Pontiac – Dawn broke over the Woodward Deam Cruise here Saturday revealing asphalt black with burnout marks at the intersection of Woodward and Pike.
It got a lot blacker during the day.
The bookends of the Woodward Dream Cruise have very different personalities. Ferndale opens the Cruise Friday at 5.30 PM each year – blessed by the presence of Ford’s sprawling Mustang Alley display at Como’s – with an official ribbon cutting at Nine Mile and the Lights & Sirens Parade of city emergency vehicles.
Pontiac is the Wild West. No ribbon cutting. No officials. No manufacturer presence. Just wall-to-wall car owners enjoying the world’s biggest car event. After the sun went down Friday, the revs turned up as cars cruised the West Track Loop at the north end of the Cruise’s 16 mile strip before turning south. Saturday’s weather was spectacular with low humidity and temperatures ranging from 64-80 degrees Fahrenheit under an overcast sky.
“It’s a zoo out there,” smiled Dave Nikolas who owns Nikolas Motorsports in Pontiac.
Anthony Maltese, 26, and Seth Thornton, 24, of Sterling Heights own a pair of snarling, V-8-powered Pontiac V-8s and prefer Pontiac to the bumper-to-bumper traffic further south in Birmingham, Royal Oak, and Ferndale.
“This is muscle country right here,” said Maltese whose 6.0-liter V-8-powered G8, modified with a Holden Commodore Kit, shook the ground when he started it. “We like the Wide Track Loop, it’s better than the traffic jams 100%.”
GM named its Pontiac brand after this industrial boomtown in 1926, but by 2009 the Pontiac was being made by GM’s Holden brand in Australia – then imported and rebadged for U.S. sale. Thorntown showed off the MADE BY GM HOLDEN LTD sticker on the inside of the driver’s door while the Pontiac Auto Museum inflated a balloon at the corner of Woodward and Pike.
There are cars ‘n’ cruisers from all over the world here. Windsor, Canada, residents Chris Brooks, 47, and Jennifer Godfrey have heard the buzz about Pontiac fun.
They drove in a heavily-modified, purple, 1989 Ford Ranger pickup – stuffed with a monster 351-cubic-inch Windsor V-8 (made at Ford’s Windsor engine plant, natch) – to Pontiac at 3 a.m. Saturday morning to get their spot on Woodward.
“I heard Pontiac is much more relaxed,” said Brooks wiping sleep from his eyes.
Sixty-eight-year-old Michael Weir had his 1970 Chevelle convertible out along Woodward Avenue, a car he has owned for 22 years. It was just one of the cars he planned to display throughout the day, rotating them out with others, including a 1961 Ranchero and a 1978 Seville. He said all of his cars deserve the experience.
“You must enjoy them,” Weir said. “Otherwise, it is like locking your child up. You must bring them out and see their family. This is their family. Old cars, that’s family. They’re having fun now.”
Weir has been attending the Dream Cruise for 30 years, watching his own love for cars grow alongside the event: “I’ve been doing it ever since a year after they started. I didn’t have a car then, but I rode my bike to see it. I always said, one day I’m going to have one and now I have a few.”
‘Unique experiences’
Ryan Tchorz, who goes by the furry name Miles Trobak, came from Warren with several other furry friends. Some in the group brought cars, including a 1994 Nissan 240SX, while others came to check out the displays or support their friends. Tchorz said he enjoys seeing the wide range of interests within the furry community.
“Everybody does have their own unique experiences,” he said. “You’re going to find just about everything inside the fandom. Like, furries plus cars!”
Detroiter Richard Washington arrived in a 2022 three-wheeled Vanderhall Carmel, a tiny vehicle less than half the height of a typical car. Washington said he loves the car and enjoys whipping it through the city.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Washington said. “It goes pretty fast. It feels like driving a go-kart.”
Leo Poldo Gonzales, a 77-year-old from Adrian, brought a 2015 Chevrolet Express 3500 chassis van with a Detroit Lions logo painted on its side. Inside the massive vehicle, Gonzales had added a sunroof blocker, decorative wall designs and a bunk bed. He arrived at 3 a.m. to find the best spot to park for the cruise.
“I love the Lions, and I’m thinking that they’re going to do it before I die,” Gonzales said. “So, I’m here to represent. I love Detroit, and people love this van.”
Tom Krause parked his black 1973 Corvette in Birmingham, inviting passing children to climb inside and take a picture. Among them was 3-year-old Malik Halilic, visiting from France, a huge car fan who has been able to name cars since he was about 18 months old.
