Metro Detroit Cruises & Car Shows

For those interested in cars, I took a few hundred pictures at the Gratiot Cruise in Eastpoint last weekend.

2010 Gratiot Cruise - Eastpointe

Today, I'm heading down to the Downriver Cruise on Fort. I'll update my blog either later today or over the next few days, after I can get all the photos uploaded. For long time forumers, you may recall that my handle comes from a 69 Camaro in which I've owned, and let sit for nearly a decade. Well, as the car nears roadworthiness [[with plans to make Woodward's Cruise), I have documented the progress along the way. For those interested in following my progress:

Motor City Muscle

With over 70+ car shows and cruises in Metro Detroit during any given week, perhaps there are others out there with car blogs and photos in which they could share here. After sitting on the sidelines since 2002, I'm ready to get back in the game. Hopefully I'll be hitting Milan Dragway in 2011!

Make sure you get to Back to the Bricks in Flint. I think it' s the best one in SE MI.

Stupid Flint ,has their cruise on the same day as the Woodward Cruise. What sense does that make?? If they did theirs on Sunday, it would be great. We could drive up there and also partake in their Cruise, but since they have it on the same day it seems to me ,its like some kind of jealousy or something. BAD PLANNING!@

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Originally Posted by Supersport

With over 70+ car shows and cruises in Metro Detroit during any given week...

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Was that a typo? If not...WOW!

After a 22 year hiatus, the Fort Wayne Car Show is back! The attached file tells the story so please feel free to come out and enjoy what appears to be a great show!

See our website for details and come out to show your support our efforts to keep the Fort open. All money generated by this event will go directly to support the entire Fort Wayne site.

See you at the Fort!

Plymouthres

Hey Sport, nice shots of the '57 Plymouth Belvedere and the '59 DeSoto Adventurer at the Gratiot Cruise! Great to see that there are some Forward Look cars out and about this summer.

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Originally Posted by jgavrile

Stupid Flint ,has their cruise on the same day as the Woodward Cruise. What sense does that make?? If they did theirs on Sunday, it would be great. We could drive up there and also partake in their Cruise, but since they have it on the same day it seems to me ,its like some kind of jealousy or something. BAD PLANNING!@

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Wow I have to agree with you. It was VERY bad planning. And it has alot to do with the Woodward Dream Cruise being SOOOOOO packed on Sat, many of the car cruisers won't go. Especially from the northern areas so they made their own cruise. But on the same day, Sunday would have been more appropriate or maybe the weekend before. Could have been a great lead in to the Dream Cruise.

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Originally Posted by Retroit

Was that a typo? If not...WOW!

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I would have to say 70+ is correct. You could go to a different show every night of the summer.

Actually, looks like right around 75 car shows within about a 30 minute drive from downtown Detroit.

http://www.cruisin-usa.com/cnights.html

That doesn't include the annual car shows and cruises, listed below. We have it about as good as it gets when it comes to showing off your ride.

http://www.cruisin-usa.com/mievnts10.html

I hope to make it to the "Back to the Bricks" show some year, but also have an issue with it being the same time as Woodward's Dream Cruise. From what I hear though, Flint is doing plenty well with the number of cars and people that show, some of which have grown tired of Woodward's "bustin' at the seams" size. Even if Flint just extended their show to Sunday, I think it would draw a lot of the out of town/out of state crowd from Woodward.

I've just about completed my upload of the Downriver Cruise pictures. As soon as it's complete I'll post the link.

Here's my coverage of the Downriver Cruise, and nearly 400 pictures from the show.

http://motorcitymuscle.blogspot.com/...-coverage.html

The beautiful weather last evening had plenty of cruisers and spectators out on Woodward in Royal Oak north of 11 Mile Rd. Made a pitstop at the Shell station just south of Normandy [[opposite Pasquale's) and saw some real beauties!!

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Originally Posted by jgavrile

Stupid Flint ,has their cruise on the same day as the Woodward Cruise. What sense does that make?? If they did theirs on Sunday, it would be great. We could drive up there and also partake in their Cruise, but since they have it on the same day it seems to me ,its like some kind of jealousy or something. BAD PLANNING!@

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Who came up with this brilliant piece of marketing? Why not just divide and conquer here? Sheesh. Seriously, with planning like this I can't see how the Flint folks are going to attract others beyond the locals. I even know of non-car people planning around the Woodward Dream Cruise weekend because they know of the enormity of it.

And no offense to our Flint cruise brethren, but what was someone thinking?

Well jgavrile, and smogboy do you guys have old cars? Have you driven in either event? I have and you won't catch me at the Dream Cruise with my hot rod ever again. I made the 200+ mile round trip in my Model A in 2008 and it was a joke. Yeah there's thousands of cars that's true and I've never seen so many late model mustangs and Corvettes, import tuners, Chevy SSR's, $500 4 door Impalas with $2600 wheels, and people on their daily commute at a "cruise" in my entire life.

