Dream Cruise, Mustang Alley take over downtown Ferndale

FERNDALE — The rev of the engines soared around downtown Ferndale as the annual Woodward Dream Cruise celebrated its 27th year.

Ferndale hosted its own Dream Cruise festivities Aug 19-20 in the heart of its downtown, with the Ford Mustang Alley taking center stage on both sides of Nine Mile Road.

Thousands of people walked up and down the roadway to take in the hundreds of Mustangs parked on Nine Mile, gazing at their favorite models or asking questions of car owners about their vehicles.

Two friends seated on the sidewalk by their Mustangs were Sam Maceri and Neil Murawski. Maceri, a Redford resident, brought his 2000 Mustang GT Convertible with him while Murawski, of Livonia, had his 1985 Mustang GT with a T-top.

Maceri has had his convertible for around 17 years. It was and still is the only Mustang he’s ever owned.

“I’ve always had a convertible of some kind or another, and this fit my bill and I've been happy with it since,” he said.

Maceri said he’s made some changes to his Mustang over the years, adding a light bar and putting in sequential turn signals. The vehicle was fairly new when he got it, as it only had 19,000 miles on it.

“I'm pleased with it,” he said. “It’s my last toy, last car. … I like Mustangs in general. And I’ve liked them all. My dad had an early one, a ’66, and I was the one that talked him into that. I just liked them.

Murawski said he likes being able to talk to others who ask him about his Mustang, and those who come to Mustang Alley learn something new each time.

“We learn something about cars each year we come,” he said. “Somebody’s got something a little bit different or they know how to do something a little bit different, where to get a part you can’t find. We learn something when we come here.”

In addition to the yearly attendees of the Dream Cruise, first-timers also found themselves in Ferndale to check out the event.

One of the first-timers was Paul Pekala, of Southfield, who just moved to the area this week and decided to come to the event with his friend, Alex Lanzon. Both men are employees of Ford.

“I had heard about it before on different TV shows or, like, YouTube,” he said. “I’ve just always been a car guy and I’ve definitely heard about the event … and it just happened to be happening the weekend I was moving in. So it’s been super cool so far. Lots of cool stuff to see.”

Lanzon, a Redford resident, also is a Mustang owner himself; he has a 2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1. Lanzon said he used to go to the Dream Cruise all the time as a kid, but he hasn’t been to it much in recent years.

“I figured it’d be a great opportunity to invite some of my co-workers out and experience the car culture, especially the new ones that have just moved recently,” he said. “It’s a great event. I love coming down here. I love Mustang Alley, obviously. I am a Mustang owner myself. … So it’s great seeing all the cars.”

“I'm glad I'm back,” he continued. “It's definitely different from when I was a kid, but it’s only gotten bigger each year.”