Detroit Festival of Speed and Style Comes to Downtown Detroit

Inaugural Event will Showcase Automotive History through Cars, Art and Music

DETROIT - July 24, 2007: The Detroit Festival of Speed and Style, scheduled for August 24-26, is not only a new event but it is also a new concept of car show.

Marrying the excitement and speed of car cruises and races with the style and sophistication of a Concours d'Elegance, the Detroit Festival of Speed and Style celebrates the automobile and its historical contribution in an attractive and inclusive weekend show - with no admission charge.

Staged at Detroit's remarkable Campus Martius and adjacent Cadillac Square, the Detroit Festival of Speed and Style presents cars and motorcycles in an urban setting, with the opportunity for moving parades and demonstrations. Campus Martius sits at the foot of the historical Woodward Avenue, which recently celebrated its 200-year anniversary.

This revolutionary new event model is built on the success of the 2003 - 2005 Concours d'Elegance at Cranbrook, which was co-founded by Marvin Towns, Jr. the first African-American to develop a world-class Concours d'Elegance.

"The time is ripe for a new event that brings together all people - regardless of age or social background - who love cars; an event which is admission-free and is staged in the core of Detroit, the world's Motor City," said Towns, Jr. the Detroit Festival of Speed and Style's creator and founder. "This Festival will be the perfect mix of a classic car show and a dynamic cruise-type event.

"We have the City of Detroit's full support to grow an occasion like this downtown," Towns continued. "We've been greatly encouraged by the extremely enthusiastic reception we received from many civic and corporate leaders with whom we shared our plan, like Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and several other community partners. Our Festival sits neatly between the Woodward Dream Cruise and the new Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle. By incorporating a much- needed new format, this really is the right event at the right time."

It is anticipated that the younger generation (Baby Boomers and Generation X/Y) will appreciate a 2007 Detroit Festival of Speed and Style entry of vehicles that, as well as the finest examples of many of the world's and nation's classic cars, places an emphasis on more recent machinery than typically seen at traditional Concours events. These include high performance factory-built cars from the 1950s, '60s and '70s, such as hot rods, tuner cars, unique motorcycles, race cars, trucks - and even today's newer concept cars and alternative fuel vehicles.

Corporate sponsors making this event possible for the public include: General Motors, Chrysler, Delphi, Detroit Muscle, NextEnergy, Hard Rock Cafe, Meguiars, Campus Martius-Detroit 300 Conservancy, City of Detroit and the Detroit Public Libraries/NAHC (National Automotive History Collection).

Civic partners include: Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Mexicantown Community Development Corporation, Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Alliance, and the City of Detroit.