Mercedes Benz

With all the hoopla about autonomous and electric vehicles, it figures that interest would be waning in cars with steering wheels and internal combustion engines. But if you believe that, you would be very mistaken. A pair of events that take place each summer a couple of thousand miles apart contradict the idea that no one cares about conventional automobiles. Nine days ago near Detroit, the motor capital of the world, more than a million spectators stood or lounged along Woodward Avenue, delighting in the thousands of cars that participated in the annual Woodward Dream Cruise. Wonderful cars of the past and present paraded up and down the famous avenue, much as they did decades ago, I'm told, when Woodward emerged as the heartbeat of American muscle car culture. The Dream Cruise has occurred every year for almost a quarter century and it is a pure celebration of the automobile. Car owners and car lovers make the pilgrimage every year from all over the country. Meanwhile, near the...