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Detroit: Heaven for Car Lovers
by J. J. Scott
Piquette Plant
River Rouge Plant
Edsel Ford’s House
Woodward Dream Cruise
For more information check:
Detroit: www.visitdetroit.com
Piquette Plant: www.tplex.org
River Rouge Plant:
www.thehenryford.org/rouge
Edsel Ford House: www.fordhouse.org
Woodward Dream Cruise:
www.woodwarddreamcruise.com |
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Think of
car-related destinations and Detroit has to be at the top of the list.
Detroit and the surrounding area has are enough automotive plants, museums, and
cars to keep one’s engines racing for days. The one name that jumps to the
forefront is Ford. 
It might be
said that the Model T Automotive Heritage Complex, best known as the Piquette
Plant, is where America’s addiction to cars began. The New England mill-style
building is where Henry Ford perfected the idea of the assembly line. The first
12,000 Model Ts were hand-built in the Piquette factory during 1908 and 1909,
before moving to the Highland Park plant in 1910. But more important in 1914
Ford paid his workers an unprecedented minimum of five dollars for an eight-hour
day. Offering more than twice the going wage attracted workers from all over the
world and that along with the mass-production technology made owning a car the
dream of every family not just the wealthy. For 19 years, over 15 million Model
Ts would be sold, altering world culture drastically. It put America on the
road.
The River
Rouge Plant and Dearborn Truck Plant is a working automobile factory, where Ford
has built cars since the Model A. At its peak in the 1930s more than 100,000
people worked at Rouge. It was literally “a city without residents.” The factory
tour, which started in 2004, has six distinct areas easily accessed from The
Ford Museum. A short film in the Legacy Theater tells the story of Henry Ford
and the factory followed by a multi-screen, multi-media Art of Manufacturing
theater-in-the-round to get the “feel” of the manufacturing process. There are
impressive views of the entire Rouge Center from Station Three, the 80-foot-high
Observation Deck. A one-third of a mile walk past the Ford F-150 truck
assembly line ultimately leads to the Legacy Gallery which showcases the most
popular Rouge products: a 1929 Model A Roadster, the 20 millionth Ford, a 1932
V8 Victoria, a 1949 Club Coupe; a 1956 Thunderbird, and a 1956 Mustang. The
out-door Living Lab shows Ford’s commitment to preservation of the environment. 
It goes without
saying that the home of Edsel Ford and his wife, Eleanor, is outstanding. The
Grosse Point property with an incredible location on Lake St. Clair has
beautifully landscaped grounds. The property has something to tickle the
fancy of all visitors. Nature lovers will enjoy the grounds and Bird
Island, children will be dazzled by the playhouse where everything was made
smaller to conform to a child’s size from the bathroom to the light switches,
and the main house will thrill art, architecture, and antique enthusiasts. Those
for whom the words “Edsel” and “Ford” lead directly to cars will enjoy the
newly-opened Historic Garage where they can digitally design a car picking out
their favorite wheels, headlights, hood ornaments, and body styling. Push the
button to hear the roar of the Lincoln KV12 and drive a legendary Indy 500 car
at the Wii station. Truly something for everyone. 
What started
as a small fundraiser to raise money for a soccer field in Ferndale has grown
into the Woodward Dream Cruise, the world’s largest one-day automotive event,
drawing 1.5 million people and 40,000 classic cars each year from around the
world. Now on the third Saturday in August from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. classic cars
roar along Woodward Avenue, 16-miles through host communities, from Ferndale to
Pontiac.
You don’t have
to be a car aficionado to enjoy visiting the Detroit but it is a good excuse.
For some diversionary activities take in a baseball game, go to the zoo, and
don’t miss the Detroit Institute of Art, which owes its existence to the Ford
family. The main hall has the Diego Rivera’s famous “Detroit Industry”
with the iconic image of Henry Ford.