
When the Detroit boys returned from WW
II they had a real desire to show off their cars. Auto production resumed full speed ahead with
the 1946 model year and Americans hit the road.
From the late 1940s until the mid 70s Detroit teenagers made a weekly habit
of cruising up and down metro Detroit's main drag, Woodward Ave. Starting at Teds Drive-in near McNichols the cruisers ran all the way to Ted's Drive-in at Square Lake (yup "Ted's to Ted's") 18 miles up the road. They made regular stops along the way at
restaurants and drive-ins like the Wigwam, Suzy Q’s, the Totem Pole, and
Peabody’s showing off their rides and looking to impress the girls. The drive-ins are long gone but the love of
cars still lives.
Today we recreate those storied weekends
by celebrating the largest single day classic car event in the world, the Woodward
Dream Cruise. In excess of one million
people will line Woodward for 12 hours on Saturday to watch the stream of Mustangs,
GTOs, Firebirds, Corvettes and the occasional souped up ’39 Ford, over 30,000 classic cars in all. Needless to say it is a great event for
photography.
Nikon D1x, Tamron 24-135mm @ 75mm, ISO 125, 1/320 @ f/5.6
This image was made from the passenger seat
(shot into the side view mirror) of a 2002 Ford Thunderbird and we cruised the
strip.
Nikon D1x, Tamron 24-135mm @ 55mm, ISO 125, 1/640 @ f/5.6
Brightly painted classic hotrods can be
seen along the route.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-70mm @ 70mm, ISO 200, 1/800 @ f/9
Enthusiasts trick out the interior as
well as the exterior of their “babies”.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-70mm @ 70mm, ISO 200, 1/2500 @ f/4.5
Reds, yellows, oranges and other bright
colors predominate as the point is to draw attention to your car.
As far as I’m concerned, the Dream
Cruise is a fine excuse for a party and an even better excuse to get the camera
out and shoot away.
Thanks to Debbie of Delicious Baby for
organizing Photo Friday and spreading such wonderful images across the Web.
© Tim Marks all rights reserved