Cruise nights aren't just about the wheels
Posted on Fri, Jul. 18, 2008
BY TAYLOR BARNES
MARSHA HALPER / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
South Florida's cruise nights aren't just about the wheels. Gary Facca of Hollywood and his '59 Chevrolet Apache truck are on display at a July 11 classic car show in Davie.
Jesus Basto coveted a friend-of-a-friend's Corvette when he was a teenager -- but he couldn't afford one himself. He could only visit the Chevy dealership to fantasize about the car of his dreams.
''I would go to Maroone and sit down in one,'' says Basto, of Miramar. ``I did that God knows how many times.''
Now Basto is the proud owner of a Corvette -- a 2005 C6 that he says can go from 0 to 60 mph in about three seconds -- though the speed machine sits quietly on a Tuesday evening at the Pembroke Pines Hooters, on display for restaurant-goers and fellow Vette enthusiasts.
One fan is wide-eyed Alejandro Jacovo, 8, who is snapping pictures of his favorite Corvettes. His dream car is the $50,000 Vette he had just seen at the car dealership. But his dad adds a dose of reality. Alejandro's allowance is $10 a week -- he doesn't quite understand how long it will take to add up, but he's not thinking of math. ``They look cool.''
For now, Alejandro and others can dream big at the weekly Corvette shindig at Hooters, one of several South Florida ''cruise nights'' -- gatherings without the trophies or judging at a car show. Bringing together chatty vehicle owners and curious passersby, the free-to-watch events fill parking lots with the newest and oldest, the flashiest and simplest vehicles. But cruise nights aren't just about being a hard-core car buff.
CLASSICAL GAS
The Florida Street Rods Classic Car Club gathering in the parking lot of Davie's Tower Shops features a DJ, dancing when the mood strikes, various vendors. It's the oldest cruise night in South Florida, gathering in the Davie parking lot since 1992, says the group's vice president, Sid Morra -- and when the weather cooperates, it can draw up to 500 cars and 4,000 spectators.
It's ''just some place to wind down after a long week's work,'' Morra says.
Ron Aldous, of Fort Lauderdale, comes to
the Davie show with his 1957 powder-blue Chevy to reminisce.
Aldous had his heart set on the classic auto when he was in high school in the '60s, but he didn't get the dream machine until 1990, when he made a beeline to Pensacola after hearing of a motivated seller.
On Friday night, a man in a straw hat and Hawaiian-print shirt approaches Aldous and his car with a smile, saying that he had the same car when he was in high school in 1966.
''It's all about memories and stories. To be honest, that's what brings people here,'' Aldous says, as children nearby twirl Hula Hoops to sock-hop tunes.
Millie Aguero and Amanda Madariaga came to Friday's Street Rods gathering in Davie to take part in auto-admiration.
''Mostly, she likes European and old American, but I like Japanese,'' Aguero, 19, says of friend Madariaga, 20.
The duo came with two boys who skirt off to the side as the girls gush about a red Chevrolet El Camino. The boys ''think we're here just to look at the pretty colors,'' Aguero says. Madariaga, whose dad used to be a mechanic, says they're interested in more than that. ''Every girl should know the basics about cars,'' she says.
Cruise nights draw crowds diverse in gender and age. College-age Aguero and Madariaga stroll Friday's sprawl amid couples holding hands, a tangle of children wrestling in the grass. In the antique car section, white-haired men squint at onlookers and chat auto history in small circles of folding lawn chairs. The ''Fried Rides,'' as one driver calls them, advertise themselves with a sign: ``I run off corn oil. Feed a farmer starve a terrorist.''
For an exclusive look at antique cars, the South Florida chapter of the Antique Automobile Association puts on five car shows a year for vehicles 25 years and older in South Beach, Miracle Mile and Homestead, among other areas. The shows keep a classic vibe by sticking to a rule of ''no hot rods, no modifieds,'' says the association's Ira Shapiro.
''It's people hanging out, having a good time, enjoying the art of the automobile,'' says Shapiro.
Some come to the cruise nights simply to talk shop and check out new models. Mickey Puyada and his wife took a silver 2002 Corvette to the show at the Pines Hooters on Tuesday to share auto-care tips with fellow drivers. ``If someone has a breakdown, we can help each other.''
TWO WHEELERS TOO
If motorcycles, not cars, are your passion, there are similar bike nights around South Florida. ''And you can drink beer, look at Hooters girls, smoke!'' says Mark Cornwell, owner of a blue 2003 Indian motorcycle, shouting over the classic rock blaring at Hooters bike night on Wednesdays.
When seven bikers -- including one woman -- roll into Hooters at 8 p.m., there are hundreds of bikes and Creedence Clearwater Revival's Susie Q is playing. Hungry riders crack crab legs and watch baseball inside the noisy joint.
Andrea Itzkowitz is with the arriving crew. Shaking her long black curls over a lacy white sweater, she dismounts from her 2006 Springer, which she says she likes because of ``the thrill and the gas mileage.''
This is her first time at this bike night, and she didn't know the guys in her caravan before Wednesday. They saw her in traffic and invited her along.
Did they invite her because she's a woman?
No, she insists: ``Because I'm a biker.''
Whether your passion is bikes or cars, events like cruise nights, says antique car buff Shapiro, are all about ``camaraderie.''
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