My guess, and maybe this has been said by someone else, is that cops and local governments are far less tolerant than they used to be, coupled with the fact that it doesn't "appear" eco-friendly, and anything that is considered a waste or contributing to "carbon" emissions is lobbied against and outlawed. Big rig diesels get a $400 fine for idling longer than 3 minutes... do the math.
I think the less tolerant thing is probably a big part of it coupled with there is just a lot more entertainment then there used to be. When I was little our TV was a big wooden box with knobs on the side and 3 stations unless you had a UHF loop, and that was in a big town. There were drivein movies and theaters but it was just more fun to be out and about. A dollar in the tank would get you around town for a couple of hours and if you were lucky you wouldn't spend the entire time driving around town there was either a race or a little ol' gal to be had. All that plus Leny Bruce was still popular at least with the low brow crowd.
I agree, it was a mating ritual for many of us. A chance to show you plumage and strut your stuff, just like any other young male creature. It was about girls, being seen, and machismo. After I was discharged in fall of '68, the cruising scene had started to change. Drugs, mainly marijuana, had replaced the sharp ride as the ticket to chicks, girls just wanted to get high, and availability good dope was was the measure of the man. The park, where actual parking had taken place, became the place to score. By the early '70's it was downs and Sopors - they still disgust me. Dazed druggies staggering around and partying in their vans ruined it for me. I loved and owned 60's muscle cars, but didn't cruise much until a couple years ago. Now I make a couple loops through town every chance I get. It's not so much a mating ritual (yeah, right), but I still like to strut a little.
How the hell can you cruize when everyone [insert all races, genders and ages here, plus at least a 75% cell phone use] gets right up your ass if you don't go at least 10mph over the speed limit and it doesn't matter where; downtown streets, country roads or a parking lot..God forbid you come to an almost stop for a stop sign.. Whatever ya got, 47' stock Crosley, 51' Ford Hot Rod, 72' Comet [mini muscle?] the morons will climb up your ass, pass you [4wd truck towing landscaping trailer] to impress themslves and then lay on the brakes for the convenience store..Way too much defensive driving is necessary, in my opinion than in the 60's and 70's even getting kicked out of virtually every store parking lot, donut shop, fast food shops on the turnpike, cruizing wasn't the problem, stopping anywhere was......Been there...
DEAR GOD THANK YOU FOR SENDING SOMEONE TO MY SIDE!!!!!!!!! AND DEAR GOD HOW DO I GET IN THAT GROUP!?!?!?! and another thing everyone keeps bringing up the oh you cant go back and forth on one road to many times. Then dont, god there are a million roads, go drive to a nearby city for an afternoon. Head out for dinner or a movie in it. Quit bi****ng and do it!!!!!!
Cruising isn't dead. The cars have just changed. They have (rice rockets) instead of hotrods. I can only imagine what they will be driving in another 50 years. There might be another forum like the HAMB the ricers will be on requiring 2005 and older cars to be a traditional ricer. The times have changed. We just need to do what we can to preserve a sadly dying art.
yeah man, get together with a goup of car people and cruise. it'll never be like it was, times have changed. But ust because times have changed doesn't mean you can"t take out your car and cruise around!!!
man, that was well said. I was just saying today that Im always nervous when I take out the car cause people around here drive lke maniacs! But, this all the more reason to go cruising with the friends, safety in numbers
I'm 65 and lived on Long Island all my life. I still own old cars and like to go out and blow carbon out of the pipes. I remember in the '60's curizen on Hempstead Turnpike and other roads any chance I got. We only had one Tv with 13 channels and my parents watch it. I was either in the garage with my head under the hood or on the street. One of the main reason why it's the way it is today, for openers the fact that were typing notes back to each other on the GD Internet like right now!
I cruise the local strip in my multicolor Cherokee sometimes. People used to hang out back when i was in high school (c/o 2000). Now its pretty dead. Sometimes you run into another 4x4 guy. No old cars. My dad will drive his T roadster to the local choke and puke. The younger set all agree its a cool car. But they have no frame of reference. Its an anachronism today here. I am about to leave work, i will see no one when i drive through town. I know alot of cool cars are hiding here. I see them at the little walmart parking lot show every year. I think I have been blessed to grow up around cool vintage tin and to have some of it of my own. My interests run the whole gamut from my ratty Jeep Cherokee, to my parts hauler Isuzu NPR box truck (getting a breathed on pump and hx30 soon), to my 49/50 chevy fleetline on a cutlass frame w bags (been in the plotting stage for a few years...mostly awaiting the needed spark (aka a buildable 292 i can afford) ), to my 70 c10 (soon to be on bags). And I would cruise in any damn one of em given the chance and the reasonable assurance it probably wont fall apart in the road!
