Friday night’s Ouellette Car Cruise at times and places became more of a crawl, and there were even periods of downtown gridlock.
But that only made for better ogling of the hundreds of vehicle offerings for the crowds along the route. Vintage (some over 100 years old), classic, custom, collector, special-interest, street rods and muscle cars all shared the road, as well as the oohs and aahs and smartphone cameras of appreciative spectators in Canada’s Automotive Capital.
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Ahead of the 6 p.m. launch of the cruise, there was an all-afternoon “Rendezvous at Riverfront Festival Plaza” where visitors and fellow motorheads could peak under hoods, kick the tires and marvel at some very rare, very powerful and very colourful machinery and engineering and automotive design excellence.
In tandem with the waterfront gathering and ninth edition of the Ouellette Car Cruise, the Downtown Windsor BIA hosted a block party with live music from 4 to 11 p.m.
The cruise route followed Ouellette Avenue, Riverside Drive East, Pillette Road and Tecumseh Road East. Knots of spectators lined the entire square circuit, with downtown packed and a particularly large crowd gathered under the heritage Firestone sign at the corner of Ouellette and Giles Boulevard. Yes, a number of appreciative muscle car drivers used that location to burn rubber.
Spectacular hood ornaments on classic cars: Before this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise launched through downtown Windsor streets on Friday night, Aug. 9, 2024, participants — and the fans of their vehicles — gathered at the Rendezvous at Riverfront Festival Plaza.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star
Big crowds filled downtown and lined the route to ooh and aah at the motorized offerings of this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise on Friday night. The cruise at times became a crawl, and sometimes it was sheer gridlock — but that only made for more time for car fans to ogle at the merchandise.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star More bright and vibrant colours than a large box of Crayola crayons were laid out in rows of vehicles at the all-afternoon Rendezvous at Riverfront Festival Plaza that preceded the start of the Ouellette Car Cruise at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Fire engine red — all over: One of the bold participants at this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise is shown during the afternoon Rendezvous at Riverfront Festival Plaza on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Not all hood ornaments are made of chrome.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Who would you want a hood to hide this beauty of an engine? One of this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise participants shows off his vehicle at the all-afternoon Rendezvous at Riverfront Festival Plaza ahead of the cruise.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Rare vehicle sightings were common at this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise in Windsor on Friday night, Aug. 9, 2024.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Big crowds filled the downtown and lined the route of this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Beautiful scenery along the waterfront — from the downtown Detroit skyline and ships on the Detroit River, to classic cars from the 1920s to the 2020s — were part of this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Just one of a number of Cadillacs at this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise in Windsor, but there’s always lots of ‘respect’ for the classic Pink Cadillac, this one shown at the Rendezvous at Riverfront Festival Plaza on Friday afternoon.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Some participants needed a helping hand, like this backseat dummy in a vintage LaSalle Police vehicle.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Cars from the 1920s to the 2020s were in on the cruise through Windsor streets during this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise on Friday night, Aug. 9, 2024.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Some cars are just built to be admired, like this classic leather-belted Porsche parked at the Downtown Windsor’s BIA’s block party on Chatham Street West held in tandem with this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star Admiring classic lines and design: Before this year’s Ouellette Car Cruise launched through downtown Windsor streets at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, there was the all-afternoon Rendezvous at Riverfront Festival Plaza, with an eye-popping array of the most wondersome motor vehicles imaginable, some 100 years or older, others with 100s of horsepower under the hood.Photo by Doug Schmidt /Windsor Star