Every middle aged mullet with a new Challenger or Camaro thinks they need to be in the Dream Cruise. Who wants to see a cruise with cars you can check out at your local dealership? Of course there's a lot of nice rides at the DC but there are so many that have no business being in the show, so many people just trying to get home in their Civics, and so many idiots in minivans with the door slid open videotaping that they ruin the actual cruising and turn the event into a gigantic parking lot.

If there was a cut off date, say 1972 and older and the cruising lanes were kept clear of daily commuters it would be a lot better. But until that happens, Back to The Bricks will continue to grow. It started as a result of how lame Dream Cruise had become, people got sick of sitting in the same spot on Woodward for an hour overheating. It wasn't poor planning that placed the show on the same weekend as Dream Cruise it was a direct result of what that show/cruise had turned into, a parking lot full of cars that don't belong. Here's a shot of me on Woodward, and two from Back to the Bricks.

Bcscott,
You forgot the parking spaces for rent. I'm not cheap, but why should I drive 50 miles to idle in traffic for hours, or pay a hundred dollars or so to park on Woodward? My car in a 60's model, built right, but a black vinyl interior, no a/c=not much fun. And it does not overheat while idling, but it certainly does not help it either.
Compounded with being stuck in a parking place once you are there for hours, not a lot of fun IMO. There's more to an event besides staying in one place from dawn to dusk.

At least with Back to The Bricks, you can get in and out a lot easier, and at where we were last year park for free on a public side street.

I used to go to the Dream Parking Lot [[as I called it), but have not been back since
'04. It's just no fun, again in my opinion.

True,the DC is getting out of hand.Our Olds club is loosing its choice spot @ Long Lake & Woodward this year.Our new spot may be at 131/2 and Woodward.Center of all the mess.I may pass.There are alot of shows, cruises and charity events all summer to keep one busy.I like Baker's in Milford on Sunday.Nice cars,good people and no rush hour /constrution traffic to fight thru to get there.

While I understand most peoples complaints, and can relate to most, Woodward's Dream Cruise is still arguably the biggest/best car show on the planet. I myself have sat in dead stop traffic in 90+ degree temps with my engine pinging away with the temp gauge buried. I've since taken steps to insure that I never had overheating problems again.

Woodward IS still cruisable. I've found that cruising south on Woodward from Coolidge at the McDonald's, to the 696 service drive, looping back north on Coolidge has ALWAYS been smooth sailing. Are there a lot of daily drivers mixed in the cruise traffic? Sure, but has it been overtaken by boring cars? Hardly. I would argue that some people, like myself, don't mind seeing new Camaros, Mustangs, Challengers, Chargers, Magnums, Vettes, and many others mixed in the group. I don't even mind the even less popular HHR's, PT Cruisers, short lived Thunderbirds, and even the import crowds. It's the diversity of the cars that make the show an attraction to a wide range of auto enthusiasts. Woodward's Dream Cruise is a 30+ mile loop, if you can't find a spot to park and a place to watch cars, then you're really not trying.

I find it slightly amusing that you complain about "cruising" at Woodward and the headache it causes, and yet you show two pics of your car PARKED at Back to the Bricks. LOL

The Woodward Cruise has its appeal. It's a party, it's a carnival. You can watch the cars go by. However, you see the same, typical, "enthusiast" cars over and over. Oh look, there's a Camaro. Or, gee, a '57 Chevy. Or, wow, a Deuce coupe. Or a row of Mustangs. Or a couple of yellow Vettes. Or a '68 Road Runner or a new Challenger. You get my drift. It's rare to see anything rare or interesting at the Dream Cruise... it's the same old musclecar and street rod pablum, ad nauseum.

That said, there's still some fun to had there. It's just a bit predictable. Is it worth dealing with the crush of people? I'm not sure.

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Originally Posted by Fury13

The Woodward Cruise has its appeal. It's a party, it's a carnival. You can watch the cars go by. However, you see the same, typical, "enthusiast" cars over and over. Oh look, there's a Camaro. Or, gee, a '57 Chevy. Or, wow, a Deuce coupe. Or a row of Mustangs. Or a couple of yellow Vettes. Or a '68 Road Runner or a new Challenger. You get my drift. It's rare to see anything rare or interesting at the Dream Cruise... it's the same old musclecar and street rod pablum, ad nauseum.

That said, there's still some fun to had there. It's just a bit predictable. Is it worth dealing with the crush of people? I'm not sure.

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but the same old musclecar and street rod pablum is the whole reason for the event. Concours d' elegance it is not, nor does it pretend to be. I'm not a fan of it, but I get it's appeal to those that are into the 60/70s American street rods that make up the cruising majority. I just wish they would figure out a way to charge for it so we wouldn't have the obligatory hand wringing every year about how cities along the route can't afford to participate ..blah blah.

Hey thanks for the info. I have just gotten a muse for photographing Detroit classics.
Photo from riverdays last week.

I find it slightly amusing that you complain about "cruising" at Woodward and the headache it causes, and yet you show two pics of your car PARKED at Back to the Bricks. LOL[/quote]

Then I guess you don't understand how this all works. Back to the Bricks is set up as a cruise that culminates in a show. Thursday and Friday are rolling cruises where you actually get to drive and not sit in one spot for an hour. On Saturday Saginaw St. and all the side streets are shut down and everybody parks and has a car show. This is demonstrated by the single picture of my car parked on Kersley St. The other pic just shows the enormity of the event.

