Classic cars rally for the cause, ushering a hot summer in Michigan with the 16th Annual Jackson Road Cruise.

Jackson Road Cruise: 16 Years of Class Cars

I’m a sucker for a classic car. When Cory, the president of the West Washtenaw Business Association (WWBA), sent an email looking for volunteers to cover the WWBA tent at the 16th Annual Jackson Road Cruise at LaFontaine INFINITI in Ann Arbor, I couldn’t hit the reply button fast enough.

WWBA, along with LaFontaine Automotive Group, Toyota of Ann Arbor, Extreme Fantasy Football League, Perks Pros, J10 Marketing, Discount Tire, Trinity Health, Michigan Farm and Equine Insurance Services. SAM HILL, Haley Mechanical, Washtenaw Area Value Express (WAVE), and Send Out Cards were sponsors for this year’s Jackson Road Cruise. Held at the LaFontaine INFINITI lot with overflow behind the Tesla dealership, a superb collection of class car enthusiasts gathered to showcase their rolling sculptures. The proceeds, including car entry fees and raffle ticket sales, benefited the Cancer Support Community of Greater Ann Arbor.

With its megawatt trailer, the Backstreet Cruizers Car Club, with its megawatt trailer, was cranking out a truckload of classic tunes. We had prime seats for the tunes as they were just a couple of yards away. The Ann Arbor Moose Lodge was manning the beer tent, which doubled as the awards and prize presentation area.

Checkpoints and Prizes

All of the Jackson Road Cruise sponsors were part of Prize Drive Checkpoints. For $10 bucks, anyone could get a checkpoint card that they would take to each of the sponsor checkpoints for a sponsor signature. Completed cards were entered into a drawing for one of three envelopes containing either $100, $200, or $300. 

It was fun talking with folks who stopped by the WWBA tent to get their checkpoint cards signed. Of course, we had our GIG – The Art of Michigan Music 2024 event cards and Life In Michigan swag to pass out. You never know. Someone into cars may also be into gig posters and music. In case you are curious, GIG – The Art of Michigan Music happens on November 8-10 at Art 634 in Jackson.

In addition to the 50/50 raffle, numerous prizes were donated, which you could enter to win. The big prize was a private tour of The Lingenfelter Collection in Brighton. This is one of the best private car collections in the world, featuring Corvettes, muscle, and exotic cars. Ken Lingenfelter was on hand as one of the judges for best in show at the Jackson Road Cruise.

Rolling Along in My Automobile

Feel free to verify with Brenda, but I am not mechanically inclined. I can do some very basic stuff, but working on an automobile is literally mind-boggling for me. Instead of working on them, I love to photograph them. I dig just about any classic car, but my heart sings when I see the 1960s and early 1970s muscle cars. The Jackson Road Cruise is special because they have a great cross-section of cars on display, including a hefty dose of Motorcity muscle.

Of course, the earlier cars, either hot-rodded or otherwise seriously modified, are delightful.

There were a few exotic and unusual cars on hand. I’m unsure if this 1964 Ford van was exotic, but I loved it. The Tesla truck was definitely “exotic.”

Awards and Prizes

The Jackson Road Cruise presented several Judge’s Choice awards for domestic and import cars and a Best in Show award. I failed to record the winners, but you can check them out on the Jackson Road Cruise Facebook page.

Pictures

We’ve got more photos from the Jackson Road Cruise in our gallery. Stop in and check them out.

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