Woodward cruise tuneup: Hundreds of cars line Michigan's Gratiot Ave.

Click the image above to view the high-resolution Gratiot Oldies pics

With the success of the Woodward Dream Cruise over the past 10+ years, Michigan has earned the designation of "World's cruising destination." To many, Woodward makes sense since it is the oldest thoroughfare in the Motor City, but for five generations of Michigan east-siders, Gratiot was the original cruising hot-spot. My grandfather, dad and I all headed for the avenue named after Fort Gratiot, looking for young ladies or trouble, and usually striking out with both. Tuners have been hitting the scene since before any of the Autoblogers were born, with everything from forced induction to louvers, ground effect lighting, or mag wheels. Since it is southeast Michigan, most of the cars are of domestic nature, but in recent years import tuners have also had their time in the spotlight.

To understand the sheer volume of classic cars in the southeast Michigan area, this past weekend there were two massive classic car shows, plus parking lots full of reconditioned metal in various cruiser hot-spots like Eddie's Drive-In and a local bowling alley. Cars from the '30s-'50s started the classic car craze, and there were plenty to see on Gratiot avenue. Some were a work in progress, but others were highly polished, mobile history with chrome and fins-a-blazing. We were able to grab quite a few shots of these beauties, and they're available in the huge high-resolution gallery below. Make sure to tell us which vehicle you thought was the best. Enjoy!

All photos Copyright ©2007 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.