There is nothing in the world like the Woodward Dream Cruise. It takes place every year for one Saturday in August and brings over 1 million car enthusiasts to southeast Michigan. Over 40,000 vehicles cruise a 15-mile stretch of Woodward Avenue and re-create a scene that took place every night along this road in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. By sheer numbers the Dream Cruise is the largest of the automotive events in Southeast Michigan. It is by no means the only event and location that draw people to the Motor City. With the large number of car-oriented activities that take place, the Autopalooza.org website serves as a clearing house and info center for all things automotive for the area. The site is supported by The MotorCities National Heritage Area, visitdetroit.com, and Pure Michigan.
The Autopalooza.org Tour started in Dearborn on the Saturday prior to the Dream Cruise weekend. We were headquartered right around the corner from the Henry Ford, which includes the famous museum and Greenfield Village. The museum is always a highlight of our week in the Detroit area. Sunday we headed one hour north to the annual Rockin' Rochester Car Show then onto the famous Baker Restaurant Cruise, which takes place every Sunday during the summer in Milford.
Monday was a very full day for the Road Tourians. We started at the historic Nankin Mills for an interesting tour of that early Ford facility. Then it was onto see the Roush Collection in Plymouth and a visit to the Plymouth History Museum. We wrapped up our afternoon with a stop at Vanguard Motors to see their huge inventory of special-interest vehicle that are all for sale.
The fun continued on Tuesday with a very special visit to Fairlane, the original Henry Ford Estate. The home and grounds are under extensive renovation and not open to the general public. We were very fortunate to get a chance to see some of the beautiful grounds and get filled in on the progress of the restoration project. It was a short drive to the Automotive Hall of Fame, which is located next to the Henry Ford Museum. We were greeted at Motor City Solutions by owner Jeff Adwell and manager Gwen Russell. They were ready for our visit with a great lunch and a tour of their extensive restoration and build shop facility. Thanks to Jeff, Gwen, and the entire team for a great stop at Motor City Solutions. We finished our busy Tuesday at Watson Racing. Among many other operations, Watson is the build shop for the Ford Performance Cobra Mustangs. It was a great behind-the-scenes look at what goes into those potent Cobras.
Wednesday kicked off early with a 7:30 a.m. drivers' meeting. It was a 90-minute drive to the Michigan International Speedway (MIS) where we were given a one-hour tour of the huge facility. It was then time to get in our own vehicles to take some laps around the famous racetrack. To say it was exciting does not begin to describe the thrill. Thanks to everyone at MIS who made us feel so welcome. It was then on to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, just north of Kalamazoo. The Gilmore is the largest automotive museum in the country and is always one of the high points of our Michigan week. It was then a two-hour drive to our hotel in Madison Heights.
Thursday began with a tour of the beautiful Meadow Brook Hall mansion, which was the home to the Dodge family and their descendants for many years. From Meadowbrook we traveled onto Pontiac where we got a chance to see the amazing M-1 Concourse facility, which includes private garages and a full road race course. On our way back to Madison Heights we visited Cranbook House and Gardens. Friday many of our group headed back to Pontiac to be part of the Road Kill magazine drags while other checked out the activities up and down Woodward Avenue.
Saturday was the day we had all looked forward to the entire week. The official Woodward Dream Cruise begins early and continues all day. The crowds are overwhelming but we had a special Road Tour area in Memorial Park in Royal Oak and we were right in the center of everything. It is an event that you have to see and experience for yourself to understand the magnitude. It was a perfect ending to a week filled with some of the greatest automotive-related functions and attractions that Southeast Michigan has to offer. If you want to be part of the Dream Cruise experience then join us in August as the Autopalooza.org Tour returns to the Motor City.
The Henry Ford Museum has many treasures on display. One that most of us can really relate to is this vintage McDonald's Golden Arches sign with a 1956 Chevy parked underneath. We kicked off the Autopalooza.org Tour at the Henry Ford in Dearborn again this year. Each year on the Sunday before the Woodward Dream Cruise the Rochester Lions Club organizes a car show in Rochester, MI. It was a great turnout when we visited and all of the proceeds go to Leader Dogs for the Blind. Thanks to event Chairman Bill Claussen, the Road Tourians had great parking spots at the show. The Baker Cruise is held every Sunday during the summer in Milford, MI. It is one of the largest and longest-running weekly cruises in the country. During our visit the crew from the Mob Steel TV show was filming for an episode of that popular cable series. Nankin Mills was our first stop on Monday morning. This was one of Henry Ford's first “village industries” where local farmers were employed part time by Ford to manufacture parts used in the auto assembly process. The facility is part of the MotorCities Automobile National Heritage Area. When most folks hear the name Jack Roush they think of that “cat in the hat” overseeing his NASCAR teams at all the races. He also has a fantastic and wide-ranging collection of special-interest vehicles. We visited the collection in Livonia. This is one of his vehicles that competed in the 2005 Great Race. We were very fortunate to be able to make a special visit to the Henry Ford Fairlane Estate in Dearborn. The home and grounds are in the middle of a major renovation but site manager Annie Rubel took the time to speak with us about the project. We were permitted to get some pictures of our cars out front. It was a short drive to the Automotive Hall of Fame, which is located next to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. The Hall of Fame honors the men and women who played a part in the history and development of the automobile and the auto industry. It was very interesting and well worth a visit by any auto enthusiast. In Taylor, MI we visited the headquarters of Motor City Solutions. Motor City Solutions is a multifaceted automotive company. They offer automotive media and marketing management, vehicle preparation and transportation, fleet management and vehicle engineering, evaluation, and verification. They have recently opened a hot rod and restoration build shop and it is state of the art. We visited Watson Racing in Brownstown, MI. Watson Racing has a very close relationship with Ford Performance and actually builds the Cobra Jet Mustangs. The size and scope of the facility was staggering. Many thanks to Adam Gair, project manager at Ford Performance for arranging this special behind-the-scenes tour. You never know where an ARP/STREET RODDER Road Tour will take you. On Wednesday the Autopalooza.org Tour took us to Michigan International Speedway where we got a chance to take some hot laps around the two-mile racecourse. For many it was the high point of our week. The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners just north of Kalamazoo is one of the finest auto museums in the nation. The scope of vehicles on display is wide ranging. While tribute is paid to the traditional classics of the '20s and '30s, the Gilmore folks know that hot rods played a part in the history of the automobile in America. Located on the grounds of the 90-acre Gilmore Car Museum the Blue Moon Diner is a functioning restaurant that is open every day for lunch. The Gilmore also hosts a weekly car cruise every Wednesday during the summer. On Thursday we drove up to see the new M-1 Concourse. This amazing facility has privately owned garages that can only be described as auto condos. It also features a road racecourse that is available to the garage owners. We were greeted by the project developer and CEO Brad Oleshansky (center) who took time to explain the concept to our group. The corner of 13 Mile and Woodward Avenue is considered by many to be ground zero for the activities during the Woodward Dream Cruise. Thousands of vehicles and hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators jam the streets and sidewalks for 6 miles north and south of this point. A view from above gives a good idea of the size of the crowds that line Woodward Avenue. The Dream Cruise has grown to become the largest participant and spectator auto event in the nation. It is a great boost to the local economy and gives people a chance to see the vibrancy of Detroit and Southeast Michigan. It was a fun-filled week on the Autopalooza.org Road Tour. We had a jam-packed seven days and everyone had a great time. Plan on joining us again in August as we return to Detroit and the Woodward Dream Cruise.
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