We slipped over the border last night into Michigan, to the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills. Throughout the summer, the museum's parking lot is the site of a series of six cruise nights, each with a special theme. Since last night's was Dodge Challenger night, we took the beast over to get in on the fun.
It really was quite a blast, with the front lot stuffed with all manner of cars -- every make is welcome -- in every configuration, from bone-stock to widely customized. There were also some very neat oddballs, including two Chrysler-Maserati TCs (perhaps the only two that were ever actually sold?) and these two cute little Metropolitans.
The cruise nights have wrapped up for the summer, but the museum is still worth a trip -- it contains a wealth of history, including all kinds of concept cars (there's even a Turbine), racing legends and some examples from the company's earliest days.
But the highlight of the evening wasn't even a car -- at least, not a full-size one. The big "O" sculpture outside the museum is actually made up of rings of channel steel, and on the far side, the end comes down to the base. And there was a little boy who looked up at the sculpture, looked down at his Hot Wheels car, looked up at the sculpture ... and then reached up as far as he could, set the toy on this ready-made track, and let it go ...
