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]
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]
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