Dodge Dealers Team With Harley-Davidson for Detroit Event
5 June 1998
Dodge Dealers Team With Harley-Davidson for Detroit EventAUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 4 -- More than 25,000 Harley- Davidson riders are expected to make a "pit stop" when they ride through Detroit on their way to Milwaukee for Harley-Davidson's 95th Anniversary Reunion. And the Dodge "pit crew" will be ready for them because Dodge is the Official Truck for Harley-Davidson's 95th Anniversary celebration. Riders coming through Detroit will leave Harley-Davidson's York, Pa., assembly plant on June 5, and make one overnight stop before continuing on to Detroit. They'll be joined here by a large number of riders from Canada. The group will also have a decidedly European flavor with the inclusion of hundreds of overseas enthusiasts who shipped their motorcycles to America for the big Harley event. The Michigan State Fairgrounds will welcome the leather-clad band of enthusiasts with live music, food and fun for the entire family. Also part of the evening's event, Dodge will present Harley-Davidson executives, including CEO Jeff Bleustein, with donations to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The event is free. It lasts from 2 to 9 p.m., and is open to the public. In addition to five live bands, there will be carnival games, merchandise vendors, a tattoo contest, motorcycle shows, a Harley-Davidson fashion show and an MDA charity auction. Dodge will display a dozen vehicles, plus offer rides in its Viper simulator. The ride that brings the Harley-Davidson touring group thundering through town is one of five leaving from all corners of the U.S. and making their way "home" to Milwaukee between June 3 and 9. Beginning June 3, 1998, Harley riders will take five separate "rides" from various cities throughout the country: Spokane, Wash.; Riverside, Calif.; Dallas; York, Pa.; and Orlando, Fla. Groups of riders from Canada, Mexico and overseas will also join the caravan along the way. The ultimate destination for these 100,000 riders is Milwaukee's lakefront, where they will converge at the Summerfest Grounds for Harley- Davidson's 95th Anniversary Reunion on June 13, 1998. "Dodge is proud to play a role in celebrating the rich heritage of Harley- Davidson," said Jim Julow, General Manager of the Dodge Division. "Like Harley-Davidson, the Dodge brand offers instantly recognizable vehicles that are bold, powerful and capable. And like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Dodge trucks have an image, or culture, that attracts an extremely loyal group of customers." As part of its sponsorship, Dodge trucks will be featured alongside Harley-Davidson motorcycles at national indoor motorcycle shows including Daytona Bike Week and the Sturgis Black Hills Rally and Races. Dodge will provide approximately 60 Dodge Ram trucks and vans to support the Milwaukee event.