A Goodyear blimp hovered over Woodward Avenue Friday morning. More than a few spectators already were staking out their spots in front of businesses along the boulevard, even as morning commuters in sport utilities outnumbered a small fleet of classics, muscle cars and sports cars making the rounds from approximately 12 Mile Road to 17 Mile. I appreciate Matt Stone's comments about Pebble Beach, yet I have a bias toward the Woodward Dream Cruise, held the same weekend nearly every year, even though my tastes lean toward sports cars. As much as I like the Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, I can't relate to cars that go for $2.31 million, Hollywood name on the title or no.
No trailer queens have ever darkened the eight lanes of Woodward Avenue. Mostly, the cars belong to locals who drive them all summer, culminating in this weekend, when enthusiasts come from around the world (but mostly, from other Midwest states and parts of the Northeast). Some of these cars are glorified beaters. Some are fakes; 340 Cudas with Hemis dropped in, "'57" Chevys made of reproduced parts, or the automotive equivalent of steampunk, a '50s car with a modern drivetrain.
Most are just well kept, low-mileage '50s and '60s American iron, DeSotos, Edsels and Oldsmobiles, Mustangs, Camaros and Javelins that have been passed down through families, sold to neighbors or found on eBay.
And of course, there's the corporate involvement. Ford's official involvement appears to be subdued this year, but GM and Mopar are going at it big-time. Major supplier Eaton, long a sponsor of the Dream Cruise, has its Eaton Performance Park at a key corner at 13 Mile and Woodward. It's boasting interactive exhibits by Eaton, Allstate, Cherry Bomb (wonder how Allstate and Cherry Bomb get along), Comp Cams, Dynomax, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, K&N Filters, Quaker State, Tremec and others.
GM's Bob Lutz drove up to the Athens Coney Island diner that the automaker owns for one week each August, to officially unveil the new version of the Chevy HHR Thursday evening. The 260-horsepower, supercharged '08 HHR SS "is not a special edition with sunset bronze paint, okay?" Maximum Bob said, taking a shot at his former employer's new PT Cruiser. From Athens Coney, in Birmingham, I raced up to Auburn Hills to get new Chrysler chief Robert Nardelli's reaction ... no, to catch him hanging out with a group of Plymouth Prowler enthusiasts (laugh, but they came in big numbers) at the Walter P. Museum.
A Chrysler PR guy pointed out Nardelli's Prowler, a rather garish orange job with a graphic painted on the side. That was a mistake ... turns out Nardelli's 2000 Prowler is a much more subdued tuxedo gray and black model. Nardelli made some comments to the press about the economy and how he'd like to see the Feds cut interest rates, and how he's getting along with Chrysler's status quo management. Product chief Frank Klegon and vice chairman and president Tom LaSorda are especially helpful, he says. But mostly it was a photo op to get Nardelli wearing an orange Prowler owners' club shirt and see him drive off in the car.
My snapshots here include some scenes from Motor Trend parent Primedia's annual Thursday night party at Duggan's, this year co-sponsored with SEMA.
No, nothing quite so pretty as Talbot Lagos, Duesenbergs and Alfas crossing the 18th green at Pebble, but it's quite an enthusiast's party. Wish Pebble and Woodward could pick different weekends every August.