2004 Woodward Dream Cruise, Part II

2004 Woodward Dream Cruise (8/22/2004)
Return with us to another era...

Garage tales

In the heydays of the cruising phenomenon, there were more than two dozen hamburger stands and diners lining the 16-mile stretch of

Woodward Ave.

that ran between Detroit and Pontiac . And countless garages and body shops. Most of the burger joints, like the legendary Ted’s, are long gone, leaving little more than this fading book of matches. But there are plenty of memories. Roger and Amy Posey wouldn’t dream of missing a Woodward Dream Cruise. For good reason, considering they met at a Texaco station along “the boulevard” 33 years ago. They’ve been together long enough it’s hard to tell who’s starting and ending each sentence. When asked what makes the annual Saturday event so special, they both chimed in that, “It’s the sights. It’s sounds. It’s the love of the cars. It’s the octane.” By mid-afternoon, they’d parked their own '56 Chevy to sit back at a street corner and watch the rest of the world go by.

Flame throwers

Maybe this explains why they call them “HOT” rods. Flame paint jobs were in abundance over the weekend, adorning everything from old '50s Fords to late '60s muscle cars. Some owners chose to keep things subtle. Others were intent on making things as bold and

obvious as possible. That includes the owner of this hot rod pickup who’d rigged up his exhaust system to belch two-foot flames with the flick of a switch. Shades of the Fantastic Four!

Just kidding

Many of the original Woodward cruisers were back out for the weekend’s festivities, ofte with their kids and grandchildren. Every youngster seems to react differently to the sights and sounds of thousands of revving muscle cars. While one child could be seen screaming in full-blown panic, another had to be forcibly restrained from running after every tire-spinning hot rod. This young’in was clearly in the latter camp, dreaming of the day he could trade in his hot wheels for something with a bit more horsepower.

What the…?

Okay, we at TheCarConnection.com like to think of ourselves as “the Web’s Automotive Authority,” but after spending the day out cruising Woodward, we have to admit we’re a bit stumped by some of the more unusual vehicles we spotted along the boulevard. We’re betting the one here is a rare Messerschmitt, a post-World War II car build using the cockpit bubble and other leftover pieces of the deadly German fighter plane.