Dodge Returns to the Woodward Dream Cruise in Fantastic Fashion

Dodge teamed up with the Modern Street Hemi Shootout to give Mopar fans a place to watch the Dream Cruise craziness.

Dodge hasn’t been formally involved with the Woodward Dream Cruise since 2016, when the parking area that the company had used for years at the corner of 13 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue was redeveloped as part of a local hospital complex. Fortunately, during the past two years without a proper Dodge display, the Modern Street Hemi Shootout series has had a huge all-Mopar parking area in the portion of the cruise route known as “The Loop.”

In 2017 and 2018, series organizer Dan VanHorn has done an awesome job of giving Mopar fans a place to check out a ton of their favorite cars in one place, while offering those with cars to show off a place to park. I have parked my car there for each of the past few years and it is a great location, as the Pontiac portion of the route has the craziest on-street action, but the features of the Modern Street Hemi Shootout area have proven to be valuable in making for a fun Dream Cruise experience. This includes come-and-go parking privileges, bathrooms, a wonderful barbecue buffet, a dyno and a collection of the fastest modern Mopars in the world.

After seeing the popularity of the Modern Street Hemi Shootout parking area at the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2017 and 2018, Dodge came on board for the 2019 event. This allowed the race series to reserve a considerably larger portion of the same parking area in the Woodward Loop, making room for even more awesome modern Mopars and the handful of Dodge displays provided by the automaker.

New Dodge Performance

In addition to allowing the Modern Street Hemi Shootout series to occupy a larger parking area along the Woodward Dream Cruise route, Dodge’s involvement in the legendary event in Metro Detroit included a handful of special vehicles.

Most notably, the huge Dodge show hauler was on hand with the awning extending out over the 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody and the recently-announced 50^th Anniversary Daytona Edition of the Hellcat sedan. This was the first public appearance for the 717-horsepower Daytona while being the first time that the 2020 Hellcat Charger with the new widebody design was shown off to the general public. The car was on display at the recently Roadkill Nights event, but that was really only accessible to people who bought tickets to the event, whereas the Woodward display was completely free to spectators.

In addition to the pair of blue supercharged 2020 Chargers, Dodge had two large display tents with new model displays. In one tent, the Durango Pursuit was showcased alongside the Challenger Scat Pack 1320 and in the other, the Stars and Stripes Package for the Charger and Challenger was on display. More importantly, on a hot, sunny day, these tents gave many of the Mopar owners who were displaying their vehicles a place to enjoy some shade. Of course, these areas had product experts on hand to answer questions and hand out stickers promoting the Dodge Power Dollars promotion that allows up to $7,970 off of a new Challenger Hellcat Redeye.

Dodge Returns to the Woodward Dream Cruise in Fantastic Fashion continued…

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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