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I turned 16 in 1987 and cruisin' was popular in my hometown. We would drive up and down the main strip for hours, often hanging out in the grocery store parking lots, McDonald's, Sonic, or anywhere our friends were found. For the most part, everyone stayed out of trouble. At least until the mid-90s when that generation of kids seemed to be less inhibited subsequently leading to businesses/cops putting an end to "hanging out".
I've had a pretty severe case of cabin fever lately while recovering from surgery so I jumped at the chance to go out with my wife tonight. We met some friends at a nearby burger joint. We left around 9:15 and I couldn't help but notice how the roads were dead. I'm not surprised since this has mostly been the case for the last 25 years, but it made me wonder if anyone still cruises anywhere these days.
On a related note, my daughter will turn 24 in a couple of weeks and is expecting her first child. She loves to hear my old stories. She has the soul of a Gen-Xer.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Cruisin' may have gone the way of Facebook/ SM.
Coupled with the aging of true mechanics. (What's so exciting and accomplishment of plugging in a tweaker chip?)
Our town still allows a single night / yr Cruise-the-gut, attended by thousands. But the weekly cruises are out. (Street exhibition driving is popular (and very dangerous). Certainly not sanctioned!)
My era was 1965-1975. Muscle cars and $0.16-$0.25 / gal gas.
Amazing I lived through it. Many did not. RIP
I live in the northeast portion of the US, known as the "rust belt", due to the use of road salt during the winter months. Yes, there used to be a fair amount of cruising done, decades ago as well as some "non-sanctioned acceleration contests", on the area's expressways.
However, it's long gone, as the kinds of cars that were "cruise worthy" were phased out a long time ago. Who's going to go cruising in a 4 door, Toyota Camry???
The only cruise in my area in metro Detroit is the annual Woodward Dream cruise the largest one day cruise in the country. But gone are the days when you cruise in a big ole muscle car on Friday and Saturday nights like we did in the 60’s and 70’s. Now there’s social media that helped end face to face interaction.
NON social media as people nowdays seem to prefer texting from inside then actually going outside and talking with friends/doing things.
The media makes cars out to be these evil appliances that will destroy the world.
Many young people have no interest in finding a job because they're told they are special and deserve much more pay then these starter jobs offer., therefore....
They have no interest in cars as they are so dang expensive.
If somebody still in school can afford a car, can they afford the gas?
I graduated pre-electronic era in 1986. My money went into my truck and gas. It seems since 2000 one must add expensive data and cell phone plans and constantly get the next updated I phone at 1000 plus and other perceived "necessities".
Places don't seem to allow hanging out and some towns don't even allow "cruizin" anymore. It seems people are so scared of people aimlessly driving around, meeting up with friends and hanging out because everybody is a potential criminal with bad intentions (I, personally don't believe that but 24/7 media has changed peoples perception I believe)
I live near a tourist town in which many, used to cruize the strip well into the night. I don't see that anymore as the cruizes are big sanctioned events.
Before I came here, me and my friends would drive around and wait for our friends to come around and then go from there. We wanted out at night, especially the weekends, we had little money so we did a lot of sitting. Pre data and smartphones so when we got board sitting, we'd go driving around but little money and a 8MPG Bronco (me) there was a lot more sitting.
I think there was more interest in vehicles at the time so if you were driving a lifted truck, muscle car or some other modded vehicle you would attract people with a similar type, conversation would start and it would b ecome a meet up every weekend with ones interested in similar vehicles.
And once again........technology seems to make people enjoy just being home on NON social media texting to their friends and pretending with their fake frends on facebook, etc...
We used to cruise an area of St Paul via made famous drive-in about 16 years ago. The drive-in has since be bought and tore down and replaced with elderly retirement home. I’m guessing the weekend cruising has disappeared, but it was replaced with a monthly coffee and cars at the first of its kind in the world of Condo’s for Cars. Place is beyond packed for it, it’s way better to me then prior drive-in one via high end European cars at it. Cops directed traffic leaving and let cars get on it for few hundred feet.
