Dream Cruising (Page 3)

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For the entire length of the Cruise, side streets were packed eight blocks deep with spectator’s cars. The going rate on Saturday for a spot along Woodward jumped to as much as $500 for the day.

Mark Matthews, a Vinsetta Garage technician for the past 17 years, parked his ’68 Buick Skylark next to Rousos’ Camaro in front of the shop’s entrance. “I guess you could say I’m a car nut,” Matthews admits, adding that he drives his Buick almost every weekend on smaller cruise events around Detroit that have caught the Woodward Dream Cruise fever.

“Sometimes it can be a hassle trying to get out here,” says Matthews of the Saturday celebration. “But since we’re located right here on Woodward, it’d be a shame not to show up. Plus, it’s cool to see all the different cars, especially since we work on antiques and classics here.”

Matthews, who has manned the large barbecue on the sidewalk in front of Vinsetta’s for the past 13 years, remembers the Cruise’s beginnings. “The cops didn’t know how to shut it down the first couple of years,” he says. “They were at the mercy of the people. I think it took three hours to get everyone off the road the first year — but the cruisers just turned around and opened it right back up.”

When all was said and done, this year’s Cruise brought slow — but bearable — traffic, beautiful weather and people having a safe and fun time. Lord knows how many miles its participants covered. And all I could smell were car fumes and burnt rubber when I went to sleep that night. How delightful.

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