Cruise this every and any chance I can get. One of my favorite cruises is to just go downtown on Virginia St., and cruise under the Reno arch.
I still like to go for a drive on a nice sat night. Sad that when I turn into a parking lot that used to be lined with bikes and cars that there's no one. I was talking about this with some friends the other day actually and it just seemed to stop all of a sudden 4-5 years ago? Texting the cause you know where everyone is at all times? No need to sit and wait for your group of friends to meet up or cruise to find them? I forgot my phone at home one night.... It was great no interruptions .
Regular cruising died here because the City saw easy revenue from giving tickets and hassling "hot rodders".. there was no money to be made from busting drug dealers and prosecuting them cost big $.. But we do have a yearly Cruise here( Summers Last Blast-aug 13 this year) ..about 1200 or so cars, streets are blocked off, and LOTS of spectators. Brings in $ 2million plus (yes 2 million) into our little town of 10k...Every year the Police tighten up a little more, as the Police Cheif here doesn't like the cruise. We still have a lot of cars, good bands, and a car show, but most of the good cars sit on the sidelines, afraid of getting a ticket, or getting rearended from some of the idiots, and all there is to view is some rusted out 4x4's or a 4 dr 68 Oldsmobile going up and down our street for 3 hours. As much as I hate to say it, I see it ending when this generation is gone..
If its in my Focus, Mini Van, or The Dat 510. I will load the kids, fill the tank, and drive around Summer nights. They seem to enjoy the stop for shakes at DQ or Sonic. The reward for a warm summer night family outing. I think my kids will like the 51 F1 as a fun summer time cruising ride when it is done, as much as I enjoyed my fathers 69 Superbee. My children are 8, 7, 4, and 9 months. The three older ones love to see hotrods, Asian tuners, Ratrods, Sleds, or any other car with some love put into it. The new generation can love the same stuff if it is nurtured. I also Hope the frequent appearance of the F1 will bring other people out for some good conversation and fun evenings. With the convenience of digital cameras Its hard for a Cop to justify harassing people who are not really doing anything wrong.
During the 60's & 70's a teenager I cruised Van Nuys Blvd 3 times a week. At first as a low-rider then later as a hot rod-der. To me the whole idea was to show off my ride and hang with the in-crowd. As teenagers did in the 50's, we wrapped the pipes, did burn-outs, street raced, played loud rock n roll music, hung out in parking lots and along the curb. We were having fun, never thinking of some of the dangerous things we did. Today, teenagers are doing the same thing, except with rice burners, laptops & rap music. The best part of cruising, is driving your nice ride as onlookers are giving you the thumbs up. Stopping at a traffic light, gas station, or the store & people saying, nice car & asking questions. You don't have to drive the same blvd. over & over to cruise. Cruising is driving anywhere. Now at 60 I still cruise here in Reno. I do more Cruising (driving) now than sitting. People still looking at my ride, & getting the thumbs up. No longer doing burnouts, now just hearing the sweet sound of pipes as I cruise on down the road low & slow. Cruising has not died, just getting better with age.
our grandparents were stupid, our parents were stupid, and we were stupid. but we all cruised. somewhere along the way, our parents and our contemporaries decided to outlaw the activity and we let them. the kids today dont have a clue or a chance. to many things against them. where to start. authorities and do gooders dont approve of cruising kids today dont know about or understand cruising for fun or chicks.(they cruise the internet on my face and spacebook or twitter or where ever.) hell we dont cruise the streets anymore we cruise the hamb. IF THE REAL CAR PEOPLE ARE ONLINE WHERE DO YOU EXPECT THE REST OF THE WORLD TO BE? kids today are spoiled, lazy unmotivated, etc. adults today are overprotective, spoiled, unimaginative, and dont really get behind automotive self expression etc. kids today are bombarded with the evils of the automobile. how do you expect them to react. there is hope in hope though, a friend of mine just opened an auto themed restrurant and another started a real cruise to make laps in town and then eat and make more laps. will it catch on with most people, i doubt it but when i get a chance i will be makin laps. and i have heard about a lot of young people being interested in hypermiling and other auto related things that may seem strange to us but at least its something. i got my fingers crossed that cruising will make a comeback but im not holding my breath. thats my short version rant about cruisin.
im only 26 but i grew up cruising high st. pottstown pa, looking for a race in my 89 firebird....looking back did alot of stupid and fairly unsafe things.... dont regret it for a minute! people had been cruising the same 2 or 3 mile strip, 2 lanes either directions for 50 years until the town had its fill... the strip is now one lane either way, which wouldnt be condusive to stop light racing and flirting..... cruising is dead in southeast pa
And gas was 24 cents a gallon, Shit Happens, Things Change, Life Goes On. Cruising is not dead, just changed thats all. Here in Reno we cruise all summer.