Krause said he was honored to share his love of cars with younger fans.
“That’s one of my favorite things,” Krause said. “The little ones light up when they get to sit in there. That’s the next generation of car nuts.”
Rochelle Forester and her husband brought their Fiat 500 Jolly, a rare “beach car” with wicker seats, a surrey top and no doors or seat belts. The car, painted an orange-red color, was purchased by the couple at an auction about 30 years ago for $8,000. They expect it has appreciated significantly in value since then.
The car can reach speeds of up to 55 mph, and the couple likes to take it out for short spins.
“We mostly drive it to the Dairy Queen,” Forester said. “We get lots and lots of looks. It’s often people’s favorite car at events like this. It’s a friendly little car, it’s not intimidating and people like to come up and talk about it.”
Ronald Hausmann, a longtime Birmingham resident and Dream Cruiser, brought one of his two Kissel Gold Bugs, a rare sports roadster built between 1919 and 1927. Hausmann said only five Gold Bugs built in the same year as his are still known to exist.
“I got this car in 2013. It was sitting in a shed, wrapped up since 1956, just sitting,” Hausmann said. “I started restoring it five years ago, and I finished it eight days ago.”
Since retiring, restoring the cars has kept Hausmann entertained.
“I restore them since I’ve retired because I hate golf,” Hausmann said. “I take it apart, every nut and every bolt, and restore every nut and bolt. The body panels, I sandblast and get repainted. The frame, I sandblast and get repainted. The engine has to be redone. All the upholstery, buy new tires.”
Pony car fans rally at the alley
Allen Whipple, a 62-year-old car enthusiast from Daytona Beach, Florida, brought his newly acquired, sleek red 1968 Ford Mustang GT500 to the cruise. The few miles he drove around Metro Detroit, bringing it to Ferndale, marked one of the only times this car has been on the road.
“I’ve had it for two years,” Whipple said. “I bought it off the guy who restored it in the ’90s, and then it sat for 30 years in his warehouse. He was afraid to drive it and get a little nick or scratch on it, so I put the first miles on it this week.”
Whipple said the Mustang rode beautifully during the short drive and that he had a great time: “I was just so happy. I’ve been waiting decades to have my own.”
Kelli Supernaw strolled along Mustang Alley with her family. She works at Ford and has previously been part of the Mustang team, but she said she is not the biggest Mustang fan in the family. That title belongs to her 3-year-old son, Julian.
“He’s got the GT-500 book at home,” Supernaw said. “So he’s here trying to find all the different snake logos. He just saw a GT-500 and got super excited because that’s the one from his book.”
As Dream Cruisers admired the countless cars in Mustang Alley, music filled the air. Near the entrance, the FAVORITES, a band performing rock and party covers, took the stage at 11 a.m.
David Woodman, a 67-year-old from Indianapolis, displayed his 2022 Shelby GT500, painted a mischievous shade of purple that looks almost black. Four years after buying the car, Woodman is still customizing it. Vinyl stripes run across and around the body, with snakes displayed along the sides.
Woodman got into designing cars as a kid and never looked back.
“This is my fifth Mustang. I drive them, so sometimes accidents happen, but I’ve been all over the country,” Woodman said “A lot of other guys with Shelbys, when I get places, they ask where my trailer is. I’m like, ‘I drove my car here,’ and they’re like, ‘What?’ The highway isn’t as fun as the track, but it’s my car. I love driving it.”
This was Woodman’s third year attending the Woodward Dream Cruise, and he said he quickly knew he would be back.
“A year after COVID, so 2021, I came up with my buddy, and we looked at each other after 10 minutes of being here and said, ‘We’re coming back,'” Woodman said. “That’s how long it took us to figure out this was going to be something we did a lot. It’s just car crazy up here.”
Broncos stake claim to Woodward
Cars of every color, size and design lined the streets of West Nine Mile as more than 130 Broncos rolled in for the Woodward Dream Cruise.
The Ford display featured vehicles from the Bronco Wild Fund, Ford Custom Garage and Bronco Sport lineup, along with several models that drew particular interest.
Among them, Natalie Simon, enthusiast manager, said, were a 2004 concept featured in a movie with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and a 1941 U.S. Army truck.
Bronco also highlighted two of the newest vehicles in its 2027 lineup: the luxury-focused Bronco Filson and the more affordable Bronco RTR.
