  Al_t_publican Member Username: Al_t_publican Post Number: 203 Registered: 06-2004 |
I was able to get a preview of the Dream Cruise on the Wed night before the event and then had to return home to San Diego the next day. I lived in Detroit, City of, until a few years ago and had mixed feelings about the Dream Cruise, somewhat to the positive, I might add. Though this is a belated query, I'm interested in knowing what the estimated crowd was along Woodward, if it rained the day of the cruise and if that kept some away, and about crowd behavior, if it is generally a problem free event or if there are growing problems with drinking and rowdiness. Also, what is the consensus among merchants and residents along Woodward, is there a move to curtail or cancel the event or are folks mostly cool with it? I go to many outdoor classic car shows in SoCal and have been telling folks about the Woodward Ave cruise and that it's the biggest classic event in the country. There is a big Route 66 them car event coming up in San Bernadino in Sept I plan on hitting. It's always good to have something to say about Detroit at these events. | ||
Crew Member Username: Crew Post Number: 1352 Registered: 02-2004 |
I believe the Woodward Dream Cruise claims to be the largest SINGLE DAY classic car event in the country. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 2120 Registered: 10-2003 |
It didn't rain until late in the day on the day of (saturday). As for merchants, mixed reviews along expect lines. Bars and restaurants and other such service places along Woodward naturally profit from the event. However, if you own Bob's House of Mattresses, and are on Woodward, expect no business that day. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9896 Registered: 10-2003 |
Crazy story if nobody saw it: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=20077082904 06 Cruise crowd didn't notice body Homeless man found Monday in Royal Oak park may have been dead since Aug. 18. | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 1646 Registered: 11-2003 |
Interesting side note about that. The port-a-potties were still in the parkland across from Memorial Park stinking up the place for the last two weeks. Today, they were all gone. I wonder if they were afraid there were more bodies. | ||
Al_t_publican Member Username: Al_t_publican Post Number: 204 Registered: 06-2004 |
I guess that discovery gives new meaning to "dream cruise." Was it estimated over 500K lined Woodward. | ||
Softailrider Member Username: Softailrider Post Number: 61 Registered: 02-2007 |
Higher ups in government say its a money losing event when all costs such as extra policing and clean up is tallied . I've attended all 13 , my favorites were the first few , before it became so commercial . There's lots of visitors from outside the area . Hotels and motels must do pretty well , those people aren't camping out on the street . | ||
Jman Member Username: Jman Post Number: 89 Registered: 10-2006 |
WXYZ announced on their Dream Cruise show that there were 1.2 million people and 40,000 classic cars. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 127 Registered: 06-2007 |
Drunkenness becomes a slight problem later on in the evening. When a few people get liquored up, they literally harrass every cruiser in earshot to "do a burnout", which gets tickets.When a cruiser refuses,they don't leave them alone. I had a beat up early-90s olds pull up next to me. The obviously intoxicated passenger said "Hey man, race you for the title." Was funny at first, until he kept bothering me on and on about it, then started bothering me about other things. The classic cars start to dissapear around 5 pm and give way to obnoxious kids in late-model cars and the crowds get larger and more immature. Go cruising from 9Am-4PM.Then park a few blocks away and watch the event or look at the cars on display.Then you can get back to your car by 8:30 and beat the madness when the police shut down the major intersections. Buisnesswise, I supported Mr.Pita near 14 mile. They were more tolerant of cruisers using their lot, and healthier than Burger King.I parked in their lot to eat, than watch cars, and in turn, gave them my buisness and money.They were pretty cool about the whole thing. The motels along Woodward housed cruisers, too. Ive never seen those places so active with people. | ||
Redvetred Member Username: Redvetred Post Number: 46 Registered: 04-2007 |
I have attended or participated in every Dream Cruise and 2007 was one of the best. I have been to Ferndale, Royal Oak, Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills and now Pontiac. We decided to go to Pontiac because of the attitudes of Royal Oak and Birmingham officials. Friday night and Saturday there were plenty of burn outs along Wide Track Blvd. Pontiac police showed restraint with the cruisers and clamped down on abusive and dangerous drivers. Even though some of the crowd booed the officers and tickets, most of the bystanders felt they were appropriate. Saturday afternoon was packed and 1.2 million persons and 40,000 cars seemed realistic. Pontiac was a good spot to actually see the cars move faster than a crawl. One of the most unusual cars was a Hupmobile hot rod. Never saw that one before. This was my first time in Pontiac and my friends and I will be sure to return. Both the Oakland Press and City of Pontiac did a Great job. | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2461 Registered: 10-2003 |
