Eric, I'd say that's a tough question. My first visit to the US was in 1989 with my mother. I had been a huge fan of all things American as long as I remember and pretty much grown up with American movies and TV-series. A lot of people who we knew had American cars as did we. My parents visited New York, Washington DC, Detroit, Chicago and Toronto in 1967. My uncle was a cop in Chicago but unfortunately passed away about the same time I was born.

I didn't really have a huge surprise but rather a weird feeling which I really remember clearly still today. When exiting the LAX terminal (we spent one week in LA and one in Honolulu) I felt the hot air and saw all the American vehicles. It was surreal how familiar everything seemed. But the weird feeling was that I felt that I was finally home. It may sound silly but that is what I felt very strongly. Maybe I was misplaced at birth...

Another thing a good friend of mine experienced is probably familiar to many of those who like the US but have never visited. It is the fear of being disappointed. What if it isn't as cool as I have imagined? What then? What Americans probably don't realize is that many of us in Europe have the US as a place to escape in thought, a better place where a man can be free. It is really something you don't want to lose. But like my friend said when he came back; "No worries, everything was even better than I thought!".

Sorry, the Viper plant doesn't have any regular public tours. I'll shoot you a PM...

There is so much to see in Detroit...make a good plan before you go! Use common sense though, some of the areas are on the rougher side...

We will wait until you come back next year and have you as tour guide!

After the GM Heritage Center it was time to rush to the Chrysler display on the corner of Woodward and 13 Mile;

































Some moving pictures too as Steve Magnante interviews Dodge CEO Jim Kuniskis and takes a closer look at his 500 cube 1971 Challenger at Woodward. Some Lynch Road footage too;

http://blog.dodge.com/behind-scenes/dodge-ceo-kicks-off-woodward-with-his-1971-challenger/

Have to upload some more pics on Photobucket...

That gold '67 with the steelies...love it.

Silver Bullet...oh yeah. That Hemi stomped ME during my first trip down the 1320.

thanks for your time posting all this mopar car porn,,, i love that 62 300

Even worse, I didn't know how to launch my car (street tires) and ran a 16 something. LOL.

That's a pity, I bet the Bullet looks nice pulling hard going down the track and you would have needed binoculars lol.

It ran a 10 something. I have the time-slip somewhere around here.

Amish?

For the K-car fans

There is often that one thing which makes an event stand out. I am constantly scanning the area while moving about and even if I hadn't seen the car in real life before my hair stood up when I saw what had to be Steve Lisk's old Challenger approaching a block away. I ran to the curb for photos, sure wish I could have checked it out closer! It was quite a rush to see it in person, it had been over 30 years since I read about it the first time. Here's a good read for those not familiar with the car;

http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7859819

GM guys had all their stuff ready to show;



















Interesting dual quad 392 in an Imperial. Heard there used to be another 58 with one in Portland, OR. I wonder if it "could be arranged" by the factory if a guy with deep pockets wanted one?



Parked for the evening in Bloomfield Hills, Friday was a bit slow compared to two years ago but that is only by Woodward standards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6YlJP-Ag0A