Man’s car garners national attention after Sports Illustrated feature

By Peter Maxwell

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    NEW HUDSON, Michigan (WXYZ) — A New Hudson man’s classic car gained national attention when it was featured in Sports Illustrated magazine alongside Detroit Lions players, and he may be showing it off at this weekend’s 30th anniversary of the Woodward Dream Cruise.

Ryan Talaga’s 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 convertible with powder blue interior was the backdrop for a Sports Illustrated photo shoot featuring Detroit Lions players last year.

“Never would have imagined that it would have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine,” Talaga said.

The classic car enthusiast comes from a family with deep automotive roots. Both of his grandfathers worked in the industry — one for GM for over 30 years and the other for Ford.

“For me, it’s not about the cars, it’s about the people you meet along the way,” Talaga said.

His beloved Fairlane has been part of many significant moments in his life. He’s taken it to Autorama in Detroit and even had his wedding photos taken with the classic vehicle.

The Sports Illustrated feature brought his car to the attention of hundreds of thousands of people online, and Talaga says one Detroit Lion expressed interest in owning something similar.

“Aidan mentioned one day I’d love to have something like this, which I can imagine him having in his garage,” Talaga said.

Since then, Talaga has enjoyed connecting with younger car enthusiasts at events like Autorama.

“I love being able to bond with the younger kids. The younger generation aren’t really involved in the older cars like some of the older generation are, and I hope that’s a hobby that we can change that and get more younger people involved,” Talaga said.

The Woodward Dream Cruise holds special memories for Talaga, who recalls attending with his father in various classic vehicles.

“I’ve been in many different vehicles with my dad. I remember going down there in my dad’s 1957 Nash Metropolitan,” Talaga said. “Or it could have been in my dad’s 1959 Cadillac, which I was very fortunate to drive at the age of 16 going to many car shows, so it definitely runs deep in my family.”

While Talaga plans to show off his ’57 Fairlane at this weekend’s Dream Cruise, he says the weather might be a deciding factor.

“It kind of depends, sometimes it depends on the weather, so we will see what happens,” Talaga said.

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