Back To the Bricks in Flint!

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Back To the Bricks: Flint Michigan

Back To the Bricks: Flint Michigan, photo by maryn0503.

The annual Back to the Bricks Cruise Weekend takes place August 16-20 in Flint. Vehicle City goes back to its roots as around 25,000 show car owners and hundreds of thousands of car fans celebrate classic cars and car culture with a rolling cruise, car show and many more events.

One of the coolest things is that the showing and cruising are free, so if you have a car that meets their criteria, you can just head over! Check backtothebricks.org for all the details.

Check this out big as the 70s and in Mary’s Back to the Bricks slideshow.

For even more, see Back to the Bricks 2010 slideshow from Flint Foto Factory.

Super A, Model A

Posted on by farlane

Farmall
Farmall, photo by PepOmint

Wikipedia says that the “letter series” from Farmall was introduced in 1939 by International Harvester. Reading about these affordable vehicles that put tractors within reach of small farmers all across the nation put me in mind of another vehicle series that catered to the mass market, Henry Ford’s Model T, Model A and Model B.

That in turn reminded me of a recent feature on Absolute Michigan about a Michigan man who is driving a Model A for 365 days and blogging about it.

Check it out bigger and in her Super A slideshow.

Back to the Bricks heads out to the Mitten

Posted on by farlane

1962 Corvette at Blackstone's

1962 Corvette at Blackstone’s, photo by Flint Foto Factory

Back to the Bricks is an annual car show held every August in Flint (August 16-20, 2011). It’s a huge classic car show with cruises, movies, concerts and more that celebrates the car culture of “Vehicle City“. Last year the event drew over 350,000 people. This year, organizers are stepping things up a notch with their Back to the Bricks Michigan Mitten Promo Tour. The tour starts Friday and runs June 17-26. It will bring hundreds of cars and a taste of Back to the Bricks to these cities:

  • Port Huron: June 17
  • Bay City: June 18
  • Alpena: June 19
  • Mackinaw City: June 20
  • Traverse City: June 21
  • Ludington: June 22
  • Holland: June 23
  • Brooklyn: June 24
  • Flint: June 25-26

Joseph writes that flaws and all, he loves Flint and hopes that love comes across in his pictures. Check this out bigger and in his Flint, Michigan / Back to the Bricks 2010 slideshow.

Buses by the Beach

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Bus by the Water

Bus by the Water, photo by Steven Pham | stevenphamphoto.com.

Steven spotted this VW by the water at the Metropark. Check it out bigger and in his spotted slideshow.

If you’re interested in VW buses, check out Buses by the Beach. The annual event is held every Memorial Day Weekend in West Olive by a Grand Rapids based group of VW van lovers (see photo gallery). Since 2002, they have drawn VW bus owners and their families from all over the USA and Canada to raise money for The Phoenix Society For Burn Survivors, the world’s largest burn support organization.

They hold three fundraiser/campouts: the Bus Benefit on Memorial Weekend; Bus BOO, held the first weekend in October and Bus BRRR over the last weekend in February. You’re welcome whether you own a VW or not!

Charlevoix Railroad Depot

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Charlevoix Depot.........

Charlevoix Depot………, photo by smiles7.

The Charlevoix Railroad Station to the Charlevoix Historical Society in June 1992 on the 100th anniversary of the first train arriving in Charlevoix.

When I was a kid, a friend of mine’s dad shot dealership posters for car companies. I couldn’t find the one we were in (fog machines and white clothes made it look like England as I recall) but I did find a 1957 Dodge Royal Lancer at the station.

Check this out bigger and in Julie’s Charlevoix slideshow.

Green Hornet, Black Beauty

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Green Hornet Black Beuaty

Green Hornet Black Beuaty, photo by burnlab.

The Green Hornet opens tonight. You might be interested in the Michigan roots of the Green Hornet and the buzz on the Green Hornet via Absolute Michigan.

