Summer’s long days and scorching temps go hand in hand with cruisin’ … no, not on the high seas, but cruisin’ in your classic automobile along Fort Street for the annual Cruisin’ Downriver event.
When Cruisin’ Downriver was created in 2000, the concept really took off after that inaugural year. A local oldies radio station set up and broadcast their show at Memorial Park and various primo parking lots along the cruise route, which is six miles long and stretches from Southfield Road in Lincoln Park to Sibley Road in Riverview.
Of course cruisin’ in classic vehicles is not for everyone, especially when Southeast Michigan expects a record-breaking temperature of 96 degrees with a heat index of 105 degrees for tomorrow’s cruise. Those classic car engines sure aren’t equipped for that heat, and, likely there will be more breakdowns and raised hoods along Fort Street than wheelies and burning rubber. Drivers won’t fare much better than their nostalgic vehicles as they swelter without A/C and stick to those leatherette seats.
And, it’s not only the weather that will be a pain. Cruisers will share the road with 18-wheelers and all other vehicles diverted onto Fort Street since the Rouge River Bridge Project began in February 2017 and is due for completion this November. Wall-to-wall traffic on weekdays is now the norm, so the added vehicles on Fort Street will likely temper the enthusiasm of even the most diehard car enthusiast. Though I’m not a big fan of the annual Cruise, I do usually stop by and watch the parade of classic cars go by.
The official hours for Cruisin’ Downriver are 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. tomorrow, but an evening sans rain and still-bright skies had cruisers sneaking in a few laps beforehand. As I write this post, I’m listening to muscle cars way down on Fort Street gunning their engines and I can imagine the exhaust wafting upward at 85 degrees on this ozone action day.
This past week, I’ve seen a few classic cars tooling around Downriver, getting geared up for the big day, like this orange-and-cream-colored Chevy Bel Air parked at Council Point Park.
How about the fins on this classic car?
Check out the side of this ride.
Sticking to the seats – no fun!
These two classic cars caught my eye while strolling through the ‘hood on my walk. I wonder if anyone pooled their pennies and snapped up this old Plymouth yet?
How about this fabulous Ford T-Bird?
This vintage car’s owner is a regular at Yum Yum Donuts at Fort Street and Emmons Boulevard.
The weather will be hot and steamy, but with no rain slated for a few days, I’ll venture out to Council Point Park, then bop over to Fort Street to check out the 2018 parade of cars. I’ll get all my steps in before it gets too oppressive out there. I had hoped to have walked 500 miles by the end of June, but so many days of rain kept my total miles at just 460 as of today … maybe the second half of the year will be more conducive for walking.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Linda,
The red colors are great- is this for a 4th of July parade ?
I learnt from your post that the engines of the vintage cars will not survive extreme heat.
The red and white car is a Plymouth ? I see these cars here sometimes. Have you read Archie comics, a lot of these cars seem from that generation ?
The blue of the skies is amazing against the green of the trees. I can’t begin to tell you how soothing it is to the eyes.
I hope you get to your walking targets.
Susie
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Hi Susie, no this is an annual car cruising event. About 20 years ago, someone in one of the northern suburbs got the idea of having a cruise down Woodward Avenue, which was the first street created in Michigan. People drove down Woodward Avenue in their cars from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s – muscle cars they call them. Then all the other parts of Michigan wanted their own cruise. So we have one – our 19th. It is basically the same group of people who drive a 12-mile loop (six miles then turn around and come back the other way) and they do it all day … they go to other cruise venues as well. Most big cities or areas have their own cruise and this is done all Summer long. They have the old cars and they cruise in them and people come and watch. I go for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes and by then I’ve seen all the cars as they have made their 12-mile round tour. Some of the cars are as old as the Model T and Model A varieties and all of the cars in in peak condition. Many convertibles and if it rains, the drivers go home. The heat tomorrow will likely keep many drivers off Fort Street when it gets so hot – the old cars cannot handle the heat and will themselves heat up and conk out. They make a big deal out of the cruise and have bands playing all day long and when the radio station was there it was fun – it was an “oldies” station that played songs from the same era as the cars. I will go while the weather is still coolish – I say “ish” as it is only going down to 73 degrees tonight. I will take some pictures of the cars for tomorrow’s blog post. Here is a sample of what happens … you might want to turn your volume down. This goes on for 12 hours … all the classic cars go into one lane, but sometimes they stray to another lane. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS5lGNLIXKw
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Thank you Linda. I am going to the link to study this more.
