Motor City Muscle: 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise

Sunday, August 17, 2008

2008 Woodward Dream Cruise

Fresh from lasik eye surgery the day before, there was no holding me back from my 13th straight Woodward Dream Cruise (I missed the first year). The show was as good as ever, and the weather was about as beautiful as it gets. The stars of the show, the cars of course, did not disappoint. While on the surface I may seem like a Chevy guy, owning a 69 Camaro and an 89 Formula, truth be told, I would own any make out there....as long as it was an American company. Sorry, no imports for me.

I've owned, partially restored, and sold a 1970 Challenger R/T to my dad, and some day perhaps I'll own that car again. My fiance, well she's a Mopar nut, and with her heart set on an early 60's model Polara or Dart, her tastes are right up my alley. Plenty of love for Fords in my heart as well, as I'd love to own either an early 60's Ford, a late 60's Mustang, late 80's/early 90's Mustang LX, or even one of the current late model Stangs. No hate towards my long time nemisis in my book.

I'm a huge gearhead, long time auto enthusiasts, and one who believes even the ugliest cars out there can be made cool with the right stance, good set of wheels, and the right amount of thump coming from under the hood. So here are just a few of the nearly 300 pictures I took from yesterday's cruise, enjoy!

I have an obvious soft spot for these 69's, and this was the baddest of the bad!

Good lookin' Willy's.

Over 20 years old now, are these Buicks classics, or still modern muscle?

Sharp lookin' 60's Ford, one I'd gladly own.

This car just screams "SHOW ME THE 1/4 MILE!"

Pro-Touring to the extreme.

Nice lines, just enough chrome, just about perfect in my book.

This baby shook your inards when it cruised by.

This is what she wants, and I think it'll look nicely next to my Camaro. Oh yeah, she's gonna be a teacher, can you imagine your teacher cruising up in one of these?

Sharp lookin' Pro-Street Ford.

Good old T-bucket, they never seem to go outta style.

An old "Color me Gone" funny car shell.

A whale of a convertible, sweet as hell in my book!

An old and new Mustang.

Pro-Street Nova.

I believe this is a 34 Ford, though could be off a year or two.

Sharp Mustang with some serious motor under the hood...or should I say through the hood?

Good lookin' Mopar, I believe a Coronet.

Hot Rod test car. Front fender stated "475 hp."

Never really understood these, but considering they came out just as the muscle car era was coming to an end, perhaps it makes sense.

One thing about this year's show, I didn't notice as many "odd" vehicles as I have in year's past, and the ones I did, weren't all that "odd." Such memorable ones from years past were the pro-street garbage truck, pro-street concrete truck, the tricked out school bus, just to name a few. Here are a handful that perhaps caught most peoples' eyes this year.

The new Dodge Challenger was out in full force, and seems to be multiplying like rabbits! Already there are numerous different colors hitting the streets, colors I wasn't even aware they came in. Only time will tell how gas prices will affect the production life of these cars, though one thing is for certain, they will become instant classics, cruising Woodward 40 years from now like their historic counterparts they share their genes with.

Perhaps a remake of "Vanishing Point" is in order?

A deep ocean blue...or perhaps Great Lakes blue would be more appropriate.

An orange and white Challenger cruisin' the strip.

Black as night.

The concept car orange.

Perhaps the most shocking at this year's show was the number of 3rd generation Camaros and Firebirds. Over the years I've owned my 89 Formula I've got a growing number of comments on it. Perhaps more so this year than years prior. At one fill-up I had two separate people wondering if I would be willing to sell it. Mine is starting to show her age, and yet I considered it one of the nicest examples out there on the road. I was shocked to see how many MUCH nicer examples were present at this year's cruise. It seems people have taken notice of these cars, as well as Mustangs from the same years, as they appear to be growing in numbers. I suppose it only makes sense, as after a cars reached it's limit in regards to years of service, they are either sold as a beater, junked, or found by somebody willing to resurrect them. Some lucky ones were parked in a garage, safe from the rain and winters, and now seeing more days on the road as they are slowing beginning to be viewed as classics. These Firebirds below are a few of the survivors. P.S., save the mullet jokes, those were a generation earlier.

Though I would have picked different colors, this was by far the nicest 3rd generation F-body (Firebird/Camaro) I saw throughout the day.