Latest news with #WoodwardDreamCruise
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bouncing in an '86 Buick at the Woodward Dream Cruise
Bouncing in an '86 Buick at the Woodward Dream Cruise | Brad Galli opens the show with fun Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
2025 Woodward Dream Cruise brings weird, wicked cool together for 30th anniversary joyride
Love it or loathe it, the Woodward Dream Cruise is back, 30 years since it began. For 16 miles along Woodward Avenue on Saturday, Aug. 16, supercars, classics, three-wheelers, hot rods, electric vehicles, muscle cars and even some cars fashioned to drive backward rumbled (or hummed) down the road. The longstanding Motor City tradition was expected to draw more than one million automotive enthusiasts to the Woodward corridor from Ferndale to Pontiac, organizers estimated. Usually on Woodward, fast, loud and shiny cars stand out among a constant stream of everyday commuter cars. Not so during the Dream Cruise. By 10 a.m., the road was congested with traffic and populated mostly by collector cars, with a few drivers in family cars standing out — for once. Van lifin' Jim Braden, 65, sat in a chair on the edge of Woodward watching the cruisers pass. His white 1994 GMC Vandura 2500 was parked in a spot that he secured about 8 a.m. He and his wife, Jacque, 63, had driven up from their home in Sharonville, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, but got in late and skipped the planned stay at a hotel, choosing a spot on a nearby street and drawing the blinds. Luckily, the GMC van is fully loaded for an overnight stay. It's a Rockwood conversion with glossy wood trim inside and a place to sleep. Braden said he's been coming to the Dream Cruise since 2007. He's had the van for about three years, and it's got 60,000 miles on it. An older widower had it in a barn and didn't want it anymore after his wife passed. 'Hard to believe,' he said, of finding the van so well kept. 'This thing had never seen snow or rain (it saw rain for the first time last year). It will never see snow as long as I own it.' Never missed a Cruise There are thousands of cruisers along Woodward during the fabled weekend, but some people clear out their schedule months in advance so they don't miss the show. Bill and Rita Schultz, of Clinton Township, have attended every single Dream Cruise since its inception in 1995. They brought along their 1979 Pontiac Firebird Formula. While the pair said they are enjoying the annual car event, their favorite Dream Cruise was 30 years ago. The best Dream Cruise was the first one, Bill Schultz said, "because it wasn't this chaotic. You didn't have this kind of traffic." Out of towners A day before the official cruise, on Friday, Aug. 15, Ford Motor Co.'s Mustang Alley and the Bronco Corral — a Ford-sanctioned gathering of Dream Cruising Mustangs and Broncos — was full of gearheads admiring the new and old Ford vehicles. Alex Sapiano, who lives in Sarasota, Florida, said he keeps a small house in Royal Oak so that each year he can come visit during the Dream Cruise. He said he is a gearhead who has owned several classic cars. 'I've owned about eight or nine antique cars. I have a 1972 antique convertible,' Sapiano said. But he said his favorite car has been a 1977 Chrysler Cordoba. 'It was a car my dad had. I remember driving it when I was 16 and 17, and I just thought I was the greatest person in the world,' Sapiano said. A lifetime of Dream Cruises Omar Kallabat was born in 1995, but he's clear that at 30, he's been to every official Dream Cruise. His dad, he said, pushed him in a stroller that first year. Kallabat, of West Bloomfield, had several cars parked at the entrance to the Shell station. It's the same location he's been coming to for years. Later in the day, he expected he'd have about 30 friends and family members joining him. His 1937 Packard Super Eight in 'Lincoln Ivory' attracted some attention from passersby. He'd won it in an auction, but right away it needed a new engine. The body was good, though. It's the third car in Kallabat's fleet of nine. He runs Vintage Luxury Rentals, which specializes in providing classic cars for weddings. It's a business that he launched during the pandemic after he started to work from home. His first wedding was in July 2021. The first car in the fleet, which wasn't at the Dream Cruise, was a 1965 white Rolls-Royce Phantom that cost $50,000 but needed just as much in work. His dad was not happy. Parked behind the Packard was Kallabat's pearl white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere. It cost $3,000 to buy and eight years to restore. 'It's the only one you'll see today,' he asserted. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2025 Dream Cruise noisy, weird and wonderful on 30th annual joyride
CBS News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- CBS News
Woodward Dream Cruise turns 30 with fans both new and seasoned celebrating together
The Woodward Dream Cruise, a 16-mile joyride from Ferndale, Michigan, to Pontiac, Michigan, was back this weekend. The Detroit tradition celebrated 30 years of vintage cars, hotrods and so much more. What started off as a fundraiser for a soccer field in Ferndale has grown to a crowd of more than 1 million people that come to check a sea of cars cruising down Woodward Avenue. Fans come prepared for the event. "We got a lot of water. We got the umbrella set up. We have some little fans and a battery pack to charge them, and just trying to stay hydrated and in the shade," Chelsea Lyson, from Taylor, Michigan, said. It has classic cars and more unique finds. "My first car was a classic '79 Lincoln that I got in 2000, and I used to drive it up and down Woodward, doing the Dream Cruise when I had it, and I missed coming back," Lyson said. Some spectators have been coming to the Metro Detroit institution for nearly 30 years. "I've been coming since 1996," Ray Lemanski of Sterling Heights, Michigan, said. "I had a Corvette, and I sold it a couple years ago, but we would come out here for about, probably 10, 12 years at least." Some people at the event on Saturday were there for the very first time. "I wanted to spend time with family, and I've been, like, growing interest in cars and motorcycles and things like that, and seeing this on social media since last year," Genesis Delafranier, from White Lake, Michigan, said. "It was like, 'Oh, this seems really interesting.'" The Woodward Dream Cruise is where all the car enthusiasts were this weekend. "I think cars are an extension of people's personalities, but also the kind of personality that they want to embody," Chris Feuell, CEO of Chrysler, said. It's the biggest single-day automotive event in the country with more than 40,000 cars on the road. "This is the biggest in the United States. I love cars, and it's just relaxing to see the old cars and remember, hey, my grandfather used to have that car back in the day," Miles Davis, from Cleveland, OH, said. The cruise has been bringing people together since 1995.
