Originally intended to document my experience of DeLorean ownership, focus is often radical and strange, boring and obtuse.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

17th Annual Woodward Cruise

The Charger! Bo & Luke's ride of choice.

Within 10 minutes of arriving, I watched as a classic muscle car performed a burnout to a cheering crowd, get pulled over instantly and handed a hefty $200 ticket. Ouch.

I've been to the Woodward Cruise before, and it sure has calmed down from the good ol' days of police in riot gear, but there was still a heck of a lot of action and bizarities.

Wanna see flames and fireballs shoot out of exhaust pipes? Check. A car covered in motherboards and computer chips named Carputer? Check. "Honey I shrunk the car" licence-plated golf cart versions of full sized vintage cars? Check. A rusty 30's hot rod powered by a behemoth Caterpillar diesel? Check. A Ford and Chevy guy getting along? Che... uh... not sure about that one.

Goodness gracious great balls of fire!The Woodward Cruise is an unbelievable experience. Not as unbelievable as say, stealing one of the retired space shuttles, launching it from your backyard and landing on Mars with it. But it IS the largest car show on Mars. I mean Earth.

And at the world's largest car show, it's not what you saw, but more likely what you didn't see. There's always a couple hundred Corvettes around. Ditto for the beautiful Olds 442. But how about something unusual, like a Studebaker Avanti. It was there. Ten DeLoreans cruising down the road bumper to bumper with their doors open? You bet. A Ford GT? Yup. A Tesla roadster? Of course. Ecto 1 from the Ghostbusters? Yuppers! A 25-foot long speed boat on a trailer sans car, driving itself??? Yes. A super-rare Buick GNX? Absolutely!

Yes, yes yes, they were all there.

When I say they were ALL there I mean it. For days every business along Woodward Avenue is packed with classic cars while more and more cruise up and down the street, bumper to bumper to bumper. Revving, yelling, cheering, and lighting up their tires.

Your insanity levels have to be measurable to enjoy the Cruise. After all, Woodward Avenue is quite literally the only place on earth where people drive from all the way across the country with the sole intention of causing, and staying stuck in, a massive traffic jam.

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6 Comments:

Blogger Ellie Creek Ellis said...

Did you cheering crowd volunteer to pay for the ticket? Looks like a great time love that picture!

8:32:00 AM

 
Blogger Martini said...

What a fantastic idea. I'd certainly chip in a buck to see a burnout. Only because they're so rare now with the police being so strict.

3:18:00 PM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

My Uncle attends this event and has told me that if you hang around long enough, you'll see every car you've owned. These cars in your photo are a painful reminder to me of the lack of imagination among designers who use CAD instead of clay modeling in studios. But that's just my view. Wish I could have been there!

2:15:00 AM

 
Blogger Martini said...

It's true Michael. Design has suffered greatly due to "necessary" aerodynamics. It's sad. It's one of the reasons I love the older cars so much.

9:19:00 AM

 
Blogger reener said...

THAT'S my kind of show! What a thrill to just drive up and down the avenue. Best traffic jam in the country!

If you're ever in the NJ area around Labor Day, check out Lead East at the Parsippany Hilton. Since it's located in a business park, they have access to all the other company's parking lots so it's cars GA-LORE! 4 days of this! It's excellent! Google it if your interested.

10:42:00 AM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Lead East? Tres cool. Have not heard of that. 4 days.... sweet!

11:04:00 PM

 

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