Jalopnik: 2008 woodward dream cruise

Pervert Charged With Taking Upskirts At Woodward Dream Cruise

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

With a million-plus people showing up for the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, you know there's bound to be at least one pervert, and that pervert's name is Michael S. Searle. For those of you who thought our Women of Woodward post was something, Searle actually went around with a camera in a bag, equipped with some kind of remote lens device, trying to look up women's shirts and skirts. Shockingly, the women who noticed had a problem with it and got the cops involved. Searle is on bond awaiting prosecution; the fact that he's from Ohio almost makes this a non-story. [ClickOnDetroit]

The Sports Cars And Exotics Of The 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise

Andrew Stoy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:30:00 EDT

We've mentioned already the Woodward Dream Cruise attracts all types of cars. In addition to locally-brewed sports car stars like the Chevy Corvette in every imaginable model and engine flavor, and a couple of Dodge Viper ACRs, we're also talking about rarified objects hailing from Italy, Germany and Great Britain costing more than your house. Exotic cars are definitely few and far between on Woodward, but we snapped a smattering of high-buck machinery — and some lower-buck but still just as special — idling alongside the Detroit iron this past Saturday at the 2008 running of the cruisers.

The Hot Rods Of The 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise

Andrew Stoy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

We've given you the muscle and the customs of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise. Now it's time for the hot rods. — Ed.

Metal-flake, flames, chrome wheels or just plain flat-black, the appeal of hot rods stretches across generations. The Woodward Dream Cruise brings 'em out in droves, so here are just a few of of the chopped, channeled and shaved rat rods and T-buckets we saw on the Avenue over the weekend.

The Custom Cars Of The 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise

Andrew Stoy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:30:00 EDT

We started with the Muscle and now we're taking you to another end of the spectrum of the cult of cars at the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the Customs. — Ed.

Yeah, we're just gonna be generous and lump everything that's been given a custom job into this category. Our friend with the custom Nova kit car would fit in here, for example, and he'd have plenty of good company. From stretched Corvettes to metal-flake paint-shop horrors, some of the most imaginative cars on Woodward came not from car factories but from the minds of individuals working quietly in garages year in and year out. Click through for the gallery below and judge for yourself.

The Muscle Cars Of The 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise

Andrew Stoy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

One day, 40,000 cars and over a million people spread out on a ten mile stretch of Woodward Avenue in Metro Detroit. Yeah, the sheer size of the Woodward Dream Cruise is hard to express unless you've actually been there. Luckily, one good way's through photos, so here's our first of a series of round-up galleries we'll be running this afternoon showing off the best of the metal from Saturday on Woodward. First up are the muscle cars. — Ed.

Otherwise-sedate midsize American sedans and coupes with massive engines stuffed under the hood: That's the recipe for a muscle car, and it's the bread n' butter of the Woodward Dream Cruise. Muscle machines are out in force every year, with the Detroit three well-represented, along with independents and oddball makes (and we're lumping the "pony cars" in here too). What doesn't change is the police presence keeping these monsters from frying the treads at every stoplight. Oh well — they're still fun to look at even without turning their tires to smoke, so be sure to click through our full gallery to see the classic and modern muscular machines found at the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise.

Flame-Shooting Party Bus Cruises Woodward

Mark Arnold — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

We're not so sure this is legal, but the cops were so busy hassling people doing burnouts that they probably didn't even notice the giant flames spewing into the sky from this party bus. By the sounds of it, we'd guess the fire-spitting mechanism was the sort of rig you'd find on a hot-air balloon, but maybe it was just the bartender doing his fire-breathing routine.

DeLoreans With Doors Up Parade Down Woodward

Mark Arnold — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Many car clubs converge at the Woodward Dream Cruise, but none are quite as impressive rolling down the strip as the DeLorean DMC-12 owners. Not only do they blind onlookers with their glaring stainless-steel body panels, but they also show off their totally rad gullwing doors by driving in formation up and down Woodward with the doors in attack position.

Woodward Isn't The Best Place For A Turbo Buick Burnout

Mark Arnold — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

This guy in his Buick Grand National at the Woodward Dream Cruise clearly hasn't seen our How To Do A Burnout video. If he had, he would've known to pick a better location — one where he wouldn't get in trouble. Then again, maybe that friendly person in the uniform was just giving him kudos. Either way, he seems to have the rest of the steps down pretty well.

Community College-Built 550 HP Ford Five Hundred Wrecked Returning From Dream Cruise

Andrew Stoy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:20:00 EDT

In a sad follow-up to a story we brought you during our 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise coverage, the Ford GT-powered Ford Five Hundred built by Washtenaw Community College students was involved in an accident returning home from the Saturday event. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but newspaper reports of the incident state that the trailer containing the Five Hundred and a motorcycle swerved out of control and flipped, requiring both vehicles to be "cut from the trailer." To WCC and the entire automotive community, we mourn your loss today. Perhaps a GT500KR-powered Focus project would make you feel better. [MLive; Thanks, Mike the Dog]

The 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise: What You May Have Missed

Andrew Stoy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:20:00 EDT

Surprise, surprise: Wert has a KITT-gasm driving the Knight Rider KITT Shelby GT500KR. Or maybe KITT had a Wert-gasm. We're still sorting it out.
Classy cars and not-so-classy ladies are a match made on Woodward.
A 2010 Mustang GT tries to sneak through the traffic unnoticed.
2009 Cadillac CTS-V police car is really giving the cops the wrong idea.
Classic rods are more than the sum of their parts, but those parts are damn important.
A local community college answers the question of whatever happened to the engine from Jeremy Clarkson's Ford GT by mounting it in a Ford Five Hundred. The result — a 550 HP Five Hundred.
Who says you have to keep engine parts tucked in an engine block? Not Buick!
The Ramchargers drag car shows you how it was done: Sitting on a metal chair.
The Devil's Joke may not be funny, but we bet it's fun to drive.
Nothing says mullet quite like a Turbo Trans Am Pace Car.
Despite what the Detroit News thinks, wagons are awesome and we've found one of the best.
There's more coming, but for the moment hit the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise tag.

