While the massive Mustang Alley display along 9 Mile Road in Ferndale is dominated by newer generation Mustang, the classics still hold a prominent role in reminding everyone in attendance how the passion for the original pony car got started. Our “classic Mustang” gallery from the Woodward Dream Cruise is comprised of just a very few of the 1964.5-1973 model year Mustangs parked in Mustang Alley.
While this list “only” includes about 40 cars, you will see many of the most famous classic Mustangs including the Shelby GT350, the Shelby GT500, the Shelby GT500 King of the Road, the Boss 302, the Boss 429, Mach 1 models from a variety of years and a couple classic Mustang race cars. You will also find an early Mustang sporting some unusual fender skirts and side pipes, Mr Vaughn Gittin Jr’s 1969 Mustang RTR-X drift car and a whole bunch more old school Mustangs shining out in the Detroit sun.
It should be noted that Mustang Alley is huge – spanning well over a mile of real estate – and the shots below of these classic Ford Mustangs were the ones found in the closest third of the display to Woodward Avenue. If you are a Mustang lover, you should make sure to get to the Woodward Dream Cruise as the Ford display and Mustang Alley steal the show every year.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
