2017 Woodward Dream Cruise

In Motor City, the practice for years was to cruise in your best car with your best girl up and down, up and down Woodward Avenue, waiting to see and be seen by the rest of the Motor City cruisers and their girls (or their boys). Flashing chrome, blacked-out grilles, white-walls, redlines, and the occaisional spontaneous drag race.

Flash forward to the 1970's and the Arab Oil Embargo. Burning gas just to see and be seen was determined to be anti-social behavior and cruising was outlawed. But you can never slam the door shut on a way of life, and to relieve the pressure of the inevitable backlash, cruising was allowed for one weekend a year. And this became the world-renowned "Woodward Dream Cruise," a week-long festival of the automobile.

Only at Woodward: a 1975 Bricklin and a 1990 Chevy Corsica square off

Parades and meetings take place early in the week, but the main event is Saturday, when everyone either cruises up and down Woodward or parks on the side and watches, or both.

Here are some of the best of the cruisers:

Drag Race Cars

Cars modified for drag racing are usually only seen on drag strips and on trailers. Not at Woodward.

This gorgeous 1939 Ford Coupe has way more rear tires than Henry Ford intended.

This 1959 Corvette makes a great street/strip car and looks wonderful on Woodward.

1964 Dodge 440. 440 was a Dodge model that led to more than a little confusion as it came with a slant-six, 318, 383 or 426 Hemi. 1965 saw the introduction of the Dodge 440 engine and the Dodge 440 automobile was replaced by the Polara.

This 1971 Ford Mustang Mach I is equipped with the Super Cobra Jet 429.

Hotrods

You can't have a Dream Cruise without hotrods.

The prototypical street rod: 1932 Ford "Duece."

This 1934 Ford Two Door Sedan makes a spiffy hotrod with a little extra room in back.

Studebakers like this were cheap and light so they made an ideal platform for a unique hotrod.

Classics

Technically any car or truck made at least 20 years ago and not altered in any major ways, we see classics as cars made starting in the late 1940's until 1990.

1954 Oldsmobile 88 with its high-compression overhead valve V8 engine was considered the daddy of the muscle car.

Outside of GTO's, 55-57 Chevrolets and Corvettes, Ford Galaxies are some of the most popular cars at Woodward. This 1965 features period correct mags.

1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible. The Chevelle was the best-selling mid-sized car from when it first went on sale as a 1964 model until it was downsized and renamed Malibu for 1978. In SS form with 396 power, it was the very definition of Muscle Car.

GTO is synonomous with Muscle Car. This 1966 is clean.

This 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible is so original, we believe it may still have the same air in the tires.

1967 is the first year for the Chevrolet Camaro; this is a pristine base model. Pro tip: 1967 models can be positively identified by the front quarter vent windows, eliminated for 1968.

This 1968 Ford Mustang Convertible was one of Ford's most popular models in the sixties. It was available with engines from the base 170 cubic inch inline 6-cylinder with 105 horsepower to a 271 horsepower 289 V8.

On the more esoteric side: 1969 AMC Javelin.

Another AMC: 1970 AMC Rebel The Machine.

Antiques

"Antique car" is defined as a vehicle 100 years old or older, from the "Brass Era" to the Model T. The Louisiana Antique plate is for cars 25 years old and older that are not significantly altered. We split the difference and consider a car antique if it was built before World War II.

This 1928 Ford Model A Roadster was the first model year for the Model A and would have been equipped with a 4-cylinder engine and a three-speed manual transmission.

This gorgeous 1930 Chrysler Roadster was produced only six years after the company's founding. Features include a 93-horsepower inline six-cylinder engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes.

Hopefully that's a vinyl wrap on this beautiful 1931 Ford Model A Two Door Sedan.

Trucks

People have been hauling stuff ever since we had stuff. The Dream Cruise has plenty of trucks to see.

This 1940 Dodge Panel Truck helps to show Dodge's commercial vehicle roots.

1948 Chevrolet Pickup. This puppy would be powered by a "Blue-Flame" overhead valve inline 6-cylinder engine.

This 1950 Ford F-150 is the first generation of Ford's best-selling F-Series" line which continues to this day.

This second generation 1955 Ford F-100 didn't exit one of the 11 factories that assembled Ford pickups in 1955 without a roof, but Detroiters love making improvements to their trucks.

The Chevrolet El Camino wasn't the first car/truck, that would be the 1958 Ford Ranchero. This 1970 model is doing what it does best: carrying things.

Imports

This 1958 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite was a competitor to the other English roadsters of the day.

One of General Motors' many answers to the rising tide of imports was the Opel GT. Built by GM in Germany, imported and sold by Buick dealerships, it had a 1.1 or 1.9-liter 4-cylinder.

Marketing

Any event that draws a million spectators will attract marketing dollars. The Big Three (GM, Ford and FCA) all take over at least a city block to display their products, past, present and future. Other companies find different ways of putting themselves out there.

Valvoline should check the tongue weight on the trailer hitched to their 2005 Charger.

Everything Else

Motorcycle Airplane!