“In the case of the Filson, we were positioning this as our premium product,” Ed Krenz, chief engineer, said. “So, to do that, obviously the aesthetics in the studio did a great job, but we wanted more power. We wanted better ride. We wanted a quieter cabin. So, all the good stuff of Bronco, as it relates to off-road capability, with no compromise whatsoever.”
The Bronco RTR is focused on providing key off-road capabilities at a lower price, targeting younger drivers.
“Bronco RTR is for more younger, thrill-seeking audiences that want to get into something that has a lot of capability, style, and it’s at an attainable price within the lineup,” Haley Skiko, brand manager, said.
Krenz said Bronco was excited and ready for all Woodward has to offer: “We own the off-road 365 days a year. We like to own Woodward this day.”
Driftin’ for Cruisers
Need a break from the traffic jam (especially for the teens) on Woodward? Take a detour at South Boulevard in Pontiac to M1 Concourse car club for the second annual Woodward Drift Festival.
Some 90 competitors have gathered for the entertaining, tire-burning, engine-roaring event sanctioned by Drift Indy, a grassroots motorsports group. The Drift Festival is the second points-paying event of the season and the entertainment is non-stop as a variety of cars – Corvettes, BMWs, Mustangs, Camaros, Nissan Zs, and more – drift in tandem around M1’s monster skidpad.
Buy a ticket for $35 and you can pop in and out as you please Saturday and Sunday.
Indeed, after practice Saturday, qualifying and points runs are Sunday (a car show is also an attraction). So if you’re still looking for something to do after Saturday Cruise-palooza, the Festival is a great bookend.
“The Grand Prix class is our top competition level, their builds are a level above the street league guys,” said Sam House, marketing manager for Drift Indy. “We have tire size limits to keep the competition pretty level.”
And, boy, do these hot rodders go through tires. If you thought that cloud drifting over Woodward was more Canadian fire smoke, it’s not. It’s drifters smoking the rubber.
Practice runs determine final pairs since the competition is for style points. It’s like pairs skating on asphalt.
“We have good spectator areas all the way around the track. Really good vantage points, and we’ll have some vendors and some food trucks as well,” said House. “We really put a lot of focus on style and driver development. Drift angle is judged whether you’re filling the zones (between pylons) and the chase driver is judged on how well they’re mirroring the lead driver.”
Enter M1 on Rapid Street, then just follow the smoke.
Square Lake and Woodward
The intersection of Square Lake and Woodward has become busier and busier over the years as Cruisers yearn for more real estate to hang out with friends – and for a break from the traffic in Birmingham, Royal Oak, and Ferndale.
Tony DeMasellis, 65, of LaPierre has been coming here since the third Dream Cruise in his 1958 Volkswagen Bug and this year he was joined by two friends in a Porshe Speedster Outlaw and 1968 Porsche 912.
Call them the air-cooled engine club.
To keep up with his speedier buddies, DeMasellis overhauled his 1.6-liter VW engine to produce 90 horsepower over the OG’s 36. “I hit 85 mph on I-75 the other night,” smiled the longtime cruiser of a car that once struggled to reach 65.
Jin Hasselle, 77, of Rochester Hills has no trouble reaching 80 in his Porsche 912. “I’ve had a half-dozen or more Porsches and they all have the same, excellent handling capability,” he said. “But this one really punches above its weight because it had a better front-to-rear weight bias.”
Jeff Lynd’s silver Speedster Outlaw 356 looks like a Porsche 356 but he built it himself from the ground up – adding a beefier engine and tires. Call it Frankenstein’s Porsche, but at just 1,700 pounds with a fat 2.3-liter VW engine, it really moves.
Wining and dining during Cruise
Heather Vliet, event director at The Kingsley Hotel in Bloomfield Hills, said companies have been setting up on the hotel’s lawn to watch the Woodward Dream Cruise for about 30 years. About five to 10 years ago, the hotel began selling designated spots on the lawn for companies to set up tents and host guests. One of those companies is Clarience Technologies, a $1.8 billion Southfield-based conglomerate of 27 businesses, including Dayco, a global automotive and industrial parts supplier.
“We have been doing this at The Kingsley Hotel since 2008 and grown it to have 100 to 200 people here throughout the weekend,” Mark Bara, executive vice president of global new business development at Clarience, said. “We have all our customers from the Metro Detroit area bring their cars in, and we wine and dine them all weekend long. It really helps us to grow our business and gives our customers the chance to just relax and network with us.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Dream Cruise Saturday returns with a roar in Pontiac
Reporting by Henry Payne and Alyssa Tisch, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Henry Payne and Alyssa Tisch, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