I turned 16 in 1987 and cruisin' was popular in my hometown. We would drive up and down the main strip for hours, often hanging out in the grocery store parking lots, McDonald's, Sonic, or anywhere our friends were found. For the most part, everyone stayed out of trouble. At least until the mid-90s when that generation of kids seemed to be less inhibited subsequently leading to businesses/cops putting an end to "hanging out".
I've had a pretty severe case of cabin fever lately while recovering from surgery so I jumped at the chance to go out with my wife tonight. We met some friends at a nearby burger joint. We left around 9:15 and I couldn't help but notice how the roads were dead. I'm not surprised since this has mostly been the case for the last 25 years, but it made me wonder if anyone still cruises anywhere these days.
On a related note, my daughter will turn 24 in a couple of weeks and is expecting her first child. She loves to hear my old stories. She has the soul of a Gen-Xer.
You owe it to yourself to watch 'American Graffiti' at least once, and for grins find the inferior, but otherwise entertaining ripoff 'Hollywood Knights'
There were 3 cruising spots in my life, when the folks moved to small town Huntingdon PA in 1984ish, we would eat at the now uber famous 'OIP' and weatch out the window friday night as the cars circled a 3 block area over and over. The cars were NOT spectacular like in the movies, very few stoplight drags, it was just to hoot out the windows and yell at 'chicks'. They passed an ordinance, 3 laps=$25 bux ticket and in 6 months, 'Ball Point Betty ' - the lady cop who loved this pinch, ushered it into nevermore. 1987 rip.
28 miles away at the Logan Valley Mall in altoona PA, it became a thing to start half hour before close, for an hour until half hour AFTER close at which point Logan Valley twp police would cite for trespassing. They would do a dogbone around the main entrance and it literally got to the point patrons of the open later in mall restaurant and 4 spot theatre could not cross. Once it got out that money spending patrons were complaining, LVTP shut that down fast. 1994 RIP
Lastly, Renovo PA - you wont even find it on most maps. Home to the best ATV ride I have ever been to, early to mid 90s the town that otherwise had nothing left to do, would do a mile and a half long dogbone, from the Bi-lo parking lot, main drag, Weis parking lot, lather rinse repeat. It was an event to honk at chicks by guys, honk at guys by chicks and do some sort of weird bird mating dance until they hooked up in the back seat in the alley. If the people didnt like it, too bad, money was so short in this dying RR town (sidebar: google up prints of renovo by Pete Lerro productions, he has 2 of the town circa 1940's and I own copies of both for the cave.).....that there was 1 officer on duty at night. We were there so often ATVing and the local restaurants at night and a bar for a pint (one of my buds actually did hook up with a couple of the locals) we knew people there as in friends and would joke that someone would 'call the cop'. Get it? call THE cop. But the 'there was no money' go to the point that if you wanted to work, you drove 30 miles away to Lock Haven and eventually, moved away so it died a natural death by the end of the 90s.
Today, its cruise-ins. When I came back to pittsburgh in '17 I found in the local 'whats happening' section of the paper, in the summer there is an event just about every day. I moved into the 'new' house bringing the 78 olds 98 down and it soon became a fixture. Park, set up camping chair, sit for 5, walk around and talk cars, get a burger as each of these was actually a fundraiser for something, then go home. And for the American Graffiti reference - there is a guy with a spot on copy of Falfa's 55 Chevy with a 502 in it for total overkill and a window graphic in the back "My name aint nobody dork....'
And whomever said it was right, there are no more mechanics at the numbers needed for the care and feeding of pre-1990 wheels. paying someone takes too much time and $$ and the owners got to the point where they would park and get the walker out of the trunk...I belong to 'Knights Cruisers' based out of the Oil City Area and since 2020, we have had about 30 members die - not one from Covid. The 98 was sold to a collector, but I still got the square body and hope to attend a few this summer....
The only cruise in my area in metro Detroit is the annual Woodward Dream cruise the largest one day cruise in the country. But gone are the days when you cruise in a big ole muscle car on Friday and Saturday nights like we did in the 60’s and 70’s. Now there’s social media that helped end face to face interaction.
my boss lives near there and still attends. He has a 2007ish pony with the v6 - but a stick, and puts in his laps and a tire patch at some intersection they do...
My Sheriff still has the counter cruising no turns signs up 30 years after it was last a Sunday evening event
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