’s Swanson Funeral Home.
“This was the hearse that we used for the cortege (funeral procession) for Mrs. Rosa Parks,” said O’Neil D. Swanson II, funeral director.
His sister, Linda E. Swanson, added that the hearse was used for the funerals of Reverend C.L. Franklin of Detroit, who was the father of Motown singer Aretha Franklin; David Ruffin, lead vocalist of the Motown band The Temptations; and Billy Henderson, the soul singer of the Motown band The Spinners.
The vehicle seems to have had a mundane history before the Swanson funeral home acquired it about 1979 when his father found it sitting up on blocks, missing its wheels, in the tiny community of Lapeer, MI, O’Neil D. Swanson II said. It was the last year that General Motors made the LaSalle cars, which were a sister brand to Cadillac.
“It was originally black and it has always been a hearse,” he noted. “The chrome detailing on the side (made to look like arched church windows) is all original.”
Auto manufacturers and various aftermarket automotive suppliers joined the Cruise to showcase special editions, revamped car models and their products.
Hoping to build public excitement for the return of the muscle car Chrysler rolled out the show car version of the upcoming Dodge Challenger and showed off a special edition of its PT Cruiser.
They called this 2008 Chrysler PT Street Cruiser, the Sunset Boulevard Edition. Only 500 of the special edition PT Cruisers, each painted in a maroon red, officially called “Sunset Crystal,” with a few chrome accents, will be built, said Larry Lyons, Chrysler vice president of the Front-wheel-drive Product Team.
The car is dedicated to a great American road – Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard – that is part of Hollywood legend and the inspiration for countless songs, movies and TV shows.
Powered by a 2.4-liter naturally aspirated engine that produces 150 horsepower, the PT Street Cruiser Sunset Boulevard Edition can be equipped with either a five-speed manual transaxle or a four-speed automatic transmission. With the five-speed manual, the engine achieves 21 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway based on 2008 EPA estimates. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is $16,650 for the manual transaxle version and $17,475 for the automatic model.
Dodge, meanwhile, “painted the town orange” at its display at the Northwood Shopping Center at Woodward Avenue and 13 Mile Road in Royal Oak with displays of 10 classic Challengers in addition to cars owned by the cruisers. Exhibited was the Challenger show car that was originally unveiled two years ago at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Prototype models of the new Challenger, heavily camouflaged, have been zipping around metropolitan Detroit area roads.
“We previously announced that Dodge will build a Challenger production model and we are starting to build up awareness (for the new Challenger) among the dream cruisers,” noted Mike Accavitti, 48, director of the Dodge Brand.
“I’m a classic Challenger owner myself,” Accavitti added. He owns a lime green, black topped 1970 model with a 346 cu.-in. engine that he bought in 1998.
About 74 percent of the public recognizes the Dodge Challenger nameplate, even though the classic muscle car version was only built from 1970 –’74, Accavitti said. The new Challenger’s styling, which takes elements from the classic model, will be a modern design with more room than competing models and creature comforts that include air conditioning and electronic stability control.
“The vehicle is going to add some sizzle to the lineup,” Accavitti said, but declined to talk about the “powertrain availability” for the new car. Many automotive pundits, however, have speculated that the current Hemi engine will be available on the Challenger. “The heritage of this vehicle is about stunning looks and performance and that’s two of our objectives with this car,” he added. How it will do in an era that’s becoming fixated by rising gas prices remains to be seen. The first gas crisis and power sapping, federally mandated pollution controls killed the original muscle cars. It remains to be seen if this is déjà vu all over again.
Near the south end of the cruise route, Ford Motor Company sponsored “Mustang Alley,” a five-block long stretch of Nine Mile Road in the city of Ferndale. Toward the middle of the route, some 7.5 miles northwest in the city of Birmingham, the automaker also featured more than 100 classic and new Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in a display at Shane Park, which is about a quarter-mile west off of Woodward.
