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Grand Rapids Metro Cruise

GoBroncos

By GoBroncos
in Grand Rapids Coffee House

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Nitro Burg

Nitro

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Delorean?? :sick: I'm no car guy, but those things are ugly pieces of junk, IMO. There's many a reason why car bodies are not made of stainless steel.

Hmmm....curious. I thought one of the better things about the design of the Delorean was the stainless steel body. Yes, panel replacement is costly, but so is doing fiberglass repair on a Corvette.

I too was always a lover of the Delorean, still am. The gull wing door design was pretty cool, not practical for parking in a garage, but cool nonetheless. I can remember my dad taking me out to Pfeiffer's when I was younger to see them in the showroom.

The car was plagued with mechanical problems and the Volvo engines weren't that strong either. It's strange because John Delorean was an automotive genius. We need not look further then the GTO for evidence of that. He was quite a rabble rouser too at GM. My great-uncle was head of personnel at several GM plants in the midwest. He remembers meeting Delorean at a company Christmas party. In a land where white shirts and navy blue ties were the norm he showed up in a safari hat and cowboy boots.

Not to mention John holds a special place in my heart for being the most famous alumni of my undergrad college. Lawrence Tech.

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Nitro Burg

Nitro

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Probably from the foo foo...

I believe you're refering to the booger sugar that he was accused of being a part of. I don't believe one word of that crap. He was railroaded from the start on that gig. I'd tell you all of my conspiracy theories but we'd be taking this thread just that much further off topic then we already are.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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From my Sunday Freep:

The bus is dry

On-and-off showers Saturday pushed many Dream Cruise watchers, who normally would stroll Woodward to stare at the classic cars, onto free buses, which took them all the way to Pontiac.

The bus route was congested, but many riders, such as Audrey and Dennis LaMothe of Ferndale, didn't mind.

The LaMothes said they have been to every Dream Cruise and normally cruise the drag in their 1970 Chevelle. This year, however, they decided to park it and let someone else drive.

"I've always wanted to go and see the other things," Audrey LaMothe said.

Besides, bus riders got to stay dry -- and get free snacks. Just before 13 Mile, a Chicken Shack employee rushed on with a sack of wing dings for everyone.

As the bus lurched along Woodward, passengers watched as cruisers wiped the rain off their classic cars and wrung out the rags.

As the bus drove past a muddy parking lot in Royal Oak, 24-year-old Matt Miller realized he made the right decision by taking the bus.

I don't know why anybody would want to park in that," the Shelby Township resident said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those buses are provided by Southeast Michigan Area Regional Transit. SMART.

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GR8scott Burg

GR8scott

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the busses are nice to have, the problem is that they are in the traffic too and going in the dirrection of traffic, so you can see a lot more in a shorter amount of time if you walk on the other side of the road

I saw at least 10 Ford GTs yesterday and was going along side one on I94 for a while. would love to see one at the metro cruise this weekend

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GoBroncos Unincorporated Area

GoBroncos

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Should I show up early to get a good seat? I have plans that night, but we plan on being there all day.

Where would be a good place to be? I like I am a fan of custom cars based on classic body design.

You can show up anytime and get a good seat. The cruise stretches from wyoming to cascade so there are plenty of viewing spots. Last year Wyoming seemed to have the highest concentration of people and static car displays. However you will see static displays all over if you cruise from wyoming to cascade. What we did last year was cruise the strip several times and check out the displays and then we set up our folding chairs in Wyoming along side 28th street and watched the show cars drive by. We ended up grabbing a spot that had a nice shade tree.

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grrwymg Hamlet

grrwymg

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You can show up anytime and get a good seat. The cruise stretches from wyoming to cascade so there are plenty of viewing spots. Last year Wyoming seemed to have the highest concentration of people and static car displays. However you will see static displays all over if you cruise from wyoming to cascade. What we did last year was cruise the strip several times and check out the displays and then we set up our folding chairs in Wyoming along side 28th street and watched the show cars drive by. We ended up grabbing a spot that had a nice shade tree.

The parking lot in Roger's Plaza was PACKED with 'static' cars. I'm guessing the lot @ the empty Roger's Department store will be full this year, too.

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Weallneedhistory Whistle-Stop

Weallneedhistory

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There's some italian auto lovers in the GR development community as well..

There's probably a greater chance for developers to obtain an Italian red-head than for us in the public teaching community.

That's ok though, I also love the more affordable old British Roadsters :thumbsup: ...though they are a little lower on my list then the Ferrari.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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The parking lot in Roger's Plaza was PACKED with 'static' cars. I'm guessing the lot @ the empty Roger's Department store will be full this year, too.

Michael, that's a scant mile west of US-131, in the "DDA" for Wyoming. (Watch for Wy-Man!)

I think I would park near Marshall Music and ride around. But I intend to go do some Civil War stuff...can see cars anytime.