The Bits And Pieces That Make A Classic Hot Rod

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:20:00 EDT

The difficulty in building a classic-style hot rod comes in knowing the code. The difference between a garden-variety clapped-together rat rod and a "patina'd" hot rod with $50,000 worth of engine parts is about being familiar with what's rare and desirable. We got our first taste of that difference two years ago when we chatted up Bill Jagenow of Brothers Custom Automotive about his rod. These days, on a steady diet of Autorama and Billetproof, we're culturing our classic hot rod palette and find some of the Dream Cruise cars here to be quite tasty. Incidentally, Bill's rod is the one with the 24-stud Flathead.

Super-Smooth Custom T-Bird Could Use Some Rough Edges

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT

This car is almost too smooth. An original-series Ford Thunderbird is a fairly common occurrence at car shows, Woodward Dream Cruise or not. So it would be easy to pass right by this one. But the subtle lack of ornamental chrome and flawless pearl paint draw the eye. From the front, gold-painted perforated steel replaces much of the backdrop chrome mesh; it's not until you head to the back that you realize the huge changes that have been made. Extended fins take this Thunderbird from mild to kustom in one fell swoop.

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!

The Women Of Woodward

Wes Siler — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:30:00 EDT

More below the jump

Images Copyright: Wes Siler and Jalopnik.com

Old-School Drag Cars Bow Down: Ramchargers High And Mighty II

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Now here's a heaping pile of awesome parked curbside at the Woodward Dream Cruise: One of the original cars from the locally famous Ramchargers Car Club, this one is called the High And Mighty II. We don't know what happened to High And Mighty I, but this one is hairy and full of radical detail. Obviously, those insane exhaust pipes manically dumping out along the fenderless sides of the car draw the most attention, but what about inside? Check out the brutal steel throne and the analog tachometer, which does away with a traditional redline in favor of a "Shift! (Dammit)" zone. A couple more great shots below.

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!

Pontiac Turbo Trans Am Daytona 500 Pace Car: Feel Your Mullet Flow

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:30:00 EDT

Oh baby, can you feel those short hairs on the back of your neck growing? Here's a pristine 1981 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am down at the Woodward Dream Cruise that's so complete it even has the original Monroney sticker in perfect condition. Gaze lovingly upon the flaming chicken on the hood, the mesh inserts on the headrests and those sexy turbine wheels. It's almost too much for the senses. We're so happy these are coming back around as sorta respectable cars again. More pictures after the jump.

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!

Cobra 427 Limousine: Champagne And Five-Point Harnesses

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

The thing about the Cobra 427 is that you can never take all of your friends along while they're getting drunk. If only there was a longer Cobra with another four seats, each with its own five-point harness, a bottle cooler in the middle with six glass holders (?), and big amps. Then you could be your own Woodward Dream Cruise stretched-limo Cobra party — yay!

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!

1915 Buick Express Delivery, With Exposed Valve-In-Head Motor

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:40:00 EDT

Here's something you don't see every day — a 92-year-old four-cylinder Buick engine purring away like a kitten, hanging out just off Woodward Avenue. This Buick truck is in largely unrestored condition and fired up on the very first crank of the hand starter. The truck is equipped with a "Valve-in-Head Engine", with the pushrods ascending the side of the engine; the valve springs and rocker arms are exposed as well. One of the main questions we had was how do you oil the whole thing? See those little knobs atop the rocker arms? Those are full of oil: Give 'em a couple turns every 50 miles and the valvetrain oils itself. Close-up gallery below the fold.

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!

Community College Students Build 550 Horsepower Mid-Engine Ford Five Hundred

Andrew Stoy — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:20:00 EDT

At Washtenaw Community College near Ann Arbor, MI, you can take algebra and English lit. You can also take Custom Cars & Concepts, where your assignments might include building a mid-engine Ford Five Hundred with a supercharged 5.3-liter Ford GT engine putting out 550 HP. What course would you choose? Instructor Scott Malnar told us this beast was entirely student-built and took first place at the Autorama show two years ago in the "street exhibition and performance" category. One look at the gallery below will tell you it was well-deserved.

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!

'57 Ford Ranchero Custom Takin' A Break From The Cruise

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

The Woodward Dream Cruise can be tough on an old car — stop-and-go traffic for miles, overzealous and crowd-pleasing engine revving, the oft-times brutal heat — so why not a stop to cool down at Micky-D's? The owner tells us he and his wife tore the little truck apart about eight years ago and totally renovated it. Everything on the outside, sans the steer head on the bumper, is original, while the interior has been customized with styling elements from the body. You can see the shape of the chrome strip running on the side in the door panels, and the logo on the seats matches the one on the tailgate. Very nicely done, sir.

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!

1957 Mercury Proves The Awesomeness Of Vintage Wagons

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:40:00 EDT

"1957 Merc Wagon, 368 Engine, PS, PB, new paint, interior, tires, wheels, some new chrome, rebuilt carb, gas tank gas tank cleand and coated, new battery, new spare & wheel. 'Very rare.' Runs Great!! $30,000." Wagons, definitely not cool enough for the Woodward Dream Cruise. Yep, keep 'em at home.

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!