I was at the Dream Cruise in 2005 I think and saw 14 yellow Mustangs from the "yellow mustang club." Yes, fourteen identical bone stock looking 04-05 Ford mustangs all cruising together. Really? People want to see stuff like that? No thanks, I'll stick to the Bricks.

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Originally Posted by Supersport

While I understand most peoples complaints, and can relate to most, Woodward's Dream Cruise is still arguably the biggest/best car show on the planet. I myself have sat in dead stop traffic in 90+ degree temps with my engine pinging away with the temp gauge buried. I've since taken steps to insure that I never had overheating problems again.

Woodward IS still cruisable. I've found that cruising south on Woodward from Coolidge at the McDonald's, to the 696 service drive, looping back north on Coolidge has ALWAYS been smooth sailing. Are there a lot of daily drivers mixed in the cruise traffic? Sure, but has it been overtaken by boring cars? Hardly. I would argue that some people, like myself, don't mind seeing new Camaros, Mustangs, Challengers, Chargers, Magnums, Vettes, and many others mixed in the group. I don't even mind the even less popular HHR's, PT Cruisers, short lived Thunderbirds, and even the import crowds. It's the diversity of the cars that make the show an attraction to a wide range of auto enthusiasts. Woodward's Dream Cruise is a 30+ mile loop, if you can't find a spot to park and a place to watch cars, then you're really not trying.

I find it slightly amusing that you complain about "cruising" at Woodward and the headache it causes, and yet you show two pics of your car PARKED at Back to the Bricks. LOL

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I do this route as well. The one year I did try taking Greenfield up to 14 Mile and coming back southbound was when I ran into a wee bit of vapor lock but I agree that Woodward IS cruisable. Northbound Woodward is definitely no place for those of us with cars that can overheat. It's just too much congestion there for me to deal with.

And while I would love to see JUST all classic cars out there, it truly is the biggest spectacle of automotive nuttiness all on one street. One never knows what will cruise by and that's what makes this event somewhat fun. I really do miss seeing some more of the concept cars that the Big Three used to pull out there when they had some more sponsorships involved but I find the event fun,manageable, and navigable but then I make it so.

You are simply not going to please everybody. When it comes to car shows, everybody has their own idea of what should and shouldn't be allowed in a show or at a cruise. For years, many of the street rod shows only allowed certain years, excluding muscle cars. Gradually, most all street rod shows started allowing not only muscle cars, but switched to a system that increases by 1 model year each season, allowing even more cars at the shows.

I was one who use to attend the all Pontiac shows, the Super Chevy Shows, and even Camarofest. I'll be honest, I no longer really enjoy shows that cater to one make or model. I like a variety, and I enjoy seeing even new cars cruising. Like it or not, those new cars you see will be the cars that begin to dominate the shows and cruises 30 years from now.

We're lucky to have another era that I view as the modern muscle car era. Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, Chargers, 300's, Magnums...they'll all be classics that will stand the test of time. I would even include the Taurus SHO. With a high horse power twin turbo V6 and all wheel drive, even at its hefty weight, it's cool in my book.

Woodward isn't for everyone, and I also have friends who no longer enjoy the size/congestion it has become. One friend even headed up to Back to the Bricks last year after a lap at Woodward. Perhaps I will do that some year. Still, I can't understand why they'd make the show the same week, unless they wish to keep the size under control. Battling for the same spot with Woodward may be the saving grace that keeps it from becoming another 30 mile traffic jam.

Very true, can't please everybody. I'm just prejudiced from the shows I attend like Sins of Steel, Billetproof, Hunnert Car Pileup, Autorama Extreme, etc. They're all for a specific style of car i.e. traditional hot rods and customs. Lots of cars get turned away from those events so the shows themselves don't get dilluted and just turn into another car show.

Back to the Bricks isn't that type of show but my car club is based in Flint and its one of the shows that we all try to attend together. I can't remember if its Good Guys or NSRA but one of those groups just opened their doors to everything up to 1980 or something where as before they had a lot earlier cut off date. A lot of members quit but I'm sure they picked up some new ones too.

As far as Woodward I also cruised down there with some old timer buddies in a 32 Ford Tudor and a 50 shoebox sedan. Its neat, and something I'm proud to say I've done. In fact I cruised Woodward and part of Route 66 in a car I built in my garage in the same year. But unless things change and they tighten it up a bit I'm going to stay in Flint. I'm pretty sure they're not battling with Dream Cruise, its just another option for those who don't want to make the trip or deal with the chaos.

I love cars no doubt about it, Yet I never fell for the hype of the Woodward cruise.I like the Telegraph deal, and the fact that I can walk to the US-12 DEAL EVEN BETTER.If I ever get my 65 Comet on the road I will hit the Dream Cruise at least once.I will hit back to the bricks before I drive the Dream cruise.
I like to drive not sit in traffic.

Oh yeah thanks Res for the info on Ft. Wayne