Cars at the Station returned to Corktown for its second annual show over the weekend, showcasing more than 1,000 registered vehicles and food, music, test drives and a beer garden.
Taking place at the freshly renovated Michigan Central, this year’s show was expanded to two days, allowing for more time to enjoy the station and festivities. Here’s a look at some of the more impressive rides.
In the morning before the event, there was a media preview at Newlab, a hub for showcasing new technology in Detroit. During the preview, Jiyan Cadiz of Hagerty Partnerships and a key organizer of the event, spoke about how car shows can be intimidating for newcomers and he wanted to make a show available to everyone. “The show is free to enter so it can attract as many people as possible” Cadiz said.
AM General is celebrating 40 years of the Humvee and the company had the new, but old-feeling vehicle on display. This armored vehicle appeared with its bulletproof exterior painted in green. The turret on the roof of the truck featured a 50-caliber machine gun and a guided missile launcher. Deborah Reyes, the Marketing Executive with AM General says “the weapons on this model are not active.”
The gates were open before the official start time., but to officially celebrate the show the cars were turned on and the owners revved their engines. Motors of every era and cylinder count were making noise to let Corktown know the show was ready to begin. Since they all had permission to make as much noise as possible, the drivers did not disappoint.
Cars at the Station welcomes regular folks and their vehicles and online entries came in quickly. Spots were given out on a first-come, first-served basis and most cars arrived at the show early.
Pre-war classics such as Ford Model-Ts and Model As could be found around the venue. American muscle cars make their presence felt and heard at every car show in this area so they were hard to miss. There were modified JDM cars scattered about and sporting wild wraps and huge turbos. Lifted trucks could be found towering over the rest of the vehicles. European exotics were also present.
Several automakers had new vehicles available for spectators to sit in and drive. Cadillac, Genesis, Lucid, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Polestar allowed for short loop test drives around Corktown and back to the venue. Lines filled up quick, as many people were looking for their next car or just wanted to try something new.
ZF Engineering had a different spin on test drives — a Ford F-150 with four-wheel steering driving in circles to showcase the truck’s sharp turning radius. It drew a lot of attention from bystanders as it appeared to be aimlessly driving in circles, but the turning capability was impressive.