How's the cruising scene in your all's hometowns? It's dead as a doornail here! Theres alot of people though around here that have old cars, but they won't hardly drive em! We use to have an awesome cruising scene, but like I said it's dead now. What do you think I could do to help get the cruising started again around here?
Cruising went out 35+ years ago here. There is a new? trend starting by a few rod guys, and that is a reliability run or whatever you want to call it. I think these folks are tired of the "sitting" at a car show or "cruise night". There are 2 such runs I saw around here, and I heard about them on hamb. If I ever get something running, I will do one of those.
Around here it comes and goes.This year cruisen is so so. I don`t care one way or another cause I cruise when ever I get the chance.
I 'cruise' with one of my jalopys every day. Whenever I go somewhere, grocery store, gas station, donut shop, I go through all of the parking lots between businesses, drive slow and go out of my way to talk to people when they see the car and give me a chance to answer any questions they have. Anytime they appear to be attracted to my car, you can tell by their body language or that second look over their shoulder, I greet them, get into a lot of friendly discussions that way. I guess that's called a "one man cruise"???? Every Wednesday morning I meet for breakfast with a bunch of old car guys at a local breakfast joint, a lot of the regular customers are attracted to our cars in the parking lot.
It used to be great. On a friday/saturday night it was faster to walk down Main st in Peoria,il than it was to drive. Main st circuit was 5 miles one way and the turn around and cruise back and then politicians got involved and now it is illegal to cruise in Peoria.Now this year they want to do an open cruise night and reopen main for one friday night,Whatever!!!!!!
Cruisin used to be pretty big here, but about 25+ years back, it all went in the toilet. Hot cars got replaced with loud stereos, the criminal element filtered in and the next thing you know, it was illegal to cruise. Then the whole one-day, outdoor car show scene exploded and the cruise became a lame-*** parade. Our annual show features one and everyone who has an old car, racecar, tractor (yes I'm serious) and/or helicoptor (think I'm joking? Show up next year and you'll see it) is allowed to parade down main street fro precisely 90 minutes. No speeding, no burnouts, poodle skirts are encouraged, as are hilarious (?) home-made signs. It's a sad state of affairs, for sure. I know it's gonna draw some fire, but whatever happened to street racing on that desolate road outside city limits, chasing girls, sneaking a beer and just showing off your car on a friday or saturday nite?
Cruising is GREAT in Northern Ohio. At any given evening there are no less than 5 places to go within 60 miles of Mentor. Tuesdays at Solon can draw upwards of 500-800 cars and motorcycles. Next Saturday the city of Mentor is putting on a cruise in and 1,200 cars (maybe more) are expected with tons of door prizes. Check out the cruise schedules: Big Al's List - http://www.bigalslist.com/ or Cruisin' Times Magazine - http://www.cruisintimes.org/
Zookeep, you're right. Sad thing about it all is, we grew old. Kids don't do that kind of stuff anymore and it's mostly up to the oldtimers to keep the tradition alive as much as they can. With this sue-crazy society we live in these days, street racing is too risky, girls are chasing girls these days and the only person I have to sneak a beer from is my wife. But around southern Michigan, one would have to live in a cave with no commo NOT to find someplace to cruise to nearly every night of the week. I live in a small town there are quite a few others in a 40-50 mile radius. Our local Cruise news lists which towns, clubs etc. have cruises every night. Our local one is Thursdays and last week over 50 cars showed up, some the same but always a few different ones. Got a hot dog guy and a DJ. Most folks cruise in, break out the lawn chairs for an hour or so, then cruise some more. Not like American Graffiti style all-night cruising - those days are long gone - but still a good time.
There really isn't much cruising around here. Alot of cruise nights where you meet in a parking lot and walk around. I drive my 33 pickup 2 or 3 times thru the week and every weekend so I get alot of seat time but the old days of crusing are DEAD.....
You can tell who is under 35-40 years old on this thread The under 50 crowd probably never saw real cruising. The poster was asking about "cruising", not cruise nights. Cruising was driving all night long with all the other gearheads, not sitting in a parking lot.
