I moved out here to Phoenix thinking, wow, the land of rust free shi---um stuff, hot rods and muscle cars. How disappointing. Unless there's some kind of big event going on you don't see a darn thing. Man I'm bummed. Mark L
During the cruising season (May to the end of Sept) there is a cruise night going on practically everyday of the week..... with special "shows & events" every week.
Overall though the "street scene" is
nothing like it was back in the 60's through the mid-'70's. Back them there were no such things as organized cruise nights and very few outdoor car shows. Cruising back then meant just driving around from one hot spot to another(hamburger places like Eat 'n Park, shopping center parking lots, etc). Drag races could happen spontaneously at any stop light.
".....it would take a full tank of gas just to drive the circuit....it was really something"
It was amazing how the car/hot rod scene changed once the government pretty much forced car manufacturers to stop making muscle cars. Even many of the popular (well attended) local drag strips started closing all over the U.S.
About the only thing happening on a regular basis was "street rod shows" which at the time "limited" participated to old "vintage tin". NO muscle cars or anything newer than late '40's. The Street rod club were (and still many are) a very elite group.
A few times each Summer there would be a car show or two that allowed
any kind of car to enter as long as it was NOT a newer model. The cut-off for these shows would be 1972 or older. So at least you could take a Camaro or a '55 Chevy to the show.
Unlike today when "anything goes".... with the BIG cult following" of "NEW Generation" muscle cars, custom trucks & Japanese tuners cruise nights & shows no longer look like they used to. So much so that at certain shows & cruises it's more about the newer cars/trucks than true hot rods & muscle cars. Even so, it's so much better than when there was practically no cruises & shows as we know them today.
A couple of Summers ago I spent a couple of weeks in L.A. visiting my step son. It was like a dream come true to see all the infamous hot rod places (Moon Eyes - SoCal Speed Shop, etc)
Were able to go to the legendary
LA Roadster Show. It was unreal!!!! The night before we went to the show SoCal Speed Shop had their "Open House Bash" which was like another world compared to the Pittsburgh cruises & shows. Got a chance to see many of the "early" SoCal hot rods & the more recent ones built bu Jimmy Shine & Pete Chapouris. They are great guys that would spend as long as you wanted to talking "hot rods".
For us..... Southern California is
still and
always will be the "hot rod capital" of the world...... compared to other places it is in a world ALL its own!!!!!