I’m not entirely sure what kind of person packs their bags for spring break and heads to Detroit. Most people align their sense of adventure with beaches, sunshine, and scenery. I, however, felt compelled to see America’s fastest-shrinking city. While there, I drove Woodward at night, visited the Chrysler Museum, saw the Ford Rouge factory where they build the F-150, and enjoyed a coney at Lafeyette’s.

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Originally written March 2010:

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I packed my bags and took my 1992 Seville STS, a fitting car since it was born in Hamtramck.

24mpg!

Gas station food. Red Bull Cola has a nice spice.

The vanity plate on this Chevy Venture says “MAGGOT”

Gary, Indiana. The most run-down gas pump I’ve ever seen. I probably pumped ten gallons of sludge into my Seville.

Fancy rest area has a lighthouse.

More gas station food.

Mariott in Southfield MI. I had a family discount authorization form that my cousin gave me but the Mariott representative on the phone tried to charge me $100 for it. I asked her to tell me which Mariott location was in the safest neighborhood but she revealed that she was at a call center. At that point, I decided to score a deal with William Shatner’s help. Five minutes of bidding on Priceline got me a room at this Mariott for $40.

Even the artwork in the room is car related.

Awful, terrible Detroit roads. I’m in the median because there’s fewer ruts and holes.

I didn’t have time for the Henry Ford museum, but enjoyed the F150 factory tour. The whole operation was VERY clean, smooth, and well-organized. Photos in the factory were not permitted but the tour was self-guided, allowing you to move around the factory at your own pace. Most importantly, they were working on a Saturday which seems to indicate strong demand for Ford trucks.

New Raptor

Classic Fords on display

Bought a scale model of Reagan’s Presidential Limousine and an F-150.

F150 chassis

The elaborate theater presentation involved a 7-screen 360-degree film that used wind, heat, vibration, and water to simulate manufacturing activities. On the upper level was an observation deck. The rooftops at the Rouge plant have gardens that collect and filter water used for plumbing and irrigation. It was surprisingly honest, displaying the violence inflicted on employees by management during unionization attempts. I’ll be returning in 2011 to see the rest of the museum.

Approaching downtown Detroit

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A dog show was taking place at Cobo Hall

Downtown

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GM Renaissance Center (Additional photos linked above)

The Ren Cen was impressive outside, but unfortunate inside. Despite being what should have been a busy Saturday afternoon for shopping, most of the stores inside were closed. GM also decided to close and fence off their “GM World” vehicle display. Its not like I can’t go to a Buick dealer to see a Lucerne. There was an atmosphere of sadness all over.

The only place open was the liquor store where I purchased a GM mug.

Disappointment.

Classy.

Went to Lafeyette’s for a coney dog. It was as good as it looked on the travel channel with lightning fast service, spanish onions, and spicy chili for $2.40.

The bald guy back there is the owner, seen on “Man Vs Food”.
Outside, a guy asked me for change. During his shpeel I interrupted and said “Take care of yourself!” and walked away. He replied, “Yeah okay man whatever”.

Did my own Woodward Dream Cruise out to the suburbs, a one-man parade. While much of Detroit was run-down with the poorer areas quite vast, it wasn’t desolate and spooky at night like North or East St Louis. There were people out and about and several busy shops.

Downtown, overall, was attractive though mysteriously uncongested.

Ate at Xochimilco, located in a shady-looking neighborhood called Mexicantown. I parked in a well-lit area. There were several Mexican restaurants and lots of people. Great food!

As I left the restaurant, another homeless guy asked me for money so he could “get me a decent meal.” I offered him my chimichanga in a styrofoam container which I had not yet touched. He quickly declined it and said he already had food. He started to make up another excuse to have my money but I spoke over him, said “God bless”, and got the hell out of there.

Tim Horton’s is one of those Canadian chains, and the coffee and doughnuts were excellent.

The next day, I headed to Auburn Hills to visit the Walter P Chrysler museum. There was no security apparent.

ITS A TRAP! I got stuck in the parking garage at the Chrysler center. It allowed me to enter but did not allow me to leave. The exit signs kept leading me to a gate that was closed. I finally exited through the entrance, driving over a stop sign and chain, going the wrong way through the driveway, and getting the hell out as fast as I could.

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Finally found the museum, a beautiful structure.

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The artwork in front is supposed to symbolize progress. It looks more like a chewed up tire that went flat at a high speed — symbolism indeed.

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Walter Chrysler got started working on trains.

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His first job in the auto industry was for Buick, but he got into a fight with Mr Durant of General Motors and left. To learn about automobiles, he bought a car and disassembled and reassembled it several times.

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The displays frequently mentioned cab forward design, even in this display dated 1934. “Cab forward” is something Chrysler hasn’t advertised in a decade. This “stuck in the 90s” theme repeats itself throughout entire museum.

