How Detroit’s car scene is shifting gears on America’s loneliness epidemic

Car culture in Detroit is helping people find community as the U.S. faces a loneliness epidemic, according to those who spoke with Fox News Digital last month.

"I think it is a challenge. And there's so much divisiveness going on. It's definitely a challenge. However, these types of environments foster that. And the more we do it, the more folks can rub shoulders with folks you wouldn't ordinarily rub shoulders with," William told Fox News Digital while looking at a variety of vintage and classic cars at an event called Drift Indy in Pontiac.

Drift Indy began as an online group promoting the car drifting sport in 2005. The group started hosting five events a year in Indiana and eventually expanded around the Midwest. 

The group used the M1 Concourse facilities in Pontiac to host their event. There, several drivers burned rubber on the racetrack drifting, leaving a trail of smoke and black streaks on the surface. As Detroit residents and suburbanites flocked to Drift Indy in August, Fox News Digital wanted to ask car enthusiasts about how drifting and cars provide community for them.

WITHOUT GOD, NEW YORK'S DREAM TURNS HOLLOW. MY WALK ACROSS AMERICA PROVES IT

Drifting is a driving technique and motorsport where drivers intentionally oversteer a rear-wheel-drive car to make the rear wheels lose traction, causing the car to slide sideways. The goal is for two drivers to work in tandem and get as close to each other as possible. (Fox News Digital)

"The car hobby brings people from all walks of life. So I do think there are some challenges, especially with the younger generation. You know, I'm hoping that they'll be able to take this hobby and move it and push it forward so that it can be enjoyed for years and years to come," William added.

Deidra, one of the drivers that participated in the Drift Indy drifting session, started "Girls Gone Drifting" to provide a community for women.

"Drifting is a very male-dominated sport. When I first started drifting, there were only a few other girls locally who were doing it, and it was extremely intimidating," Diedra said.

Fox News Digital attended Drift Indy, M1 Concourse, and the Woodward Dream Cruise events in the Detroit suburbs to ask attendees whether they face challenges in building community due to the rise of technology and decline of various social activities such as bowling leagues, rotary clubs, and church attendance.

Deidra Drake, a driver and organizer for "Girls Gone Drifting," told Fox News Digital she has built a strong community around racing.  (Fox News Digital)

A Gallup poll published in 2024 showed that daily loneliness afflicts one in five adults. The poll also showed an uptick in U.S. adults feeling loneliness "a lot of the day yesterday" than previous years.

In 2023, the Surgeon General declared a loneliness epidemic in the U.S. 

GEN Z TRADES NIGHTCLUBS FOR DAYTIME ‘SOFT CLUBBING’

In the midst of loneliness among adults, Fox News Digital interviewed event organizers like Deidra to discuss why they orchestrate activities centered on car culture.

"So Girls Gone Drifting—it's a community of ladies that drive together and support each other, and it is just like a non-judgment zone where girls can just come out and drive and not have to worry about anything else. The community really is the best. I've met so many lifelong friends and just people that I can't imagine my life without that," she said.

The M1 Concourse event, led by Paul Zlotoff, is held annually to showcase vintage, luxury, and custom cars. Many cars were on display near the M1 Concourse racetrack.

A race car driver drifts around corners at the M1 Concourse.  (Fox News Digital)

"I know a fair amount of that because we run an event center. We call this the epicenter of motorsports experiential opportunities. Bowling leagues are dropping, rotary clubs are declining, so we all know that, in part because now people can sit at home on their computer," Paul Zlotoff, CEO of M1 Concourse, told Fox News Digital.

According to Bowlingball.com, bowling leagues, once a lifeline of community building in the US, have been dwindling over the past 30 years. The outlet analyzed data from the United States Bowling Congress, citing a decline in youth committing to the sport and a significant drop in bowling memberships.

Zlotoff expounded further on the importance of connecting with people in person.

He continued, "I'm a car guy and I started buying cars. Every one of those cars has a story. And every one of those cars is collected by somebody else that I know. We're going to interact, and I'm going to invite him over here when we're doing something cool, and he's probably going to tell me about something he's working on. So it creates connections. And it's through those mutual interests that we find that community."

"It brings people together inadvertently behind cars as the fabric," Earl, an M1 Concourse organizer, told Fox News Digital.

'NOBODY'S IN CONTROL' AS CHAOTIC STREET TAKEOVERS TERRORIZE CITIES ACROSS US: CRIME EXPERT

Two custom Cadillac's designed by Trans Am Worldwide are displayed at the Woodward Dream Cruise.  (Fox News Digital)

Not too far from M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Fox News Digital spoke with people in Birmingham, where part of the Woodward Dream Cruise occurred. 

The Woodward Dream Cruise is considered North America’s largest car enthusiast event, attracting nearly one million visitors and thousands of collector cars to metro Detroit.

Catherine brought her family to the Woodward Dream Cruise, including her mother. Attending the Woodward Dream Cruise is a tradition of the family.

"I saw so many people sitting in their chairs along Woodward during the day, all times of day, just taking them in and getting them out of the house and connecting with the person sitting in the chair. So I think it's really a great thing," Catherine said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Woodward Dream Cruise typically draws over 1 million attendees and more than 40,000 classic cars to Detroit each year.  (Fox News Digital)

In the heart of downtown Detroit, Fox News Digital spoke with Kris Lamarr, a musician who hosts street racing and car events in Detroit.

"I got my Cadillac Python from my pops, and I've been building on it since then. I know a lot of other people in the city who have had cars passed down, so I think it's just more so, even like a lineage of things, a lot more sentimental than just metal and gears," Lamarr said.