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gat Unincorporated Area

gat

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Might be too late to offer this advice, but...

I would BYOB, park at Meijer (on Coolidge north of 14 Mile) and pedal back to Woodward.

(Actually I wouldn't go under any circumstances...)

Living just a quarter of a mile from Woodward in Birmingham, we call it the "dread" cruise! Thank goodness it is over

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GR8scott Burg

GR8scott

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Living just a quarter of a mile from Woodward in Birmingham, we call it the "dread" cruise! Thank goodness it is over

you must be one of the few who call it that because it looked to me that most of the people were embracing it with house parties and such

it was a good time

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Veloise City

Veloise

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There are already a few classic (antique, think Meijer's first delivery truck) parked on 28th's frontage. This would be between I-96 and East Paris.

Yesterday I stumbled across sites mentioning something called the Nightmare Cruise. Now that might be worth seeing (for me anyway).

Edit: It was at the freakin' Ypsilanti Heritage freakin' Festival And so was I on Saturday! Dang dang dang!

[used to cruise Woodward in high school]

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gat Unincorporated Area

gat

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you must be one of the few who call it that because it looked to me that most of the people were embracing it with house parties and such

it was a good time

Unless you live in my area, "most people" is not accurate. It may have been a good time for you, but an inconvience for me, my neighbors, and local businesses. Cars to me are a necessary evil. Metro Detroit can embrace the "automobile" all it wants but it is also our economic downfall.

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GoBroncos Unincorporated Area

GoBroncos

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Unless you live in my area, "most people" is not accurate. It may have been a good time for you, but an inconvience for me, my neighbors, and local businesses. Cars to me are a necessary evil. Metro Detroit can embrace the "automobile" all it wants but it is also our economic downfall.

I would think putting up with that traffic for 1 day would not be so bad, especially since it is bringing in out of state $$ to the Detroit economy. Just my two cents.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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I would think putting up with that traffic for 1 day would not be so bad, especially since it is bringing in out of state $$ to the Detroit economy. Just my two cents.

One day??? The "official" DC is one day (or did they make it two?) but people start moving their lawn chairs to Woodward the week before. A while back I posted comments from a blogger who found it, ah, amusing that people will sit and watch normal rush hour traffic all week.

Many businesses close that week because there's no way regular customers can reach them, and DC spectators don't buy from them. (Woodward has drive ins and restaurants and the odd motel, but most of the retail is along the lines of Pier I and offices and opticians and furniture.) DC visitors park any old place, leaving no room for the local needing a new eyeglass spring or a waterbed.

As I understand it, if you are on one side of M-1 and want to cross, add a couple hours to your trip. And there's the usual neighborhood disruption from side street parking, litter, open containers, noise...think football Saturday with lawn chairs and noisy non-EPA compliant vehicles. One of the big problems is that non-classic vehicles clog Woodward "so they can see the cars," causing major traffic jams (and don't get me started on Ozone Action).

Your average resident of Royal Oak or Ferndale doesn't see the out-of-town dollars, but has to tolerate a major life dispruption. Think Ann Arbor Art Fair. I don't know how the police and safety agencies (in every community adjacent to M-1) pay for the overtime and back-up. I do know that DC Week would be a real bad time to have to be admitted to or visiting Beaumont (at the corner of 13 Mile).

One good thing about 28th Street: not nearly as much residential disruption.

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gat Unincorporated Area

gat

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One day??? The "official" DC is one day (or did they make it two?) but people start moving their lawn chairs to Woodward the week before. A while back I posted comments from a blogger who found it, ah, amusing that people will sit and watch normal rush hour traffic all week.

Many businesses close that week because there's no way regular customers can reach them, and DC spectators don't buy from them. (Woodward has drive ins and restaurants and the odd motel, but most of the retail is along the lines of Pier I and offices and opticians and furniture.) DC visitors park any old place, leaving no room for the local needing a new eyeglass spring or a waterbed.

As I understand it, if you are on one side of M-1 and want to cross, add a couple hours to your trip. And there's the usual neighborhood disruption from side street parking, litter, open containers, noise...think football Saturday with lawn chairs and noisy non-EPA compliant vehicles. One of the big problems is that non-classic vehicles clog Woodward "so they can see the cars," causing major traffic jams (and don't get me started on Ozone Action).

Your average resident of Royal Oak or Ferndale doesn't see the out-of-town dollars, but has to tolerate a major life dispruption. Think Ann Arbor Art Fair. I don't know how the police and safety agencies (in every community adjacent to M-1) pay for the overtime and back-up. I do know that DC Week would be a real bad time to have to be admitted to or visiting Beaumont (at the corner of 13 Mile).

One good thing about 28th Street: not nearly as much residential disruption.

[/quote

Well stated Veloise. Thank you

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