Who can explain what is going on here ?
Could be some sort of instrumentation for measuring something. It's common to see test cars on the road in the Detroit area.
Heck, we see many test vehicles on the west side due to the test facilities at the Navistar (old Studebaker) proving grounds. They're driving up and down SR2 quit a bit. Cars, trucks, etc... with all kinds of test equipment on them, weights, trailing wheels measuring who knows what.