Susie
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You’re welcome Susie, perhaps I should have described it better … I would have used a current news story like they usually have, but they expected a small turnout last year and this year, because of this big road project. That is why the radio station refused to sponsor the event – it had been really huge up through 2016 – I think it will be back next year. I will be so glad when this construction is complete. The trucks barrel along this street like it is the expressway.
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Linda,
Those vintage cars, they are all American makes ?
Susie
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Hi Susie – yes they are … some people take dune buggies or old trucks and make them into what they call “low riders” (they ride almost on the ground). Some cars are not classics (a “classic” car must be at least 25 years old), but they add things to it to make it unique looking. Most cars are from the era of 40s to 70s. This orange and white Chevy Bel Air is from the mid-50s.
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Miss Linda………………………..I used to go watch the cars whiz by on Fort St. too when we lived there every year……………………….I can’t believe it started just in the year 2000!!
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It seems like it is longer than just 2000 Ann Marie. They were still out at 10:30 tonight … I guess they figure many of them will not last the day in the heat – not good for the older cars as they overheat and stall. I usually go long enough for the cars to make one complete circle from Southfield to Sibley Road and back. This orange-and-white car was amazing. I don’t know who owned it, or I’d have taken their photo – don’t know if it is a walker that I (or perhaps you) know. I could linger and take pics so the owner was not around. 🙂
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So many old beautiful cars!😊 The Bel Air is awesome, some it’s new! Old cars is more appreciated this day and more and more renovating old cars to new condition. That Bel Air had cost about 50-60000$ here in Sweden, at least maybe up to 1000000$. Prices of old fine American cars have increased enormously over the past 15 years.
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Yes, and tomorrow there will be even more. These were just around the neighborhood this week. Tomorrow, they have a dedicated lane just for the old cars (far right-hand lane) so people who line the streets, like for a parade, can see the cars and take pictures. People come with lawn chairs and canopies and stay for the day – but it is mostly the same cars going ’round and ’round all day on this 12-mile circuit. I stay long enough for one complete lap of the parade of cars. The cars were still out tonight at 10:30 p.m. – likely the police came and made them stop.
There are many are “muscle cars”, lots of vroooooms going on. During the day, you hear the cars gunning their motors all day. They will have bands playing all day as well – don’t know how many people will be there though due to the heat. The biggest cruise is the Woodward Dream Cruise in mid-August. People come from across the United States for that one. Woodward Avenue is the oldest street in Michigan. You can’t move on any of the streets in the cities it travels through. Those cities are literally paralyzed by the Cruise the entire week before the cruise and on that Saturday, day of the cruise. http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com/
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Wow! I would visit that car show!😊
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This is similar, but on a much smaller scale – in the park near my house they have mustang cars parked in a group. It is called “Ponies in the Park” … I went last year and there were two cars there parked with their hoods up and gleaming engines exposed. I will look there and try to get a picture – that event is part of the whole show. I am looking forward to the Model A car show – vintage Model A cars. They cancelled it the first time due to rain (what else … first weekend it has not rained in weeks) … so I hope to get some good pics there. I can hear the cars out on Fort Street now … they gun their motors like a race car. When they all do it the same time, it is almost deafening.
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I have to check later but it seems some of my comments may have gone to SPAM. I just sent several comments and don’t show as I replied. My internet provider (Comcast) had two fiber cables break yesterday or the day before and there has been either an outage or slow internet across the U.S. – it happened to me yesterday … we have Comcast at work where I remote in … very slow there as well.
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I love those old cars! As a kid I really wanted a 1956 Chevy bel air or a thunderbird with the porthole windows!
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I like the classic T-birds too, but those old cars with the big fins and shiny bumpers and the size of a boat are a treat to see and they are always well preserved. I was happy to see the 1956 Chevy Bel Air at the Council Point Park parking lot last week and in such great condition … that’s why I took all those pictures of it … 1956 was a good year … my birth year. 🙂
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To be honest, I’m not really into the whole old-car thing, but I have to admit that Bel Air stirred up my memory banks a tad! Love the colour combo – the colours of our flag!!
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I liked that Bel Air too Ellie, especially the color combo. Yes, it is the colors of the flag, and never thought of that – perhaps that is why I was enamored with it as well. I had a lot of pictures of it.
The car cruise was the following day and the old cars monopolize Fort Street which is close to my house. I would not drive to go see it, but I always walk down there to the end of the street – it is the same thing every year pretty much. There is a vintage car show, a collection of Model A cars, coming to Lincoln Park and I’d like to see that. It was supposed to be on June 9th but it rained that entire day, so they cancelled it the day before. I hope it does not rain this time.
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