Any of you Southern Ontario Canadian Poncho types planning on making it to this year's event? I'm bringing the Beaumont, will be there Weds. through Sun. the 21st. Have seen lots of Ontario license plates over the years, and there was a '68 or '69 Sport Deluxe that used to stay in the hotel we use (Kingsley on the west side of Woodward, just south of Long Lake). Would love to hook up with any fellow hosers in the area.
I have never been but at the moment my wife and I am planning on going up for 2 days with my 1965 Nova 327 4 speed car that I am just finishing up. One of my reasons for going is to show the car to the original Michigan owner who ordered it brand new. He lives in Franklin Michigan, which I believe is pretty close to the Woodward Ave.
What to do other than to drive from Pontiac to Ferndale/Pleasant Ridge?
Is there a place you recommend to park along Woodward ave so that we can walk around a bit?
Which Cities along Woodward Ave are a must see?
You say you plan on going from Wednesday to Sunday. If you were only going to 2 days what days would you recommend?
Hey, Frank. They only close Woodward on Saturday, and it's kind of the penultimate day anyway. If you've not found this site, it might give you some inspiration as to which activities you and your wife would be most interested in.
The actual "cruising of the boulevard" largely occurs between I-696 (where the Zoo is located) and Pontiac. The blend of modern vs classic/special interest cars on Woodward trends towards the latter all week long; most of the natives avoid Woodward towards the end of the week because of the traffic (if your Nova is prone to overheating, do your cruising during the day, and not on Saturday!). Prime watching sites are generally legacy arrangements between aficionados and the property owners along the route. There's a long stretch adjacent to a cemetery north of 12 Mile Rd. in Berkley, that's public property, but it's usually fully lawn-chaired up by 7 a.m., at least on Thursday-Friday-Saturday.
Personally, I love Birmingham, a lovely neighbourhood that conveniently straddles Woodward (the main street is actually Old Woodward Ave), and they'll have a big car display there at the end of the week. Tons of upscale shops and services there.
I've been surprised that there are still rooms available (at outrageous prices, of course), which wouldn't have been the case for the 2019 event. I don't know if the hangover of the pandemic is affecting people's intentions, or if fuel prices are a deterrent. I'm going to have to take out a second mortgage on the trailer to pay for the ocean of 93 octane the Beaumont will swallow over ~2,000 kms round trip (plus the time spent profiling!).
We've got lots of friends in the area - spent our careers in the business - so generally spend time catching up with (really) old friends. But there's tons of stuff to see and do in Motown. If you've not been to the Henry Ford Museum, it's worth a visit. Brand agnostic - last time I was there they had the GM transit bus that Rosa Parks took her fateful ride on, and a restored example of the largest series of steam locomotives that ever rode the American rails. The Chrysler museum is no longer open to the public, continuously, but I'd be surprised if they don't have it open for at least part of the Cruise - needless to say, lots of Mopar devotees will turn up! It's a bit north and east of Pontiac, at the Auburn Hills headquarters.
And the GM Heritage Center is in Sterling Heights, south and east of the main Cruise route, I believe it's still operated as a regular museum.
You might recall that the Papa John's Pizza founder's early '70s Camaro was "liberated" the final night of the Cruise, by some social justice warriors, seven years ago. They also got my buddy's '66 Chevelle from the parking lot behind the hotel we stay at that same night. In both cases, it was made easy for them - the cars were already trailered, so they just hooked up and took off. Our hotel is in sight of the Bloomfield Hills main police station - they were pretty brazen. Be sensible about where you park it overnight - if you're at a chain hotel, they'll have lights and cameras, which discourages thieves. Detroit has a terrible reputation, probably moreso amongst Canadians, but the Cruise is centered in the northern suburbs, which are pretty well-heeled and safe. When I observed to the cops that responded to our call on that fateful morning, "we thought we'd be fine, up here", he asked me, "if you were looking to steal something of value, where would YOU go?", which made sense.
We're at the Doubletree Inn (formerly the Kingsley) on the west side of Woodward just south of Long Lake Rd. Feel free to stop and say "hello", we'll be under sunshades south of the southernmost access drive to the hotel. We leave the cars in the rear lot when we're not out pounding the pavement!
Most hotels are OK if you leave it away from the building. Just be careful not to make it too easy for someone to boost it; there are over a million people who normally descend on the celebration, and some fraction of them are there to swipe stuff.
I'm in Greensboro, NC; we're heading up on the 17th, driving my car, and buddies with a trailer. Happy to convoy with you, although we'll be setting out pretty early. It's about ten hours for us. We'll be hitting I-77 just south of the NC/VA state line, probably around 9 a.m.
