If you're a car enthusiast, you've likely heard of Metro Detroit's Woodward Dream Cruise, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. It's a gathering of about a million people and some 40,000 high-octane muscle cars and classic cruisers. The event starts well before the appointed date of the third Saturday in August—just ask the annoyed neighbors. On the day of the official event, ironically, heavy traffic makes for little actual cruising while idling V8s pollute the air.
For the second year in a row, the Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance this past Saturday hosted an alternative: The Clean Cruise, where dozens of EVs fill Royal Oak's Memorial Park at the epicenter of the Woodward Dream Cruise. It might be the quietest car show around!
It's a gathering for EV owners to share info about their cars, their travels, their favorite charging stations, and the non-working charging stations that let them down in a time of dire need. Many of these owners are retirees with time on their hands to plan out cross-country EV road trips and locate all the available charging stations well before leaving home.
These are the fearless types, for whom "range anxiety" is a minor inconvenience, or merely a challenge to overcome. Rick and Rhoda Eisenberg love their F-150 Lightning and Ford Mustang Mach-E and have traveled so far with them that they know where to find the three available stations while crossing Wyoming east to west, as well as the three additional stations while crossing Montana east to west. If any of them are out of service, well, that's a problem.
From Dexter, Michigan, EV enthusiast Terry Richards drove his Chevy Bolt on round trips to Madison, Wisconsin (1,143 miles), Lake Wales, Florida (2,896 miles), and Halifax, Nova Scotia (3,624 miles). "Don't tell me you can't take a trip in an EV. Let's talk," says an info sheet on his rear window.
Rivian R1T.
Tom Milligan with his 480-hp dual-motor Lucid Air sedan, with 418 miles of range.
DTE Energy, providing electricity to southeast Michigan, supported the Clean Cruise and offered EV test drives to visitors.
Chevy Bolt and Ford Mustang Mach-E were well represented at Clean Cruise.
Rivian R1S SUV next to a Mach-E.
From Dexter, Michigan, this Chevy Bolt has taken EV enthusiast Terry Richards on round trips to Madison, Wisconsin (1,143 miles), Lake Wales, Florida (2,896 miles), and Halifax, Nova Scotia (3,624 miles). "Don't tell me you can't take a trip in an EV. Let's talk," says an info sheet on his rear window.
University of Michigan's highly successful solar racing team, as well as the university's Electric Vehicle Center, were at the Clean Cruise.
2024 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition EV, built in Toluca, Mexico, carries a $73,000 sticker price.
All-electric BMW iX (from right to left), Tesla Model S, and GMC Hummer.
Dodge Charger Daytona is all-electric, but it sounds like a Hemi (sort of) with artificial sound piped out.
Charger Daytona with Stage 2 kit produces 670 hp and achieves a 0-60 mph time of 3.3 seconds.
Woodward Avenue on the left, Clean Cruise at Memorial Park on the right.
Electric dirt bikes and four-wheelers.
Rhoda and Rick Eisenberg love their Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning.
Cybertruck was one of many Teslas well represented at Clean Cruise.
A Chevy Equinox EV owner talks tech with an interested shopper.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (from left) and Cadillac Optiq SUV.
An apologetic Tesla Model S owner.
Utility providers and environmental groups supported the Clean Cruise.
Kicking it old-school with a car ahead of its time, the Chevy Volt extended-range EV.
Polestar 3 SUV on display at Clean Cruise, just a quarter mile from Polestar's new retail outlet on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak.
A few miles from the Clean Cruise, the diminutive all-electric Fiat 500e is feeling ganged up on.
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