Autoblog

The Woodward Dream Cruise has been a very professionally run event for most of the past 13 years, but when it came time to check for updates on the Dream Cruise website, it was amateur hour. That has changed, as the rip-roaring event has been given a more modern website with easy to traverse navigation and cleaner graphics. The site also includes a new blog that features the ideas and knowledge of the Dream Cruise leadership team.

Team Dream Cruise also wanted to feature an all-new logo that captures the spirit of an event that hosts a million people and 40,000 vintage hotrods. The team hand-picked former GM Design Director Dick Ruzzin to come up with a classic yet contemporary design that gives props to the classic car, while also providing the event an extra touch of class. Ruzzin chose the classic 1930's roadster as the new face of the Dream Cruise, and we'd say the end result is a job well done. Click on the gallery below for Ruzzin's progression from first sketch to final product, and click the link below to visit the Dream Cruise website. The actual event takes place Saturday, August 16th, and you know we'll be there.


[Source: Woodward Dream Cruise]

The Woodward Dream Cruise is one of the biggest events in Michigan all year, with 1.2 million people attending and over 40,000 hot rods, exotics, antiques and oddities coming from near and far to one of the world's most storied roads. Yet each year businesses on the cruise route complain that the annual event actually hurts their bottom line. It isn't so much the weekend that kills profits as it is the fact that cruisers plug up Woodward for the entire week before the big cruise on Saturday.

Organizers of the big event may have helped these businesses by transforming the Woodward-centric cruise into a nine day mega-event that spans into the city of Detroit and other surrounding areas. Some of the new events includes a low-rider competition to kick off the event on August 8 to an AutoblogGreen-friendly green car show, motorcycle show, and a Model T event. Sprinkling cruise events around southeast Michigan will give traveling cruisers a better reason to turn their long cruise weekend into a week-long vacation, which will be great for the ailing Michigan economy, as well. With an event as popular as the Dream Cruise, it's a wonder that it took nearly 15 years for local business leaders to capitalize on the event in any meaningful way. We'll be sure to hit as many events as we possibly can, with plenty of pictures and videos for those of you that don't plan on heading into the mitten state.


[Source: Detroit News]

We saw a lot of cars during our weekend on Woodward Ave., but I only remember seeing one Chevette. And it just happens to be the only Chevette I've ever seen with a V6. Yeah, I know, it's not unheard of to stick a 6-cylinder in one of Chevy's first economy cars, but upon seeing this too-hot hatch I said, "That ain't right."

Phil of Berkley, Mich., bought this particular Chevette brand new in 1976. Twelve years ago, he decided it was just lacking something. But what? Oh yeah. It lacked two extra cylinders, a supercharger and, of course, nitrous.

He says even after all the mods, including side exhaust an some super-nonstandard rear tires, the thing is quite streetable and still gets 27 mpg.

Check out more photos of this V6 'Vette in our galleries.

Charles Colombo learned to drive behind the wheel of his older sister's 1950 Chevy convertible on the streets of Rochester Hills, Mich. That was in 1962, and even then, it wasn't a bad first car. After high school, Charles left home for med school, leaving behind the Chevy, expecting one day to drive it again. Returning home for Christmas, however, Charles learned his dad had sold the car. For $50.

"Even then it was worth more than $50, wasn't it?" I asked. He just chuckled. It took a while, but Charles got over losing his first car, and one thing that helped soothe the wound was finding another, better, 1950 Chevy convertible 20 years later.

Continue reading Charles Colombo's story from the 2007 Woodward Dream Cruise after the jump, or see more photos of Charles and his 1950 Chevy in the gallery.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is officially 16 miles long, extending along historic Woodward Ave. from about 9 mile Rd. in Ferndale all the way into Pontiac. There's a proposal on the table, however, to expand the Cruise all the way into downtown Detroit where Woodward Ave. originates, rather than having it begin in Ferndale. The argument is that there would be no auto industry without the city of Detroit, so it should be included in the Cruise, as well. To do so would expand the cruise eight miles, making it a total of 24 miles long.

Having covered the cruise for four years now, this blogger can tell you that despite being 16 miles long, the real action happens within a four-mile stretch between 11 mile and Maple Rd, with the intersection of 13 mile and Woodward being the unofficial epicenter of the action.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is hard enough to see in one day just walking between 11 mile and Maple. Covering it for a site like Autoblog is even harder. Extending it into downtown Detroit would do little to improve the event, and in fact would make it a nightmare for attendees who want to take it all in. It would no doubt benefit the tourism industry in metro Detroit, which is most likely the impetus behind the push for expansion.

As for the argument that Detroit should be included because of its contribution to the industry, should we then have Cruisers hop on the highway and head down to Dearborn? There are many other cities in Michigan that have also had a significant impact on the auto industry, but Detroit is the largest metropolitan area and therefore gets most of the credit. If we were to be honest, the entire state of Michigan deserves the credit, and it can still be honored by cruising once a year north of 9 mile.

[Source: Detroit News]

At Woodward it's easy to see how much everyone loves their cars. From a distance you can see the sheen on the 15 coats of hand-sanded paint or hear the roar of a blown small block. But get closer, pay attention to the license plates and you just might learn something. Some plates give homage to the cars' provenance, others are there so you know what year the car rolled off the line. Others warn would-be challengers what lies under the hood.

Enjoy these personal plates we saw up and down Woodward, and, share any memorable messages you might have seen there as well.

CLK2C the high-res gallery.

If there's one thing Detroit does really well, it's muscle. It was almost impossible to click a shutter without catching some marque's 1960s sports car. We found ourselves having to cut down a muscle car photo library from hundreds of photos to our select favorites, which you can enjoy by clicking the image above or gallery link below.

A visitor to Woodward on Saturday would have plenty reason to believe classic, Hemi-powered Mopars were in no way rare. There were numerous Chargers, Challengers and Superbirds. Firebirds flew down the avenue beside each other, Goats ran with Mustangs and Cudas swam with the Stingrays. As if to keep things lively, an occasional Cobra or Trans Am would fly by, exhaust growling, occupants grinning as they should.

After hours and hours and miles and miles of perfectly painted muscle cars and high-horsepower hot rods, it's refreshing to see the odd Isetta and stuffed-animal-covered van. So as a break from the nonstop Woodward action, we bring you Woodward's oddities.

We're not sure who thought it was a good idea to stretch a Chevy Monte Carlo and turn it into a stock car limousine, but it's here, as well as an overpowered PT Cruiser and some motorcycle thingamabob. Oh, and we can't confirm anything, but we hope McDonald's takes their Mustang Shelby Happy Meal nationwide.

Be sure to check the gallery for more photos of the cars that just couldn't be classified.

Stream ended at 5PM EST on Saturday, 8/18.
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Click above image to see our car and ghetto-style streaming equipment

We're blessed to be automotive journalists in the first place, but we're doubly blessed this weekend to have a Jaguar XK-R Convertible in the Autoblog Garage the same weekend as the Woodward Dream Cruise. This is our Official Dream Cruiser for the festivities, and you'll be sure to see us out idling with the rest of the cruisers later on in the day.

Our other Official Dream Cruiser is Chris Shunk's Ford Freestyle, which at the moment is being used as the mobile command center for our streaming operation. The set up is a bit... ghetto, but it's getting the job done even better than we had hoped.

Check out the gallery below to see the Autoblog HQ at Royal Oak Ford north of 11 mile and our ultra low-tech streaming set up. Please don't laugh, it will hurt our feelings.