Behind the Wheel: ‘It feels almost like a race car’

METRO DETROIT — In the mid-1990s, the Woodward Dream Cruise in Oakland County was officially established, giving classic car owners the chance to relive the heyday of cruising the avenue in their souped-up vehicles, muscle cars and vintage models.

Novi resident Robert Fridenberg has attended the Dream Cruise many times over the years, but his cruising days began long before — in 1979 — when he and a pal regularly drove up and down Woodward Avenue in his buddy’s “hopped up” 1976 Pontiac Trans Am.

They spent most of their Saturday nights cruising to the tunes of Journey, ELO and the Cars playing on the radio. The young adults — who grew up across the street from each other in Southfield — often stopped at the Northwood Shopping Center at Woodward and 13 Mile Road in Royal Oak.

“It had a huge parking lot,” Fridenberg recalled. “Back in the day, that place was full of hot rodders. That’s where we hung out, met girls and met up with some of our buddies.”

The following year, the duo were back at cruising altitude and that’s how Fridenberg met his future wife, Chris. She knew Fridenberg’s friend first, and when the couple married 33 years ago, he was best man at their wedding.

Three years ago, Fridenberg purchased a 1972 DeTomaso Pantera. He drives it every chance he can. Fridenberg first became familiar with the Pantera as a kid. When he headed to the bus stop each morning for school, he’d walk past a neighbor’s yellow-hued model.

Several years back, Fridenberg owned a Porsche 911 Turbo, but after a while he wanted a different car. When looking to replace it, he turned to someone he knew who owned an exotic car consignment business. He hadn’t planned on owning a Pantera but soon changed his mind after spotting the vehicle on the business website.

“When I saw this, it kind of rekindled the memory,” Fridenberg said. “Having worked for Ford, the fact it has a Ford motor in it just kind of got me excited to arrange to buy one. We arranged a swap.”

Fridenberg’s Pantera was originally red, but a previous owner painted it mandarin copper metallic.

“It’s a Ford color. It was used on Mustangs and SUVs in the early 2000s,” Fridenberg said. “This color really makes the car pop. The metallic makes the lines show up more.”

The Pantera has the original body, but because the car sat for so long, Fridenberg did a lot of work to get it road-ready.

“When the Panteras were originally made and developed, the quality wasn’t very good. So over the years a lot of owners had to do upgrades,” he said. “I pretty much had to fix every system on the car. The cooling system had problems with overheating. The horns didn’t work. The windows didn’t go up and down. The seats wouldn’t go back and forth. The brakes had to be rebuilt.”     

With his automotive knowledge, Fridenberg was able to overhaul the car. He has also connected with other Pantera owners through clubs online, and has read up a lot on the car’s history. According to his research, the mid-engine sports car was made in Italy as a joint venture with the Ford Motor Co.

“As a retired Ford engineer, I was honored to purchase this car and show it off, as it is a unique part of Ford’s history,” he said. “The design is over 50 years old, but it’s still very modern.”

It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. He takes it out often, including in the wintertime if the weather is favorable and the roads are dry. It always draws interest at local car shows.

“Bakers of Milford is a big one, and I take it to some of the cars and coffees around here,” the classic car owner said.

But he’d rather drive than sit. One favorite spot is cruising Hines Drive in Wayne County.

“It’s slow, but it’s a nice drive to go on. I usually go up to Newburgh Lake or I’ll go as far as Ann Arbor Trail with it,” he said. “There’s a nice road if you take Seven Mile west, it dead-ends at Whitmore Lake. That road has a lot of nice twisties. It’s a beautiful ride.”

Because the Pantera is so low to the ground, “it feels almost like a race car.” Fridenberg drives it during non-peak traffic times.

“It’s loud, it’s hot, there’s no electronics. It’s more like an event when you go for a drive, because you worry something is going to go wrong,” he said. “It just makes it more of an experience to take it out and drive it. People will pull up next to me. I can see them on their phones. They’ll roll their windows down and say, ‘What is that? Is that a Pantera?’ Everywhere you go someone wants to talk about it.”