“Mustang Alley is an enthusiast show and I am a huge enthusiast. Over the years, I’ve had eight Mustangs,” noted Michael Gordon, event director for Mustang Alley. Working at Ford Product Development, he added, “We have almost 700 cars registered for this event and about 100 are ‘wait listed’ because we only had 520 spaces to allocate… at 10 a.m. we’re already two-thirds full so I think we’re going to have a record year.”
One of the most exciting vehicles for Mustang enthusiasts was the limited edition 2008 Ford Shelby GT500 “Super Snake” coupe. Developed by aftermarket supplier Shelby Automobiles in conjunction with Ford Racing, the Super Snake offers a range of options that boost the pony car’s V8 to between 600 to 725 horsepower while producing more than 590 lbs.-ft. of torque. With 20-inch Alcoa aluminum wheels, the Super Snake is equipped with a Ford Racing performance exhaust system, a handling package that includes adjustable dampers, lowering springs, tuned stabilizer bars, and front strut tower braces.
Ford’s display further up Woodward in Birmingham had more than 100 cars, including 1932 Ford “Deuce” Coupes and flathead V8-powered cars, in honor of the vehicle’s 75th anniversary. Other exhibits were from Ford Racing, Saleen, Barrett-Jackson, Roush and Steeda.
Chevrolet rolled out its Super Sport version of its retro-styled HHR compact crossover vehicle at the Athen’s Coney Island restaurant – a Woodward Avenue landmark in northern Royal Oak. GM has used the 1950s styled diner as its dream cruise headquarters for the past several years.
The 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS is not a special edition, but a new version, added General Motors Vice Chairman Robert Lutz, after parking the prototype model in the restaurant’s parking lot during a media preview on Thursday, Aug. 16.
Equipped with an Ecotech 2.0-liter, direct injection (DI), turbocharged engine, the inline four-cylinder powerplant delivers 260 horsepower and 260 ft.-lbs. of torque at 2,000 rpm for the manual transmission version.
“This car will go 0-60 in 6.3 seconds,” Lutz said. “It has a top speed of well over 150 mph which will make the German customers happy.
“To earn the designation SS – we don’t do fake SS’s anymore – it has to go, it has to stop, and it has to turn. And this one does all of those things. On the skid pad, the maximum lateral G is .86 which puts it up in some pretty impressive company,” Lutz added.
The HHR SS has a special suspension, specially calibrated springs, high-performance shock absorbers, heavier stabilizer bars, and massive four-wheel disk brakes. Five-spoke, 18-inch polished forged aluminum wheels and performance tires are standard on the vehicle, which also has exterior body enhancements to give it a lower, performance-oriented stance.
Inside, the HHR has SS-embroidered sport seats and a new gauge cluster with a 140-mph speedometer.
“One thing unlike the 1960s super cars is that instead of getting 8 or 9 mpg, (the HHR SS) gets 26,” Lutz said. “The second thing is that it will go around corners, which the 1960s muscle cars did not like to do.”
Chevy began selling the HHR in 2005 and it has become the retail sales leader of its segment, bypassing the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the Scion xB, and the Honda Element, said Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper. “In 2006, the first full year of production, we sold over 101,000 HHR cars,” he noted and more than 200,000 have been sold since its introduction, surpassing GM’s sales goals.
“We sold more than 30,000 HHRs to businesses in the first year,” Peper continued. “Earlier this year, we unveiled the HHR panel to build on its dominance and to appeal to consumers who have a desire to personalize and ‘trick out’ their rides.”
GM anticipates that about 10 percent of its HHR sales will be SS models, and these will be in addition to current sales volumes, Peper said.
One of the sponsors of the dream cruise was Detroit Muscle, the aftermarket brand owned by the CMI-Schneible Group, which builds custom cars, performance parts, and car care products. One of vehicles on display was a red 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS with a 632 “Big Chief” Engine producing 1,700 horsepower.
“It does 180 mph at 3,450 pounds,” said Bill Goetz, the company’s chief executive officer. “It is just a frantic street machine.
