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Any suggestions for visiting Detriot?

2K views 31 replies 17 participants last post by  pic18 
#1 ·
I'm in Michigan for a few days to check out whatever cool car stuff I can. I plan on seeing the Henry ford museum, the Ford Rouge F150 plant, the GM Ren center and the Chrysler museum. If I can get a tour of the GM flint plant, I want to. Any other must see stuff for a car guy?
 
#2 ·
I think you have quite a bit covered.

Plan a trip in August to come back during the Woodward Dream Cruise...it's a car enthusiasts epic wet dream.
 
#4 ·
I went there in 1999 to check out old Tiger Stadium before they closed it down. The Henry Ford Museum is very cool, and the adjoining Greenfield Village is nice as well! I don't know if it still exists, but Ford had a museum nearby as well. I remember they had an old Honda F1 car in the Ford museum, which seemed odd, but still cool.
 
#10 ·
Umm, yeah, don't?

Seriously though, def some cool bars/music scene and car guy stuff to see, but I've been there twice for work & I go to pretty much the WORST sections of cities all over -let me put it this way, the company I work for is based in CAMDEN, NJ and Detroit makes Camden feel like a decent place....just make sure you don't get lost.
 
#11 ·
Do you know whats is the only thing that is safe going down a detroit street is?....... a bullet :)....

Not really that bad... there are a bunch of casinos but nothing special, and the other stuff sounds good....

if you can make it down to toledo, ohio (only 55 minutes south of detroit), I could give you a full hands on tour of the GM powertrain plant.... we make the 6L50, 6L80, 6L90, 6T30, 6T40, 6T45 transmissions. (currently making about 5400 transmissions/day.. and soon to be RWD 8 speed.... you could see your g8 transmissions built from scratch!!! Let me know!..
 
#13 · (Edited)
We did Henry Ford Museum and the Rouge plant tour today. I plan to head to the Ren Center tomorrow Wednesday. We drove by a plant in Toledo that had a big Chevy Cruze banner. Gr8lover I'd love to see the powertrain plant. We are staying in melvindale, right next to Dearborn. We check out Thursday, so Thursday would be a good day for me to see the plant. I'll send you a PM. NickG. Is the GM heritage center part of the Ren Center? I also noticed Livernois is nearby. I don't know if its much to see, but I may try to fit that in.

Edit: I just saw that the Walter P Chrysler museum is closed to the public effective jan 1 2013. And today I was told that the Flint truck plant does not do tours. I thought I'd be overwhelmed with cool car stuff to do out here. Oh we'll...still looking forward to the RenCenter tomorrow.
 
#16 ·
The GM Heritage Center is not part of the GM Renaissance Center. They're about 25 minutes or so away from each other.

If you do go to the Ren Cen, you're still welcome to let me know and I'll show you around if I'm not in meetings. If not, the things worth seeing (in my opinion) are the car collection on the bottom floor, the Wintergarden on the backside of the Ren Cen (faces the Detroit River/Windsor) and there are a few shops you can check out. There is a "Detroit/Ren Cen" themed shop on the 2nd floor in tower 400. It's a little confusing to fnid your way around at first, but there are signs everywhere. There are a TON of places to eat if you're hungry while you're here. And there is also a 4 screen theater if you feel like watching a movie.

Beyond that, the only real draw of the building is the architecture and history of the building/company.
 
#21 · (Edited)
hockey game
Wings are on a west coast trip, so that won't work.

We drove by a plant in Toledo that had a big Chevy Cruze banner.
That'd be Lordstown.


Another thing that's cool to do (at least when the weather participates) is to go check out the old Packard Plant on Grand Boulevard. Not sure if it's still accessible, but I was there about a year ago with a buddy, took some cool pictures of our bikes down there. Today looks like a nice day to run down there.

Some other things that may be neat to check out in the suburbs to the north: Meadowbrook, formerly owned by the Dodge family. I'll be back in the area around 7 or 8 tonight, could go by there with you then if you wanted to (assuming it's not raining), but if you have some time this afternoon while it's still nice, it could be something cool to see (although I think they only do tours inside on the weekends).

GM MPG won't let you just show up and do a tour, they only really have them a couple times a year, if I recall correctly, and I think those are also on weekends.
 
#22 ·
Oh! Visit a "Coney" place... It's a regional hot dog thing. Like Chicago has their poppy seed buns and tons of crap on it, a Coney Island is a type of Chili with mustard and onions.
 
#23 ·
Ah, I'd say skip the coney and get a burger from Vinsetta Garage off Woodward, or BBQ from either Slow's downtown or The Woodshop in Clarkston.

Being that you want to do car related things, you'd probably love Vinsetta Garage. It's an actual old school car garage made into a restaurant. Really cool atmosphere!
 
#24 ·
After the Ren Center we went to Livernois. They took us around the shop. It's amazing how many people get ZL1's and are instantly looking for more hp! After that we went to a big Boy. There use to be some in MA, but I bet it's been 30 years since I ate at one. I'm sure there were better places for lunch, but we had to check it out. I didn't know they were still around.
 
#28 ·
It's been a few years since I've been to Detroit, but ... if I were in the area, I would be sure to:

Get a VIP pizza at Pizza Papalis (There's one in Dearborn, and one in Greektown, and ... not sure where else).

See if I can find a place that still makes the classic Hudson's "Maurice Salad". (Yes, I haven't had dinner yet, I'm hungry)

Visit the Henry Ford/Greenfield Village, looks like you have that covered.

Hope you remembered to get the Hot Fudge Ice Cream Cake at the Big Boy. Haven't had one of those since 2005. (still hungry)

Visit Cabelas

And lastly, something I wish I could do again, pay a visit to Michigan International Speedway. I did a "Fast Track" drive a stock car type thing several years back, and it was fun, but at the same time kind of uncomfortable driving a strange car that I didn't have a feel for. Wish I'd sprung for the full weekend class. Not sure if they have anything going on currently, but it might be worth looking into.

Not car related, but if you have kids, I don't know if the "Cranbrook" educational museum thing is around, but I remember having a fun visit there when I was young.

Have a good time while you're there, and I hope you find many things to enjoy.
 
#30 ·
See if I can find a place that still makes the classic Hudson's "Maurice Salad". (Yes, I haven't had dinner yet, I'm hungry)
There is a Hudson Cafe in downtown Detroit that has excelent food, including your salad. And there is also still a cafe at the Macys in Somerset Mall in Troy, MI that makes the same maurice salads as when it was Hudsons.
 
#32 ·
Well we just got home. Long day driving, but no traffic, so it was as painless as it could be. Thanks for all of the suggestions, and hospitality. The best thing about MI was that 9 out of 10 cars is American on the roads! Very different from the 50/50 mix I see everywhere else. My wife's car is a Fusion Sport. They're uncommon at home, but in MI I saw at least a dozen. I wish we has passports, then we could have driven through Canada and checked out Niagra Falls on the way home. That may be our next road trip.
 
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