Woodward Notes, August 11

After a 16-hour shift Saturday and spending all of Friday morning getting a dangerous wheel alignment flaw corrected just before work, I needed to get some cruising time in. So I headed out from about 12:45-1:50 PM Sunday to see some weekend Woodwarding before another slow work day. This time, there was no rain and the scene was very satisfying. I again parked at the same coffee shop I was situated at a few days ago, and tried photographing passing cars on an older camera phone.I ran into some problems with the transfer of the pictures so I will upload them later when I try again.
Motorcycles were pretty prominent this time, particularly among younger cruisers. While the cruising movement was intended to showcase old cars, there are a few newer cars that deserve attention as well and I believe they belong on the strip as well. Cruising is not restricted to old guys. We need younger folks to join in as well and they favor newer cars. My belief is that they-younger folks and recent cars- should be welcomed.This has long been an issue of debate. Many people think that only classics-cars more than 25 years old-should be out cruising.But, cruising is fun for everyone and unites people, so if newer cars are what's needed to bring out the younger crowd, I'm fine with that.
European cars are quite popular with the younger groups. Audi's and BMWs were common.I even observed a woman gunning the engine of a newer Maserati. A number of Porsche's made appearances, too.
Most of the classics were popular or high-production models. Camaro's, Mustangs and Chevelle's tend to dominate. During the cruise day itself and the last few days leading up to it, theres no telling what will be driving around. On Sunday, though, there were few surprises but enough variety to make me head off to the workplace feeling satisfied.
Well, actually, there was 1 surprise. A small moped was dwarfed by its very heavy-set rider, who could barely fit on it. He was blasting smooth jazz from the radio very loudly. I was 2 lanes away and could hear the music perfectly. I didn't realize that mopeds had such powerful radios. Then, the light turned green and the moped outran all the other vehcles, showing thats its deceptive power was not limited to the radio.The big inline 6 Jeep motor in the TCWC Gremlin could not keep up.
If I'm lucky, I'll have the photo's uploaded later tonight. Either way, it was a nice hour watching the cars and I definitely made the right decision by going.

Woodward Notes, August 7

Ten days to go until the big event, and things didn't seem to be as busy as they were at this time in years past.
First, I made a stop at the one gas station that cruisers can still hang out at.The place is usually crawling with classics.Only about 5 were there, possibly due to rain.Most of the people at the lot are regulars and can be seen there every day over the summer.Cars were not coming in quickly enough so I left after about 2 or 3 photo ops.
I then sat at the ice cream store for a few minutes. There were lots of late-model imports, perfect for a chapter of "carwatching", but the focus is on classics and few people paid attention to the new BMW convertibles speeding recklessly by.
Finally, I parked in the lot of a bank that was closed for the evening. It was brought to my attention that the local police kicked out the younger group that used to frequent the lot and banned them from using it again.I purchased a coffee from the nearby Caribou to show that I'm a paying customer. Two bouts of rain kept cruisers to a minimum and most that I did see were too far away and moving too fast to get decent cellphone pics.
Tonight I was only able to upload 4 pictures, but the opportunities were a bit limited anyway.

One of the few cars to show up at the time I checked out the normally full gas station.This Lincoln sat next to an orange Bricklin,followed by a dark blue street rod. Less exciting than usual in this lot.

As I was leaving the gas station, a 1955 Pontiac pulled in and gave me a badly-needed opportunity for a photography subject.

The Camaro was one of the few notable cars I was able to successfully photograph between rainshowers.

I'm not good at camera photos and this one turned out poorly centered. Either way, pickups are among the hottest collectibles so its important to get some pictures of those.
Had the weather cooperated, a larger batch of cars probably would have hit the road today.It will likely be a few days before I make it back out with the TCWC Gremlin, which gives everyone else more time to get ready.

Cruise Countdown

August 17 is something of a holiday around here. It's the Woodward Dream Cruise.Many people love it, many people hate it, and if you don't know what it is, look it up.
Now, I'm not a legitimate member of the automotive media and I'm not sure this is a legitimate blog, but either way, you cannot have a Detroit-based auto blog without some WDC coverage.To prove that I'm not part of the legitimate media, I cruise around in the car most ridiculed by them: an AMC Gremlin.I guess that will serve as the official TCWC cruiser.
Between double-shifts, overtime and catching up on sleep, I'll be hitting the strip over the next week and a half with my archaic camera.I cannot directly upload to my computer so I'll have to send the pics to someone, have them emailed to me or sent via facebook, than resubmit them here.Please be patient.
Usually, the cars are out pretty early in the month. Chances are, fee cruisers will be out tonight due to rain. But if things clear up, i might try to get a few minutes in before sundown. We are the city that built most of these cruising cars and we take pride in it.You don't have to do much asking around to find an owner of a classic car. They will be out in droves, especially after Monday.
When to expect pictures and a journal? Beats me. Just check back and see if I've been able to update this page at all.

Budget Buys,Part 2

1993 PLYMOUTH ACCLAIM - $2600 (Clinton twp)

ONLY 49,000 MILES,4cyl engine,new tires,new brakes,AC blows ice cold,power locks,great on gas,runs and drives excellent call 586-709-0486

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Ok, it took a minute to decide whether I'd use this as my blog entry or not. This car is pretty old even by the standards of the price range it's in.Its a 20 year old car and chances are, the Michigan salt has probably done some damage to the body.A few years from now it will qualify for "Historic Vehicle" plates.However, it's a very low-mileage car with a sturdy, boxy design.Chrysler has made some embarrassing junk since the 90s, but these seemed to be a brighter spot. The Spirits, Acclaims, Lebarons and Dynastys were ugly, dull, boring and cheap. But they seemed to be more dependable than most Chryslers. Many were bought by seniors, so, coupled with their stodgy looks, they were thought of as "old peoples cars". If the body doesn't rust apart, I'd bet this car can go another 100,000 miles.It's a classic example of "function over form".  Uninspired, ugly, dull styling (inside and out), boring to drive, but at least it does what it needs to do. If what you need is cheap transportation that keeps you dry, you likely won't complain. Perfect for teen drivers,too.Simple can be good. I would consider this a fairly low risk purchase as far as $2600 cars go.