Below are various museum exhibits:
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Click to View Image — Interesting way to wash a car.
Click to View Image — Manned stoplight.
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Click to View Image — Jeep
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Click to View Image — Aircraft engine, 2500hp
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Click to View Image — Tank engine
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Click to View Image — Packard spark plug wires
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Click to View Image — Dodge Power Wagon
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Click to View Image — Suspension comparison
Click to View Image — Hemi V8
Click to View Image — Autolite starter

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Tire technology display

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Click to View Image — Town and Country convertible
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Not sure what the thing in the middle is for. Ventilation? Heat?

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Click to View Image — New Yorker convertible

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Lebaron convertible looks much like the Cord 810

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Click to View Image — Chrysler Atlantic concept car
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Chrysler Special by Ghia

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An homage to Nash/Hudson, Willys-Overland/Kaiser, AMC, and Jeep.

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Click to View Image — Powerflite transmission
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They didn’t show any of the cab-forward LH cars they kept talking about, yet they had three K-cars on display (plus the K-based minivan).

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The closest they did have to an LH sedan was this wiring harness from a 300M, compared to a 1951 Newport wire harness.

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They had a couple classic “Letter Cars” and Imperials.

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I have nothing good to say about this Cordoba, equipped with gaudy silver upholstery.

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Early 1970s gas pump

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Lee Iacocca-era memorabilia

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Click to View Image — A miniature of the monument outside.
Click to View Image — Someone showed up!

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Click to View Image — Minivan

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Click to View Image — Timeline
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Click to View Image — The microprocessor controlled AM/FM radio, the same one they seemed to use for 20 years.

Notice how the list of innovations ends here at 1992.

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Click to View Image — Sketches of the Atlantic

Walked down the stairs to the basement…

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The HIGHLIGHT of my visit to Auburn Hills, the ME-412! I bought a poster. V12, four turbos. It also appears to have a Nakamichi head unit.

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Tomahawk V10 motorcycle. There was no security and almost no other guests, so of course I touched it.

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The vending area was designed to look like a dealership. On display was the movie that was supposed to play upstairs in the non-functioning theater.

A local Detroit drink.

Various basement exhibits:
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A “game” that lets you design a car and print it out. It criticizes you for exceeding costs or being too dramatic with your design. To “win” the game and get your team’s approval, you have to churn out something bland that looks like a Dodge Intrepid. It certainly explains how the Sebring happened. This is the worst idea for an exhibit, ever.

Click to View Image — Hemi zamboni
Click to View Image — Hemi bbq grill

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Click to View Image — Chrysler airflow. A beautiful design that sold poorly. I bought a die cast model.

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Click to View Image — Exposed screws
Click to View Image — Steering wheel out of the parts bin
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Click to View Image — Popped the hood. The 3.5L V6 barely fits
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They had a Prowler you could get into and play with. The interior was nasty, far worse than I remembered. The rest of the car seemed well made. I’d have one.

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AMC AMX

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Actual testing facility control panel from the 1950s

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The museum is overall poorly maintained. There’s a box out front asking for donations (entry was $8 per person) and the staff are mostly volunteers. This seemed strange for a company-owned facility.
Most of the displays, like the one above, were so dim they were unreadable. Cars suffered from cracking paint. The elevator wasn’t working nor were some of the interactive exhibits. The movie theater was down, probably because the projector was broken, so they ran the video on a TV in the basement.
The gift shop was playing music on a CD recorded in 1999 (Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, NSync) on a boombox that came from 1999. The volunteer woman working in the shop was very… umm… strange. The whole place was quite barren and like the rest of the Chrysler complex, seemed depressing and sad.

Ann Arbor

Road food.

Home.

Detroit was nowhere near as bad as I’ve heard. Of course, I was there as a tourist, not a resident. I didn’t have to find a job, start a business, or deal with the poorly run school system.

The bad neighborhoods were suffering and widespread, but it was hardly a ghost town. There were still plenty of people and shops everywhere, unlike North and East St Louis which can be frighteningly empty at night.

Thanks to the small crowds from lacking tourism, I’ll definitely be going back.

I missed out on anything music related. The Motown Museum supposedly has all of the original recording equipment used by Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, etc on display as well as Berry Gordy’s apartment upstairs.
I got the impression that Ford was more revered in Detroit than GM or Chrysler, with the Ford name plastered on streets, bridges, and buildings. The Ford plants and museums were packed, so much that parking was scarce.
I still need to visit the Henry Ford Museum, Village Park, Flint (to see the misery described by Michael Moore), Edsel Ford mansion, Hamtramck where my Seville was built, the MGM Grand, and Ontario.

I took some videos as well:

Fast Tube by Casper

Fast Tube by Casper

Video: Chrysler Design Team Game

Video: Plymouth Prowler Walkaround