Event Coverage What happened to the old "cruise ins"?

Bear with me, I am waiting on something and I am bored, so here is a poll.
I look at the calendars for car shows and cruise ins and I think some people have bastardized the meaning of a "cruise in" vs "car show". I always considered a cruise in to just be a bunch of people gathering at a certain spot to socialize with their cars, maybe at a picnic, restaurant, shopping center, etc, just a gathering. And a car show was where people show up, pay money, show off how shiny they can polish their car and wait around for trophies to be awarded while listening to music that no one likes and is usually too loud.
Car shows are arranged to raise money for somebody or some reason, cruise ins are for socialization and just shooting the breeze. Am I wrong? Or have the people who put on car shows to make money just changed the meaning of the terms?
Do you think they are different, and if so, what is your opinion.
If you don't consider this to be a "hamb worthy" post then just move along.....

 

I think that some car shows use the term "cruise-in", but most clubs have a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly meeting place that doesn't include registration or entry fees. Way more fun in my opinion...

 

Socialize? At many of the "car show"/ "cruise in's" I have recently attended, all too many attendee's just sit by their cars/trucks and stare at people. Almost like they don't want to talk to anyone.

 

My brother who is 74 now used to frequent cruise in’s during his early years.
He’s never bought an older car since those days.
He finally decided to buy a beautiful 61 impala as of late.
I took him to his first (new) cruise in since those days.
We pulled in and parked.
He looked at me and said “this isn’t a cruise in!”.
He said a cruise in is when you pull in and park in the outer circle of the lot pointing to the center and watch all the girls and cars pull in.
Then we’d leave and hit the next drive in.
Problem now is......
We don’t have that many places to cruise to anymore in any one night.
Yes I remember those days.
Yes he was right.

 

56don, You're right for most part about the difference, but not all car shows are held to raise money for someone or a cause unless you consider the promoter a "cause".

 

The spontaneous cruise in has changed. It now happens in a strip mall parking lot with a bunch of rice burners with funny looking paint or something on the hood. Every few minutes they form a conga line and cruise around the block park for a bit then do it again.

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I remember the good old days when no one had to announce it, but there would always be a bunch of car folks at a burger joint or parts house parking lot at a given time or evening. We called these cruise-ins. No fees, no DJ, no power parking, no cry baby dolls, just a bunch of guys and their cars hanging out for a couple of hours socializing. In my early days of driving it was almost always the Capital Plaza Hot Shoppes in Landover Hills, Maryland or the Queenstown Mighty Mo in Hyattsville, Maryland.

 

I would agree the term is pretty much used for both now. A lot of the meet ups have been shut down locally due to the tuners causing problems with local businesses. Though in place of the evening cruise in, the cars and coffee movement has exploded around here. Seems anymore if there is not the possibility of winning a cheap trophy people leave their cars in the garage.

 

I like the Cars and Coffee phenomenon.

 

I agree with you Don, It seems that some are trying to combine them.

For instance there is a guy that puts on a monthly swap meet/ becoming a flea market
around here, Now if you drive your car/truck to it and pay your money at the gate you
can go and park in the cruise in area.

Guess what i'm trying to say is, Don't think this is a real cruise in, it's just a way to make the place look like a lots going on and who ever pays don't have to park out side the place and walk in. Don't ever recall paying to go to a real one like you said.

 

Nearly every Sunday morning , I attend a cruise in. Huge parking lot, only one or two business's left. Usually pretty much the same crowd, but it seems to be expanding. In the Summer months it usually lasts a couple of hours, 'cause of the heat. You have the usual "clicks" that have their Court Jester and they don't move from their chairs. I like to walk, look and talk to different folks. Get lots of ideas. Ive been taking a few pictures to post, but you can watch it. Just google "Another Sunday Morning Cruise, it's narrated, kinda neat.

 

Donno, I go to Vegas pretty often. When and where is the gathering?

 

I seldom take one of my cars to a car show because I don't see the point of paying $20 every weekend to park my car and let others look at it. I am retired and that adds up to a lotta dough. I have no use for a cheap plastic trophy even if I did win one.
I enjoy the cruise ins but lately they bill a cruise in and when you read the posting, they want you to pony up twenty bucks to park there, so I leave mine in the garage and just go look occasionally.

 

I like the old time cruise ins. Cars and Coffee are ok, but now that I am old, I would rather sleep late on Saturday morning and go in the evening when it may be a little cooler.

 

To many Corvettes!!!

 

We didn't call them cruise ins back when I was running around, didn't call them anything. Friday an Saturday nights we just would go to one burger joint after another, shoot the breeze, check out the local lovelies and usually end up doing some stop light action or head out of town for some $20.00 street racing. Won some , lost some, fixed what we broke during the week and done it again the next weekend. I very seldom go to "car shows" these days. I get really tired of the aholes that will barely speak to you, make their wise assed remarks about the less than high dollar car or their owners and cry like a baby if their car doesn't get that $3.00 plaque or plastic trophy. I must just be getting old and crabby but to me things have gone way down hill since the 60's and early 70's.

