The Woodward Dream Cruise on Metro Detroit's historic Woodward Avenue is one of the top ten greatest car events in the world. Each year, Jalopnik picks a special car as its staff cruiser.
We take our choice for staff cruiser very seriously. For starters, the car must turn the heads of every one of the million-plus car enthusiasts lining ten miles of Michigan's M-1 highway. The Jalopnik staff cruiser has to be the embodiment of our desire to create the next generation of car enthusiasts by making kids eyes light up in excitement, wonder, and awe. And today, there's not a car on Woodward Avenue that can do it quite like this one.
This is the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG — and we're proud to call it our 2011 Woodward Dream Cruise staff cruiser. Here's why.
Nevermind the amazingly brilliant 563 HP, 6.3-liter V8 engine. Nevermind the giant 15.83" carbon-ceramic front disc brakes. Nevermind the spoiler that deploys at speed. No, the real reason the SLS AMG was our choice for Jalopnik staff cruiser is because when driving down Woodward Avenue with the gullwing doors up, you're greeted with one of the most awesome sights any car guy can hope to see — little kids looking on in awe. And that is worth the SLS AMG's 3,600 lb weight in gold.
You know these kids are going to love cars for the rest of their lives after seeing it. And that's a beautiful thing.
If you're out here on Woodward Avenue and see us cruising, come up to the car and ask myself or Kotaku's Joel Johnson (who took a break from playing video games to come out here) for a Jalopnik bumper sticker. Just mention the site.