FRANKENMUTH, MI – Billboard spotters who travel up and down I-75’s Midwest corridor have likely either been to or have seen the signs for Frankenmuth, a Bavarian-themed little community in “The Thumb” area of Michigan. Road-trip warriors familiar with driving in The Mitten State know it as home to Bronner’s, “The World’s Largest Christmas Store,” as well as the mega family-style restaurants Zehnder’s and Bavarian Inn, where you can get their “World-Famous Chicken Dinners.” But for enthusiasts, this tourist town is known for its yearly Frankenmuth Auto Fest, which happens the weekend following Labor Day.
Held on the grounds of Heritage Park, the Frankenmuth Auto Fest draws some 2,500 unique vehicles of all makes and models each year. If classics and pre-1988 rides are your thing, then you’ll opt for being there on either Friday or Saturday. If you’re more into the modern stuff, the show field is opened up to all vehicles from the 2025 model year or earlier on Sunday. If you can manage to pull yourself away from the big Saturday car show, Frankenmuth offers plenty of shopping, dining, and entertainment for the whole family, with specialty stores, a local brewery and even a wine-tasting shop.
Friday night there’s a Big Block Party from 5-10 p.m. on Main Street, and on Saturday night the event hosts a live band under the pavilion with dancing, food and beverages. (Frankenmuth is the home of rock band Greta Van Fleet.) On Sunday, the enthusiast-chosen people’s choice awards ceremony begins at 1 p.m., where some 60 German Steins are awarded as the “trophies” and car jackets are given to the top 25 vehicles.
As he does most every year, Bill Cook – our roving Ford Performance car-show photographer and a Ford marketing retiree – attended the annual show this past fall and filed this report:
“I arrived in Frankenmuth at 8 a.m. for one of my favorite car events – the Frankenmuth Auto Fest. The setting in Heritage Park is nice and typically draws a few thousand cars from all across the Midwest during the 3-day event. This is the largest fundraiser for the Frankenmuth Rotary Club, Lion’s Club, American Legion, VFW and Michigan Heroes Museum. They have raised over $1.8 million over the last 12 years. It takes some 540 volunteers to help run this show. I was there for six hours at the Saturday car show and would have stayed longer but needed to head home for a concert in downtown Detroit that evening. The only thing that would have made it better was if it were a bit warmer and brighter, but sometimes it can get cool in early September, so jackets were needed.”
Cook had to walk several miles to try and see the whole show. We sifted through nearly 200 of Cook’s photos to select some of our favorite Fords that were on display there so that we could share them with you in the gallery below:
FORD RACING PHOTOS / COURTESY BILL COOK