 

I have a friend who really likes the jelly donuts at Krispy Kreme in Crofton, Maryland, so we occasionally go there for the Sunday morning Cars and Coffee............and Jelly Donuts.

 

Our club holds a monthly cruise night on the fourth Saturday of each month from April through October from around 5-8pm. It is free to participate and it is open to pretty much any car, truck, motorcycle, etc. We have 40-70 cars regularly. The city allows us to block off a portion of our "historic" downtown area for it. The only business that is open during that time is a burger place that is one of our sponsors. We give away door prizes throughout the evening. We sell 50/50 raffle tickets and have cruise night t-shirts for sale. Any money that our club raises goes to cover operating costs such as the cost of t-shirt printing and purchasing door prizes when the donations run low. We also give money for charity at Christmas time. We have been doing all of this for the past 7-8 yrs now without incident. I have been to cruise-ins where the folks involved just stare at you like you don't belong there, where everyone is just keeping to themselves, it sucks. We do not want anyone to come to one of ours and feel like you don't belong there.

 

Around here cruising or gathering in a parking lot can get you a $500.00 fine! It is not 1969 anymore! We have a few local cruise ins , one near Lodi at a travel plaza on Tuesday nights and the Baraboo cruisers go on a scenic cruise on Wednesday nights to an area eatery for dinner. Do not usually get home in time to join in but there fun. Larry

 

56Don, cruise on down to Jasper, AL, Jasper Mall on AL 118 {Old 78} in front of the now closed Penny's store the first Sat night of Sept. Always free, usually anywhere from 50-100 cars. Couple of good places left to eat in the mall, free music [sometimes too loud if you're too close to the trailer]. I usually try to make it to all of them from April through Sept, this year I haven't gotten to go to a one, something has always popped up.

 

"Cruisin'" One word, verb. As in "Cruisin' the Gut" . In my case it was Willamette St. Eugene. Past the Fox, Heilig, and McDonald Theaters downtown, out to 28th St, through Pop's A&W. Turn around and do it again. Sometimes pull over in Mock's car lot and watch the guys and gals "cruise" by.

 

Could you say that one requires a permit, the other does not.

 

BamaMav, there is a good one on the first Friday also in Gadsden. Its a real cruise in, not a show. They block off the side streets downtown and let the old cars park in the street, and a lot of the downtown businesses, bars and cafes stay open late. They have food trucks and entertainment on each corner from about 6-8 or later.

 

Don, from my perspective I see the cruse-ins as our way of meeting up with friends and enjoying a evening away from the house & garage, getting out on a evening driving your hot rod or custom and in a way crusing around like we did when we were teenagers.

I don't hit as many as I use too but when I do I usually have a good time walking around, talking to people I haven't seen in a while and generally do a lot of bench racing, some of the people I see I only run into them a cruise in's and these are the same people I use to see crusing the streets and main drag back in the 60's when I was a kid.

As far as the car shows in my area, I have been attending them most of my life and to be honest I'm kinda burnt out, there is a huge show tomorrow that our club use to host but the city officials wanted all the profits and we were stuck with the insurance bill covering the participants & spectators, plus the small entrance fee.

I went last year just to see what the new venue would be like, the people didn't have a clue as to what a antique car show is or what people entering the show expected , the cost was doubled, no goodie bags, no door prizes and anything was welcome, there was a row of brand new cars with paper tags and 5 trophy's.

Best Rat Rod, Best old car, Best truck, Best Motorcycle & Best new car ..HRP

 

Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank is the only one I know that is really left. Friday nights are pretty cool, the food is good and it is year around. There is no written rule as to how old your car has to be to park in the parking lot but if your bring in your newer car and take a parking spot from an older car you’ll probably get some dirty looks. We made a stop last month. I didn’t get any car pictures but I had my daughter take a picture with Bob. It was kinda neat since I have family that has stood in that spot since the 50’s!


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I've heard about that one, just haven't made it up there yet.

 

I remember when all the Shoney's Restaurants had a Big Boy standing by the front doors, and dolls and coloring books inside at the counter. Their hamburger was called a Big Boy.

Now you're lucky if you can even find a Shoney's anywhere, I think most all of them closed down.

 

Our car club has a cruise-in the first and third Saturday of every month from February through November at the Luby's Restaurant in Lake Jackson, Tx. The restaurant allows us to rope off a portion of the parking lot to park the cars in. We generally have about 40 to 70 cars show up. We give 'drink tickets' to anyone who is going into the restaurant to eat that gets them a free tea or soft drink with their meal. Lots of people walk through to check out the cars. In August just before school starts we give out school supply bags to any school age kid that wants one. We get donations from car dealers and other businesses to help buy the supplies. At a Saturday near Halloween, we give out candy to the kids that come through, which is usually a lot.

 

They close the Shoney's here about 5 years ago, about 4 monthas ago the bulldozed the building and built a Harbor Freight. HRP

 

Cruiz-ins and car shows used to be different, but the line between them is blurred now a days. I like cruiz-ins, impromptu cruiz-ins and gatherings near an eatery of some kind...