This author had always wanted to experience the mother of all cruises, and it’s back in Metro Michigan on Woodward Avenue—“America’s First Highway.” The official event was Saturday, August 16, but the celebration lasts the week before and continues about a week after. Since it was on my bucket list, I decided to spend two weeks in Michigan to take it all in and cruise with the 40,000 classic cars from around the world.
Did you know this started 30 years ago? This 30th annual event began with a group of local volunteers, including Nelson House, to bring back the nostalgia of the ’50s and ’60s—the heyday of rock ’n’ roll and the seed of hot rods, classics, and Motorheads. Yes, this roadway was used by our forefathers for unofficial street racing. Today, this celebration of Motorheads is the largest single-day automotive event in the world, bringing over $50 million into the Metro Detroit economy.
Monday: With friends and family along, we planned for this trek. Since my brother-in-law lives in the area, we decided to take one of his rides. Cars from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, as well as late-model muscle cars, hot rods, customs, and trucks were everywhere. We cruised in the evening—light on late models and classics, but heavy on “grocery-getter wannabes.”
Tuesday: Not too many rides, again more grocery-getters, but the highlight was lunch at Vensetta Garage between Mile 11 and 12. (This cruise is measured by mile streets!) Great lunch, awesome venue.
Thursday: A nice day for a ride into the country. I helped my brother-in-law run front brake lines on his heavily modified ride—nothing factory fits. I’ve become the wizard at running lines and bubble flares. Three hours later, we had brakes, and capped the evening with a cruise in his Vette to Woodward Ave in Pontiac. Wow! Ten miles of cars each direction, four lanes each side. We walked some, but cruising was a hoot. GT40s, VWs, classics—you name it, it was there, and it was only Thursday!
Friday: Things were heating up with cool rides everywhere. We started the morning at the M1 Concourse—the premier motorsports destination on Woodward Ave. It’s a festival with food, an air-conditioned event center, specialty parking, exotics, late models, and factory race cars. We attended a Viper history lecture, scored event apparel before it sold out, then cruised again. By then, spectators were staking their spots and real estate was scarce. We grabbed lunch and then checked out Back to the Bricks in Flint. We were a bit early, so we headed back to Woodward to cruise and chill.
Saturday – Cruise Day! We left early for the much-anticipated Woodward Dream Cruise. The official route covers 16 miles through nine suburban communities of Oakland County: Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Royal Oak, Pleasant Ridge, and Pontiac. At capacity, with four lanes each way, 12,000 to 20,000 cars could be cruising, plus thousands parked along the route. That’s 15,000 to 24,000 cars at any given time. Considering the weeklong build-up, the actual number could easily top 50,000. Nearly one million spectators make this North America’s largest single-day car event—and from what I saw, I believe it!
We had cruised most days, but Saturday was the day. We made several laps, ignoring the grocery-getters since the route isn’t closed to just classics. The highlight was Mustang Alley, sponsored by Ford. They take over a side street nearly a mile long, packed with Mustangs of every type, color, and model. If you’re a Mustang person, this is the place to be.
All in all, it was great to finally do this and check it off my bucket list. If it’s on yours, here’s my advice: allow a week before the event to get acclimated and learn the lay of the land, pick your spot early, and dress for humidity. Motorhead out!