Yakima, Wa has three organized cruise nights a summer on the Ave. All are well attended. Otherwise no cruising the Ave. Guys who were around King and Pierce Countys in Washington in the 60's will remember cruising the Renton loop for hours on end and then slipping off to the road out by the radio towers to race someone who had challenged you on the ave or at Zips. I think that there were several factors that killed cruising in most areas where there was a popular cruise route. The advent of hell for loud sound systems that produced way more noise than a street full of cars with gl***packs. Kids too young to drivehanging around on the sidewalks making and leaving a mess. In the 60's the only time you saw anyone out of a car on the sidewalk or side of the street locally was if they were actually stopped talking to someone or they were walking somewhere. No clowns just hanging around. As someone else said, the emphasis changed from having a great looking and or hot car to drive to having something else. At***ude change by the city fathers and law enforcement crew. When I was a teenager in the mid 60's the cops around here figured that if we were all on the Ave cruising it only took a couple of them to keep an eye on all of us. Now the minute there are a batch of cars out on the ave the gangs seem to show up and start trouble. Plus the fact that a tank of gas costs almost 40 bucks at the moment instead of three or four. Remember the days when you took the coolest or hottest car in your group of friends and each of you kicked in a buck or so and you cruised all night. I knew one guy in the mid 60's with a big block Chevelle who went through two tanks of gas on a Friday night Cruising Yakima Avenue, I'd hate to have to pay for that much premium on one night of cruising now. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
Cruising died an instant death around here about 20 years ago, During an organised "Cruise Night" some wannabe "thugs" completely unrelated to any type of automotive interest, turned over a Police car during a fight on our "Main" St. NO MORE CRUISING after that!!! Because it happened on a "Cruise" night it must have been caused by the people in their cars driving around!!! The police really stepped on cruising after that night, you couldn't be seen driving past the same spot more than once in a certain amount of time or you got a ticket. Our cruising route was only about two miles long so it was hard not to go by the same place over and over. Now all the punks with the fartpipes on their Neons and Hondas sit in a parking lot on the edge of a major river. they recently vandalised a Federal Navigational Marker, literally tearing the brick steps off of it and throwing them in the river. Now the police have had the parking lot closed to the public from 10 p.m. till 7 a.m. to keep the kids out. The funny thing about the cruising being stopped here is that the downtown area died about the same time and a mall opened just at the north edge of town and the folks up there just love the cruisers and now the city is trying to figure out how to get them back in town....
YUP!! There is only 3,000 people in this town and all the cars that make the laps have there 22inch rims 'subs' any thing that is!!! Well ya know what im saying LOL Im really the only one that makes laps in somthing somewhat old! 1971 Ford F-100 and thats the oldest one i've ever seen make laps and im only 20 so I never did get to see the good days of cruising . Tons of old cars in town but there all to old and don't wanna drive em! Why have a old car if ya not gonna drive it!
No cruising here either. It was dead as far back as the early 90's. It all kind of coincided with import cars and general thuggery. I used to make the circuit by myself all over town in '91 or so. I will be making it by myself again when I get the Mercury on the road - soon I hope. I know people with cool old cars, but they just go to some parking lot, plop their ****s in a lawn chair and BS about exactly the same thing every week for 5 or 6 hours at a time. I got so fed up with it that I haven't gone to any local cruise nights this Summer and probably won't even after I get the car on the road. For me it's about rolling around town, being seen, meeting up with friends, listening to the radio, hopefully meeting some ladies, and getting home exhausted at 2:00 in the morning. I know traditional "cruising" is dead, but it's a car dammit it's meant to be driven, not parked. Just my take on it.
Why not get in line with 'imports', or others for that matter? Develop your social graces. Grow a little. Cruising is a social experience, therefore what kind of car you cruise in is irrelevant. Different marquis/styles all in one parade ain’t a bad cruise. Put yourself in a box, nobody is going to climb into it with you.
Cruisiing around here died in the late '80s. The five towns that had cruising, started making left-turns along the strips illegal from 6pm to 2am on Friday and Saturday nights, which effectively killed cruising in the metro area altogether. Over the last few years, the ricer crowd has been on the NW side of town, trying to revive the tradition. But, they have been getting in a lot of trouble with street racing, so they are not doing themselves any favors. Plus, you add the *****s with the 24" wheels on whatever they can stuff them under with their 10K watt noisemakers...who wants to go out now? These days, between the hoodlums, druggies, and ***holes of all persuasions; cruising as we knew it in the day, is dead. When I want to take any of my hobby cars out, I take them out and drive them! Might be a Sunday drive, or a ride to get an ice cream cone, or go and hang out with like-minded car nuts of all kinds. Don't need a "cruise night" to do any of that.
The people here got motivated and made it happen at Van Nuys Blvd. Once a month, and it's growing! Organize and do it, stop the b!tching and re-create the excitement!
Very well said, indeed. I also don't let my car sit under a cover waiting for the next organized cruise, or car show or whatever. Hardly a week goes by I don't get it out for a run to the parts store, or to pick my son up from school on friday, or maybe take the family out for a sunday lunch or go to a freind's house to hang out with him in the garage or just drive for a bit, and my son and I have been going to the drags lately in it on most race weekends. Cruising may be dead in this area, but it's still fun and relaxing to just drive the thing anytime I need a little pick-me-up.
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