USA Today
3 days ago
- USA Today
Ram's HEMI mechanical bull theft was a hoax, says sheriff
Michael Bouchard, an Oakland County sheriff in Michigan, is calling "BS" on Ram's claim that its mechanical bull thrill ride was stolen outside of Detroit in Pontiac last weekend. In a Tuesday, Aug. 12, news release from Ram, the company said the $34,000 covering for its "Bucking Hemi" thrill ride — a mechanical bull fashioned to look like a Ram HEMI engine — was stolen as they were breaking down the set of Roadkill Nights, an annual drag racing event held in downtown Pontiac, on Saturday, Aug. 9. The mechanical bull has been part of a Ram marketing campaign, as the brand touts a return to NASCAR and the return of the HEMI V8 engines to its vehicles. The Ram brand said it "is actively collaborating with authorities" and encouraged people to contact local law enforcement regarding the theft if they know anything. They even posted missing flyers on social media. Best summer auto shows: How the Woodward Dream Cruise still drives Detroit's car culture forward Tim Kuniskis, the CEO of Ram, said in the news release, "This is bull----." "Well, it may indeed have been BS," wrote the Oakland County Sheriff's Office in response, late Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 13. Bouchard, whose deputies responded to the scene of Roadkill Nights after receiving a larceny report, said Ram's claim that the mechanical bull was stolen is false. Bouchard said his detectives have concluded the "theft never occurred," alleging that the mechanical bull cover was in Ram's possession the entire time. 'The company never actually lost the bull,' Bouchard said in a news release. 'I find this to be very frustrating and a tremendous waste of valuable investigative time." While the hunt for the stolen bull has concluded, the Sheriff's Office is now considering charges. "Now, we're pivoting to see if a crime was committed by the filing of a false police report,' Bouchard said. A representative at Ram did not immediately respond to a Free Press phone call seeking comment. Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW. Contact him: LRappleye@
Mint
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Woodward Dream Cruise: Route, timings, and other details celebrating Detroit's car culture
The Woodward Dream Cruise, touted as one of the largest one-day celebrations of classic car culture in the world, started at 9 AM on Saturday, August 16, in Michigan. Covering a 16-mile stretch of roadway, it sees the participation of nine Oakland County communities, such as Pontiac, Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak, Pleasant Ridge Berkley, Huntington Woods and Ferndale - all in Oakland County, USA Today reported. Michael Lary, president of the Woodward Dream Cruise board, said the event is being kept alive by "loyal auto enthusiasts" as well as young people, who are "going to keep the classics running'. It's simply the passion that makes an individual 'buy an old rust bucket, and say 'I can do something with this',' said Lary, and added that there is no need to be a "classic car owner" to appreciate something like that. Beginning in August 1995 as a fundraiser for a soccer field in Ferndale, it has become the largest one-day automotive event in North America during its 30-year run. The event sees roughly 40,000 classic cars and a million people on an annual basis from all over the world, with visitors from Australia as well. The event sees cruisers from different regions of North America travelling to Metro Detroit to take part in the celebration. As per the official website, Nelson House, along with a group of volunteers, started it with the intention of reliving the nostalgic heydays of the 1950s and 60s. After its inauguration, the welcomed around 250,000 people that year, which was 10 times more than the number expected. The cruise started at 9 AM (local time) on Saturday and will go on till 9 PM. On August 15, a few events were organized, including the official ribbon-cutting ceremony and a meet-and-greet with Martha Reeves. For the event this year, Visit Detroit has projected an economic impact of $150 million. While the Dream Cruise is usually on the third Saturday in August, fans can witness classic Fords, Dodges and other vehicles from top brands on the Woodward throughout the summer. Interestingly, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, who was earlier the state senator for the area, has played a major role in the success of this event. Bouchard has been involved in the policing or coordination of 26 of the cruise's 30 events to date. Bouchard said it is one of the most stressful events of the year for him since "it's such a large area that we protect with an unknown amount of variables." Yes, it is free to attend or watch, while public parking remains available near the route. The event encompasses a 16-mile stretch of roadway covering nine Oakland County communities. It is taking place from 9 AM to 9 PM on August 16.