Al_t_publican: Hope you made it over to Northwood at 13 and Woodward to see the cars!! We were there Monday through Wednesday evenings, and then took to walking Woodward up to 14 Mile on Thursday evening. Friday I spent the day in the Woodward-13 Mile area as well as in Ferndale. Enjoyed the Berkley CruiseFest classic car parade and live music performances afterward. Saturday we cruised early down to the State Fairgrounds and all the way up to The Loop and back home to 13 and Woodward, with a couple stops along the way to check out car gatherings!! Then we hit the pavement...walking up to Birmingham and back over 6 hours...then after a dinner break, I went back out to catch the last 3 hours of the Cruise. We had a wonderful time...never saw any unruly or drunken behavior...sure it's always a lot raucus around Duggan's, but nothing to worry about. Too bad it rained starting around 7:30 that evening and sent many people home earlier than usual and then washed out the always laid back Sunday post-cruising activities. Already looking forward to next year's Cruise!!! Hope you can make it back!! | ||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 1119 Registered: 12-2005 |
I came across this pretty good Flash slide show with appropriate musical selections from that era: The Cars We Drove In The 50s & 60s | ||
Redvetred Member Username: Redvetred Post Number: 47 Registered: 04-2007 |
Mikeg: Thanks for the 50s & 60s site. Nice escape and quite enjoyable for a Saturday morning over coffee. | ||
Supersport Member Username: Supersport Post Number: 11672 Registered: 10-2003 |
I have to agree with Kathleen, the drunken behavior for the most part seems to be a thing of the past. As were people doing burnouts from what I could tell. I'm sure as the road gets shut down at night's end there are still plenty of people doing burnouts, but from what I can tell, the law enforcment agencies have the event well under control. I'm sure the argument over whether or not the cost of the event outweighs the positives will never be settled. In years past, I had thought that there were too many SUV's and minivans mixed in with the cruisers. These past couple of years, I think it has become a nice mix of cars. Of course, I'm not one who minds seeing HHR's, PT Cruisers, new Vettes, last Camaros/Firebirds, Mustangs, Vipers, 300's, new Chargers, GTO's, and any other new muscle mixed in, which was well represented. I think the event has grown acceptance as an event that will always be in place. While some argue that it shouldn't be a week long event, that it should be confined to the one official day, I say officially make it a week long event. Let's face it, the auto industry is about the only way we could ever create a week long celebration of any sort in this region. Why not promote an automotive Mardi Gras? To me, the number of cars and people, ranging anywhere from 30,000-40,000 classics and 1.2-2 million people trump any other event Detroit ever hosts. I'd say that more people attend the Dream Cruise than the North American International Auto Show. Likely come from farther reaches of the globe, because lets face it, aside from reporters, the number of international attendees at the NAIAS is probably relatively small. So in my eyes, the event has stumbled a few times since leaving the gate, but has grown into a spectacular event that needs to be pushed even harder. Team up with the Big 3, local museums, and theatres and take this week long celebration to an even higher level. | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2462 Registered: 10-2003 |
Couldn't agree with you more, Sport!! I think that the automotive museums and historic sites (The Henry Ford, Chrysler Museum, T-Plex, Meadow Brook Hall, Fair Lane, Edsel Ford Estate, National Automotive Hall of Fame, Packard Proving Grounds, to name some) should team up to create a Premier AutoPass (or some catchy name) that can be bought for a set price (say $50) and used for admission to any 4 of the listed museums anytime the Mon-Fri before and after the Dream Cruise plus that Sat and Sun. That might encourage more tourism from visitors and locals in the two week time period around the cruise. Add in some info about the free auto-related sites like GM World in the RenCen or sites that could be done via self-guided driving tours or organized times and places. The Motor Cities National Heritage Area, Detroit Historical Society, Preservation Wayne, and other organizations could and should join together in this effort. I'm sure that there are people like myself who would be willing to donate their time to lead tours, etc. Maybe some organized mini-car gatherings at some of the museums and sites during those two weeks would also be a way to pull more classic cars together in a organized way to attract more visitors to those sites. |
