FERNDALE, MI – Every summer, more than a million gearheads from around the world gather in the Metro Detroit area for the annual Woodward Dream Cruise held on the third weekend each August. The official day of the cruise is held on that Saturday, but as the largest single-day automotive event on the planet, festivities and cruising actually begin on the weekend prior – resulting in what insiders now call “Woodward Week.” This year during the 2024 edition of the Woodward Dream Cruise, an 8-mile stretch of legendary Woodward Avenue just north of Detroit was packed with every sort of classic and collectible vehicle cruising up and down all week long. It seems because rain was forecast for cruise day itself, many people wanted to get as much time as possible cruising on Woodward in case of a Saturday washout. Luckily that didn’t happen – save for a brief afternoon shower or two.With Ford Motor Company being the event’s presenting sponsor for the seventh year, you’d expect to see far more than a few Fords cruising Woodward – and that was certainly the case. Ford had multiple show sites set up in different locations along the Woodward cruise route, with a different experience waiting for Ford fans at each location. And that didn’t include the multiple Ford-centric groups and clubs who reserved various parking lots along Woodward to host private vantage points to watch the Fords and other notable cars cruising up and down.From Ford’s new Mustang Unleashed event site and the Bronco Nation gathering, to the Ford Media Clubhouse, Ford Parking at Pasteiner’s, the M1 Concourse’s Mustang 60th Display and the famed Mustang Alley -- there were lots of choices for Ford fans to catch the action. But the biggest draw has always been Mustang Alley – where Ford has an entire section of 9 Mile Road closed off and filled end-to-end and curb-to-curb with only Mustangs, right at the beginning of the cruise route, both east and west of Woodward. 

Some 700-800 owners arrive at the entrance as early as 4 a.m. on cruise day to get parking in Mustang Alley, which offers a little bit of everything -- from true classics and survivors to modern daily drivers, and custom or modified Mustangs. There’s also Shelby specific parking in the infamous “Snake Pit,” a Ford display area with all the latest products from the Blue Oval, plus a Ford partner pavilion area where specialty manufacturers such as Shelby American, Roush, RTR, Holman Moody, Gateway Classic Mustang, Ford Performance and many more have special displays set up. Thousands of people tour the alley all day long before eventually making their way back out onto Woodward Ave., where the cruise is going on in full swing at the same time.We sent our hot-shot Ford Performance photographer, Joe Deladvitch, to Mustang Alley to capture a sample of what you can see there. If you haven’t yet experienced the Woodward Dream Cruise, all we can tell you is that this is a must-see, bucket-list event, much like the Carlisle Ford Nationals. There’s so much to see here, in fact, that – like we did with the Ford Nats -- we’ll be bringing you series of “Quick Looks” from our Woodward coverage again this year, so bookmark FordPerformance.com/Enthusiasts now for an exclusive visual tour of what makes the Woodward Dream Cruise so special!

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY JOE DELADVITCH