Cruising will never be dead as long as one has an imagination. I cruise in my mind with any car I want!
Today I cruised to the 7 11 store. Got a soda & had my own mini cae show. Still cruising streets & highways Low & Slow.
I grew up in Simi Valley California, and we had a couple different places we cruised. If we set up a race it was far from the cruise spot. Safe, fun, and if we lived in the same "period in time" I would be ok with my kid doing the same thing. Though even then if you got out of line, you would have an interaction with the cops (and they hated kids). I got pulled over once and searched because I took a left hand turn too fast...didn't slide, skid or anything. I also got pulled over and searched numerous times for modified exhaust...that was just an excuse to pull us over, never got a ticket for it. But...times now are more silly, my kid would be hauled off for some serious violation for turning a wheel in a parking lot, and I would have to bail him and his car out. Not that I have to worry since he leans more towards the low and slow custom style. But...jeez.....So anywho, I think cruising is dead because of the hassle. You express a little freedom and the cops are all over you. Being a complete a-hole compared to a little chirp of the tires should not be looked at the same way. I sill go to local cruise nights...but no beer, no burn outs, no races....but still fun.....but..is it b'cuz i am old and I don't give a shit about kicking the other rodders ass, I just wanna get my starbucks and move on?????!!!!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why is cruising dead??? Hey Mike,... are we cruisin' zombies? . . But I don't think I'm dead yet, because somehow I feel a spark whenever I get get behind the wheel of my rod, or when I look at this Pic.
"cruising" is still very much alive today. we can all maybe agree that the form of cruising we are all familiar with is something taken directly from the scenes of american graffiti. its getting in your car which you worked hard on day in and day out and try to impress a girl or 2 while showing it off. its revving that loud 8cyl to know your not to be messed with either. or it might be to show of your wicked cool chop or layered upon layered sparkle paint job with fresh dutch style pinstripe. it was about getting into trouble, and a heap of trouble for some poor unfortunate. it was all your joy, the fruit of all your passion love and labor put out for everyone to see and for you to see some one else's as well. today, the recipe is still there...get a mode of transportation go out on a popular side of town from sundown to sunrise, get into some trouble hopefully have luck with the ladies and wait til next time. sure, the cars are way beyond comparisons, the things done today by some snot nosed teenagers (and sadly older folks as well) takes place on your usual thursday, friday, or saturday night, with a car put together by not even the finest glued on components you can find. its to rev up those japanese or korean engines to 9,000 rpms filling the night air with high pitched reverberating exausts. its to pump out music that goes from bad to worse, to bad again from a "play it til you like it" radio or ipod in high dollar stereo systems and rolling around in very gaudy wheels...aka "rims". the way you get a girl now days is to drive while texting of course...verbal language is prohibited by the youth of today, to a girl thats probably next to your car to begin with. the motorcycle cruise scene is the same story...hundreds of the latest hondas, suzukis, and yamahas are always parked on the sides of the popular streets all with differnet color neon glows comming from their fairings...all wearing the same form of jacket and helmet. long gone are a vast array of home built british racers or put together harleys by real mechanics... cruising in the way we all know (the correct form of cruising) is dead...no doubt about it. yes we can all lie to ourselves by getting together with our friends or organizing an event or show and go for a cruise, but no matter how you do it, no matter how much fun you have or how cool it may seem its not cruising!!!! this is a minority thing, and unfortunately the way it was, was something nationwide that happened spontaneously. cruising is not something you come up with and decide to do. it just happens without even knowing or expecting. you get behind the wheel to sudenly find everyone else doing the same. its always there...everything else is just considered "going out for a cruise". so in essence yes, cruising today is very much still very alive. not by a long shot to something we used to know or imagine it should be...but its there. i think that it will always be there as long as there is a snot nosed teenager looking for "freedom" and some form of transportation to get him there.
Cruising back in the 50's and 60's was the main show on Friday and Saturday nights in my hometown. Everybody spent hours cleaning and waxing their rides so they could cruise the burger joint on one end of town then down Main St to the burger joint 5 miles away at the other end of town. Old and young alike enjoyed the parade of the hottest cars in the area. Then our town decided to close Main St and make it a "Promenade" only the cross streets were open and you could no longer do the Main St slide. Cruising died and parking in the lot of the mall became the new best thing. Same thing only stationary. Then the malls started bitching about trash, loitering, loud stereos, etc. You all know what happened after that. TAPS playing softly =(
Where I'm from, if you get caught by the fuzz driving by the same place more than 3 times in 15 minutes, they WILL write you a ticket for obstructing traffic or some crap like that.
Cars look alot cooler driving,but they have gotten to the price where owners are afraid of accidents and they love the head job they get sitting on their butts while people gaulk at their investment. Just my 2 cents. GW
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