“I saw it six years ago while driving the Woodward cruise with my son. I walked up and asked the kid owner, you want to sell the car? He said no, and I said, yeah, you do. I bought it. It was a nice car when we got it, but we stripped it and rebuilt it. There is nothing original left on it except the body.”
The CMI-Schneible Group employs 500 people working at seven plants in Michigan and builds air pollution equipment, chemicals, military equipment, as well as custom cars. It purchased the Detroit Muscle brand from two entrepreneurs who started a clothing line with the tagline “100% pure Detroit Muscle” for the 2004 dream cruise. The line of cloths has since grown to include button-down shirts, sweat pants and tops, and also is the name for some of the company’s car care products and other accessories, such as lawn chairs and coolers.
A new feature for the Woodward Dream Cruise was the “Eaton Performance Park,” located in Royal Oak’s Memorial Park at the corner of Woodward and 13 Mile Road. Sponsored by automotive supplier Eaton, several aftermarket retailers were brought together in a central location for the first time.
Exhibitors at the Eaton Performance Park included Dynomax, a performance exhaust specialist, which allowed pre-registered cruisers to bring their muscle cars to run on a portable a chassis dynamometer station. Competing for prizes, the participants also had a chance to enter the “horsepower shoot-out” that will be held at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) Show this fall in Las Vegas.
Another exhibitor was Year One, a Georgia-based company that provides muscle car restoration parts for 17 car lines, including the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, and the 1966 –1974 B and E Body Mopars – the Chargers and Challengers, noted Year One Customer Relations Representative Chad Fezatte. One of the cars on display outside the company’s trailer was a black 1978 Pontiac Trans-Am.
“We are contracted with Burt Reynolds and the DYI Network to build 12 new renditions of the Bandit cars (from the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit”),” Fezatta said. “For the most part, the (Bandit cars) look like a stock Trans-Ams, but they have body modifications to clean up the lines.”
The Bandit car on display at the dream cruise was the “phase one” prototype model with a 5-speed manual transmission (which was never offered on the original car) and a 450 horsepower engine with an estimated fuel economy of 15 –20 mpg.
“We also offer a phase 3 model that has a 650 hp engine,” he noted. “These cars have bigger brakes than the originals, 18-inch aluminum wheels all around, and a lot smoother ride. The original Trans-Ams used to wander all over the road and you really had to drive the car. These drive almost like a Cadillac.”
The price tag for the “Bandit” cars is considerably higher than the approximately $5,000 a customer paid for a mid-1970s Trans-Am. The “phase one” base model starts at $129,900, but on the inside, along with the special “Bandit” seats, it has a DVD navigation system, and an i-Pod compatible Boston Acoustic Sound System that will let the driver have a “concert on wheels” if the purr of the engine weren’t enough.
In regards to purring engines, some mufflers are designed to quiet cars while others allow the driver and bystanders to hear every bray of the horses under the hood, such as the products made by Cherry Bomb Exhaust Systems of Tennessee.
“Ours slogan is disturbing the peace since 1968 and that’s pretty much what our products do,” said Matt Graves, Cherry Bomb marketing manager. “We have a range for everyone from those who want to add performance to their cars, but not a lot of sound, to people who want to push the envelope on a street car or a race car.”
Offering mufflers from “mellow, mild to loud,” the company’s best-selling line are its loudest mufflers including the Cherry Bomb Blast Pack, Graves said.
The company had its own tricked up black 1965 “Mom-Daddy Caddy” Coupe DeVille that was equipped with six-foot-long blast packs.
“It’s the perfect Woodward car to cruise up and down the street at night,” Graves said.
Thousands of people thronged the streets looking at the Mustangs, Chevys and Chryslers and all the performance displays. But the real show was taking place on the streets as enthusiasts rolled by to the oohs and ahs of the throngs who lined the streets to cheer on the endless parade of dream machines.
The Woodward Dream Cruise is a must for any red-blooded car lover who longs for the days when the Motor City ruled the roost and still hopes it will find its mojo again.
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