Detroit Revs Up with Dream Cruise

Rick Wagoner and Camaro

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Dream Cruise Grows Bigger Yet by Mike Davis (8/20/2006)
Organizers estimate 1.5 million visitors.

2006 Woodward Dream Cruise I by TCC Team (8/20/2006)
Toronados, GTOs, hot rods and more.

2006 Woodward Dream Cruise II by TCC Team (8/20/2006)
Olds generations, Marauders and more garage queens.

2006 Woodward Dream Cruise III by TCC Team (8/20/2006)
Marauders, Volkswagens, Bel Airs and Cobras.

2006 Woodward Dream Cruise IV by TCC Team (8/20/2006)
Corvettes, Cobras, Imperials and Marks.

SEE coverage of Dream Cruises past

Read more of TheCarConnection's Classics coverage

FromPontiac all the way to Eight Mile, the excitement around the Motor City’s fabled annual block party, the Woodward Dream Cruise, built all week despite the threatening skies.

The fledgling smart U.S.A. organization created by the United Auto Group of Bloomfield Hills quietly used this year’s cruise to kick off the marketing campaign that will lead up to introduction of new smart in 2008. Dave Schembri, president of the new smart subsidiary, said he planned to slip a couple of fortwos out on Woodward Avenue to show off the fact the car was coming to the U.S.

Meanwhile, organizers estimated the Cruise attracted more than 40,000 unique and exotic cars of all kinds, including some vehicles running on fuel cells rather than conventional engines.

One of the highlights of this year’s cruise, however, was a playful duel between a couple of cars that haven’t reached the market yet — the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro and the 2008 Dodge Challenger.

After cruising up Woodward in a new prototype of the Chevrolet Camaro, General Motors chairman and chief executive officer Rick Wagoner says he is growing more optimistic about GM’s future prospects.

The appearance of the new Camaro at this year’s Dream Cruise illustrated the changes underway at GM, Wagoner told reporters at GM Cruise headquarters at the Athens Coney Island on Woodward in Royal Oak, Mich.

“It’s an exclamation point on our commitment to do great cars and trucks,” Wagoner said after cruising up Woodward Friday night. “The best thing about driving it was the way people reacted up and down the street,” he said.

“It talks profoundly about a new way of doing business at GM,” he added.

GM also put up an elaborate display of what it calls milestone vehicles from every era, including the future, along Woodward on Saturday.

Chrysler also has slipped the prototype of the Dodge Challenger into the traffic this year, and is planning to sell Dodge Challenger T-shirts during the Dream Cruise. The Chrysler Group had announced last month that, after nearly 35 years, the Dodge Challenger will return as a 2009 model.

Ralph Gilles, one of the Chrysler Group’s top designers, noted that one of the great things about the Dream Cruise is that it underscores the passion that goes along with the car business. Gilles also confirmed that Chrysler is looking for away to put the Barracuda back on the street. One obstacle right now has been the demise of the Plymouth name. However, Chrysler’s product planners have talked about the possibility of reviving the Barracuda as a singular brand or perhaps slipping it into the Chrysler line, he said.

Ford also set up an elaborate display in the center of Birmingham, Mich., along the Dream Cruise route. Ford marked the 75th anniversary of the “Little Deuce Coupe,” which served as the favorite platform for hot-rodders years after it was introduced in 1932. Ford put more 100 cars in the display, among them vehicles from Ford Racing, Roush Performance, and Saleen, as well as Ford Mobility Motoring.

Ford will also offer test drives in the Ford Focus Fuel Cell Vehicle to show that the company has a future, not just a past.

The automaker, however, dropped its “Revvin’ With Ford,” fund-raiser on Friday evening that in years past. Instead, Ford will auction off the
75th Anniversary Deuce Coupe at the Barrett-Jackson Auction next January to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.