Car History Comes to Life at The Henry Ford

Surf's Up - How fast a surfer drives when he hears the words, "surf's up". A 1951 Ford Country Squire at the 2016 Motor Muster

ATTENTION: Car Lovers, Auto Geeks and Gearheads...​ 

If you have never visited Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford for a car show, you don't know what you are missing!​

1955 Buick Special - The Special... Buick life, lift and luxury at lowest cost was the slogan for the Buick Special. This 1955 Buick pushed the style envelope and showed us what true automotive elegance could be. Buick fit nicely between Chevrolet and Cadillac. Although a Cadillac was a sign that you had made it, the Buick was the sign that you were on your way. This image was captured at the 2016 Motor Muster.

If you are not familiar with The Henry Ford, it is located in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.  It was founded by the automobile industrialist Henry Ford, who had a desire to preserve important properties and historically significance items that captured the history of life in early America. In the process, he created a history complex that is the largest indoor and outdoor history museum in the United States.

1955 Pontiac Star Chief - The 1955 Star Chief was completely redesigned and featured new V8 power, along with Pontiac's first application of a wrap-around windshield! The 1955 was very much a sight for sore eyes with fantastic two-tone paint and Silver Streaks running up the hood. Image captured at the 2016 Moter Muster.

The Henry Ford has 2 huge car shows every year:
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The Motor Muster on Father’s Day weekend. This show focuses on classic cars from the 1930s through the muscle cars of the 1970s. This is not a hot rod or custom car show. All cars must be in original or restored to original stock condition just like they would have been back in the day when they first rolled off the showroom floor.

Old Chapel on the Green - Martha-Mary Chapel sits at the head of the village green at the highest point in Greenfield Village. Henry Ford had the chapel built in 1929 to honor his and his wife's mothers. This image was captured early in the morning at Greenfield Village's annual Old Car Festival in 2014.

The Old Car Festival is the longest running antique car show in America. It features authentic automobiles from the 1890s through 1932.  These cars must also be in original or restored to original condition. This show is hosted the first weekend after Labor Day every year. 

Pair of Ford Model A - On the left is a Model A Coupe and on the right the Model A Tudor Sedan. The Model A was only built for four years, from 1928 to 1931. Image captured at the 2014 Old Car Festival.

What makes these two car shows so different from any other?
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It’s not just about the cars. When these cars roll down the period-perfect streets of Greenfield Village, history comes to life! It’s a chance to see these automobiles in the setting where they belong. Add in the Greenfield Village employees and even some participants in period dress and it’s a trifecta of Americana that can only be visited through old photographs and movies. 

1936 GMC T-14 was one of the many great classics on display at the 2016 Motor Muster.

Pierce-Arrow Model 33 Touring Car - The Pierce-Arrow line was completely overhauled at the beginning of the Roaring Twenties. By late 1921, the three chassis line was replaced with the Series 33 which remained its flagship model through the early 1926 production. All of the bodies were mounted on the same 138 inch wheelbase chassis. Because of this, prices for the Pierce-Arrow could be quoted for both complete cars and for extra bodies allowing the owner to have an open body for the summer and a closed one for winter time. Captured at the 2014 Old Car Festival.

1976 Silver Metallic Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - The 1976 Corvette sported a new hood design that directed air close to the front of the car at the radiator due to an annoying howl sound the old hood was known for. This Vette was on display at the 2016 Motor Muster.

1941 WC27 Ambulance - A vintage 1941 Dodge WC27 military ambulance on display at the 2016 Motor Muster.

Sunday Drive - The Ford Model T or Tin Lizzie as she was affectionately known was produced from 1908 to 1927. Until this car came out automobiles were considered extreme luxuries that were scarce and expensive. The Model T changed that making the dream of owning an automobile attainable by the common middle class American. This image was captured during the Model T Parade of Cars at the 2014 Old Car Festival.

Sunset Cruise - In 1927, Henry Ford released the Model A Sport Coupe, it created quite a frenzy throughout the country. There were even riots in a few US cities as 20 percent of the population at the time, almost 25 million people, attempted to get to their local Ford dealer to see the new car. Before long it was known as the "Baby Lincoln" because of its similar styling. This Model A image was captured during the 2014 Old Car Festival Sunset Drive.

1963 Chevrolet Corvair - There is plenty to like about the 1963 Chevrolet Corvair. Its styling is crisp and clean with a sporting flair that was not seen on other American compact cars. The forward slanting nose with its four small headlights and absence of a grille looked distinctive and fresh. The car's lines were taut and athletic, which was a welcome step away from the American excess of a few years before. It is a shame that the Corvair had dire design flaws that ultimately led to the car's end and what it is most famous for is being a car that was in Ralph Nader's book, Unsafe at Any Speed. This car represented Chevy's willingness to take risks and showed that they could step out of the box and create something distinctive while taking on a new class of cars, the compact. In the end Corvair became the car world's most successful failure. On display at the 2016 Motor Muster.

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I have many more amazing images from the Motor Muster and Old Car Festival. They can be found in the Automotive Collection.  My images were captured at the 2014 Old Car Festival and the 2016 Motor Muster.
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About the Photographer

Susan Rissi Tregoning is the 8th photographer in the past 4 generations of professional photographers in her family. After a long career as an art buyer and interior designer, she put her career on hold in 2006 to travel with her husband and his job. In the process, she found her “roots” again,  developing a photography obsession far beyond casual snapshots that  evolved into a desire to capture each and every location and object as “art”. By meshing her two loves, photography and design, she has come full circle. Only now, she is creating art instead of just purchasing it. 

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See an image you like? You can purchase Susan's work in  The Art Gallery.  
All images in the her collection are available as wall art, fine art prints, on home decor, gift items and apparel.

"1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL" on Canvas

Bring your artwork to life with the texture and depth of a stretched canvas print. Your image gets printed onto one of our premium canvases and then stretched on a wooden frame of 1.5" x 1.5" stretcher bars (gallery wrap) or 5/8" x 5/8" stretcher bars (museum wrap). Your canvas print will be delivered to you "ready to hang" with pre-attached hanging wire, mounting hooks, and nails.

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