By Matt Vande Bunte
The Grand Rapids Press
WYOMING -- Sitting roadside under a canopy in front of the new Klingman's store, Rose Bruins was content to be a looker.

She arrived from Holland with her husband in a 2000 Corvette, and they enjoyed seeing what else rolled through town.

"We're just loving cars," the 63-year-old newlywed said Saturday during the 28th Street Metro Cruise. "They're just so beautiful. What a lot of money on 28th Street today."

With all the American flags lining 28th Street on Friday evening, it looked like the presidential candidates were about to parade through town.

But the flags and a gathering of onlookers were preparing for something just as American -- cruising in great big, gas-guzzling, all-American cars.

The fourth annual 28th Street Metro Cruise opened Friday afternoon with car club displays and food vendors in various lots along 28th Street from Grandville to Kentwood.

by Troy Reimink

GRAND RAPIDS -- An odd time to just go for a cruise, is it not?

Gas prices are still sky-high. Report after report indicates Americans are driving less. The slumping economy -- nationwide and specifically in Michigan -- has dampened many a summer vacation plan. The state's auto industry continues to decline.

In that context, the fourth annual 28th Street Metro Cruise takes on symbolic significance for its thousands of participants, a way to stand up on behalf of a uniquely American passion.

by Jan Holst

Every year Metro Cruise on 28th Street gains in popularity. This year as vehicles and their fans cruise Wyoming and Kentwood, the event itself will cruise east.

A festival celebrating classic cars and their fans will return to Kent County in August.

The 28th Street Metro Cruise is set for August 22-23.

For the second year, the cruise will stretch the entire length of 28th Street -- from Grandville to Cascade Township.