Michael took this photo at the 2011 North American International Auto Show which opens tomorrow. Collider got to take the Black Beauty for a spin – no word if he used the missiles. The Beauty is a mid 60s Chrysler Imperial – get the specs from Autoblog.

Check this out background bigtastic and get up close and personal with Black Beauty in Michael’s 2011 NAIAS slideshow.

North American International Auto Show: Yesterday and Today

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures
Traffic at the 1960 Auto Show by Hugo90

 Traffic at the 1960 Auto Show by Hugo90

“You know what? We’re going to prove one thing. That this is the Motor City, the motor capital of the world. And we’re going to bring it back, in the esteem of the world, to where it should be.”
~Ken Meade, International Auto Show, 1989

It’s time again for the North American International Auto Show aka the Detroit Auto Show. The world’s premier celebration of cars and car culture has lost some of its luster but is still an amazing event.

The NAIAS runs from January 15-25 at the Cobo Center in Detroit and you can get all the details including photos and video at 2011 Detroit Auto Show on Absolute Michigan. An article we link to from the Detroit News is the source of the quotation above and says that 1960 was the first year at Cobo Hall.

Check this out bigger and in Hugo’s THE OTHER CAR PICTURES slideshow.

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Complete Streets could change the look of Michigan cities

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

SCW bike lane Front St

SCW bike lane Front St, photo by TART Trails.

Today’s post comes courtesy of the Grand Vision in northwest Michigan…

The Detroit Free Press has a report on a law passed this year that could have a big impact on the future design of Michigan’s cities. The Complete Streets act directs transportation planners in the state to plan for streets that accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists along with cars and trucks.

It means that Michigan is now on the record acknowledging that it is a mistake to build roadways just to move high volumes of vehicle traffic as fast as possible. Designing healthy cities means considering all potential users of a street, regardless of their age or ability.

Ultimately, complete streets could produce road designs that accommodate sidewalk restaurants and the like, and intersection designs that allow pedestrians to cross in safety, not in fear of their lives.

A complete street, in other words, would be designed to handle pedestrians, people in wheelchairs, families pushing strollers and bicyclists. It also would meet the needs of retail and commercial users for wider sidewalks or slower traffic speeds.

See this photo by John Robert Williams bigger in the Smart Commute Week set.

Exit 180: Blizzard Version

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Exit 180

Exit 180, photo by isopleth.

Today’s post goes out to Blizzard Baby Bradley, born Sunday morning at the peak of last weekend’s blizzard in northern Michigan.

Check this photo from near Cadillac out bigger and in David’s slideshow.

More winter on Michigan in Pictures.

Chevrolet Volt: Motor Trend 2011 Car of the Year

Posted on by farlane

2011 Chevrolet Volt in Production
2011 Chevrolet Volt in Production, photo by ibmphoto24

A a lot of the sound and fury that has surrounded the Volt’s launch has tended to obscure a simple truth: This automobile is a game-changer.
~Motor Trend Magazine

Motor Trend magazine has named the Chevrolet Volt its 2011 Car of the Year. The criteria for Car of the Year are design advancement, engineering excellence, intended function, efficiency, safety and value. After reading passages like the one below, you get the sense that when the Motor Trend Editor in Chief Angus MacKenzie says that the Chevy Volt is one of the most groundbreaking vehicles they’ve tested in 60 years, he means it:

The Volt’s unique powertrain not only defies established labels; it also defies established methods of determining fuel economy. After all, this is a vehicle that will complete the standard EPA fuel economy test in full EV mode, making conventional mileage calculations impossible.

Read more at Motor Trend, visit the official Chevrolet Volt web site and see a video, more about the award and GM’s IPO this week on Absolute Michigan.

The photo above is the first pre-production Chevrolet Volt on the assembly line at the Detroit-Hamtramck manufacturing plant. It was posted by IBM. Check it out bigger and read about how IBM software played a role in the development of the vehicle.

Here’s the Chevy Volt slideshow on Flickr.