Even though temperatures might have you thinking it's barely June 1, we're already halfway through our precious summer.

The good news is that there are still more car-centric events to enjoy in the five weeks before kids go back to school and the lakes begin to quiet.

Of course, the Woodward Dream Cruise is Aug. 15. Don't be surprised to see yellow tape and old motorhomes showing up a week earlier. Many residents who live along the Woodward corridor from Ferndale to Pontiac have already made plans to be somewhere else that weekend. How considerate -- leaving more room to park on side streets in front of temporarily vacated homes.

Official festivities begin Friday, Aug. 14, up and down Woodward. Along with special events and car shows sponsored by Ford Motor Co., Ferndale is again hosting a show of emergency vehicles, one of the largest and most curious gatherings of specialty vehicles in the country. Live bands will provide music to enjoy the city's RetroFest.

In Berkley, there will be children's activities and a teen dance to get things started on Friday evening.

Bloomfield Township hosts a classic car show on Woodward south of Big Beaver that same evening and offers grandstand seating on Woodward for only $5 all day Saturday. Pontiac hosts the two-day Cruizin' Car Show sponsored by The Oakland Press.

The Italians are letting Chrysler Group LLC set up its Dream Cruise display at 13 Mile. No word on whether spaghetti will be served or if Fiats will be displayed along side 'Cudas and DeSotos.

In other corporate news, General Motors Co. won't occupy its traditional spot at the Birmingham Triangle. Perhaps that budget line item didn't past muster with the Obama administration's car czar?

The wildness on Woodward isn't everybody's blend of premium. If you like your cars presented in a more orderly fashion perhaps accompanied by hors d' oeuvres, catch the RM Auction that runs in conjunction with the Meadow Brook Concours.

If you've never been to a high-end auction, it's worth experiencing. An auction guide priced at $80 gets two in the door for the Aug. 1 event, as well as the preview day of July 31. Order yours online at www.RMAuctions.com. Bidders need to pre-register, a necessary step if you're looking to beat the gavel.

Even if you're not bidding, RM puts on a great show. Entertainment comes from the quick-paced action, a cultured English auctioneer, passionate bidders, and the cars driving across the block.

This year, a piece of local history is on the block: Detroiter Garfield "Gar" Wood's 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Beverly Sedan. Older captains of industry may remember Wood as the inventor of the hydraulic lift. He came about the device to quicken the unloading of coal trucks, and it made him a fortune.

This fortune helped Wood pursue the life of an adventurer sportsman. Throughout the 1920s, Wood set multiple top-speed records that he set on the Detroit and St. Clair rivers. Long before there were turbine-powered hydroplanes to compete for the prestigious Gold Cup, Wood won it five straight times.

Wood's boats were of his own design, and he later built a boat factory in Marysville. These sleek mahogany runabouts are still valued by collectors.

The ex-Wood coffin-nose Cord that RM will sell is an older award-winning restoration that can be yours for less than the cost of many new Mercedes-Benz models. Remarkably, the car features hidden headlamps (an automotive first) and front-wheel drive (rare in those days). History has its price, and thanks to the recession, prices are lower than several years ago.