National Transportation Week Celebration Kicks Off With Cruise This Weekend
Next week, our region is leading a national effort to highlight and celebrate the importance of the transportation sector to the U.S. economy. To kick it off, auto enthusiasts are gathering Saturday in Detroit to show off some classic American cars.
For the second year, the Detroit area is hosting National Transportation Week (NTW), which runs from May 11-17. The purpose of the celebration is to help the transportation community increase awareness of its role in American life. Organizers of NTW also seek to make young people aware of transportation-related careers.
The Detroit region’s theme for NTW 2008 is “The Year of the Car," in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of General Motors Corp. and the centennial of the historic Ford Model T.
NTW-related activities in Michigan include a series of events starting with a classic car cruise presented by The Motor Cities National Heritage Area and the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Another part of the NTW festivities will be a special business breakfast, sponsored by WWJ Newsradio 950, titled “The Future of Transportation in Southeast Michigan.” The event will take place May 15 at the Anderson Theatre at The Henry Ford in Dearborn. The two-panel conference will discuss Detroit's future in moving freight and moving people. For more information, click here.
The Saturday car cruise starts at the Ford Model T Plant on Piquette Avenue in Detroit and ends at the General Motors Heritage Center car collection in Sterling Heights. About 50 registered Model T Fords and automobiles representing all eras of General Motors are to participate in the event.
Participants will assemble May 10 at the Piquette Plant, 411 Piquette St. in Detroit, at 10 a.m. The cruise will depart at 11:30 am and make its way to the GM Heritage Center (6400 Center Drive in Sterling Heights) where participants and media will get the opportunity to tour the facility. In case of rain, the event will be held May 11.
The slots for classic GM vehicles are full, but organizers still are accepting 1908 to 1927 Ford Model Ts. Potential participants should e-mail Christopher Baum of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau at cbaum@visitdetroit.com and attach a photo of the vehicle, if possible.
Spectators are welcome to look at the cars beforehand and tour the Model T plant and follow the cruise from Piquette to the GM Heritage Center. However, spectators will not be able to enter the private GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights.
The car cruise and the business breakfast are just two of the more than 150 auto-tourism events at nearly 60 different locations taking place this summer. For more information about Detroit’s Year of the Car, visit www.motorcities.org.
To learn more about National Transportation Week, visit www.ntweek.org.
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Next week, our region is leading a national effort to highlight and celebrate the importance of the transportation sector to the U.S. economy. To kick it off, auto enthusiasts are gathering Saturday in Detroit to show off some classic American cars. 
