Detroit is the nexus of the American automobile industry and has been a hotbed of high-performance vehicles. You truly can’t measure how big of a role Detroit has played in the gearhead culture. Director Keith Famie’s documentary Detroit: The City of Hot Rods & Muscle Cars tells the story of the city’s car culture through the eyes of people who have been a part of it.
The vehicles we drive are just an extension of our automotive story. People build a car based on what has influenced them and what interests them, which makes their car or truck a very personal thing. The human side of the car culture is what makes it so interesting, and Famie’s documentary tells those stories.
Detroit: The City of Hot Rods & Muscle Cars doesn’t just rehash old topics; it takes a deeper dive into the car culture that surrounds Detroit. Famie talks to Tim Allen, Bob Lutz, Danny Koker, Bill Collins, Chip Foose, along with others about that culture and the effect it had on the automotive universe.
“The story is about people and how cars impacted their lives from the early days of battling on Woodward, to how cruising means so much to our Michigan community. The film shows the human side of how the automobile became an intricate part of American lives, especially in Detroit. Highlighted in the film are stories about Woodward Avenue, Hot Wheels, Autorama, veterans, love, fathers, and the next generation of car builders and designers,” Famie says.
Detroit: The City of Hot Rods & Muscle Cars can be seen on affiliated PBS stations throughout Michigan. If you live outside of Michigan and want to check out the film, you can purchase a copy on DVD right here.
Photos courtesy of Keith Famie/Visionalist Entertainment Productions.
