Where and when was the coolest cruise in you have ever been to?

We (my husband & I) have a candy apple red 1969 mustang mach 1. We dated in one just like it, bought this one in 2008. My husband wrecked the first one many years ago. Our first cruise in was Pilot Mt NC 2009 July 4th. Cruisin Carolina had our picture in the Gallery. The sign on the front is a pony, lightening bolt and 427 in the corner. It's a 390 S code and my husband put a 427 in. TALK ABOUT A COOL RIDE...OMG. I missed
getting the picture from the gallery, wish I could find it.

M Salley

I really enjoyed participating in the Kimberly Clark Cruise in Lexington last year. The whole run was well organized and the law enforcement officials and volunteer fire depts. just made it even better. They provided traffic control and allowed the whole group to stay together and cover the whole route non stop, which was very nice. I definately would do this one again and recomend it to anyone who enjoys charity events. Thanks to all at Kimberly Clark.

The coolest cruizin was-ALL OF THEM. But first, thank whomever had the idea for tha Cruisin Carolina magaxzine. I'm only 66 yrs old and my mind is stil on beach, 50's,60's, pony tails, poodle skirts, bubble gum, oh well, got off on another cruizin freeze there. There are no bad cruise ins, just some bigger than others, some earlier than others. If ya can't see the cars in the pictures, don't blame the promoters, day and night happen. Learn to take better pictures. We all can take better pics, IF we try. When I hit the entrance to a cruise in, my wife says I'm like a cat high on catnip. Yea, its euphoria, chrome flashes, Armorall stench, Horsepower belches, oh wow there I go again. And I didn't even have a cruiser until 2009. My 65th birthday, my wife bought a 67 Mustang from a guy, FOR ME. It has a fairly new paint job, new seat covers, new brakes,trans,headliner, front end(underneath), and a whole lot of stuff in my shop to go on it. Come to find out its a 65C coupe, has Deep Moss Green Metallic paint code Y, bench seat code 4, interior color parchment code U, and by these nos, I have gone thru the Marti book and its 1 of 203 built this way. HOW LUCKY CAN ONE GUY GET??? No, my wife is not for sale!!!! Same answer for the car. Its only a six cyl, but the speed limit is not over 70 in NC yet. I don't show it yet, got a few things to tidy up yet, will be ready in2011. The guy she bought it from was biulding it for his daughter. She didn't want that dinasaur, she wanted a new car, a Chevy Cavalier. Who said the schools weren't teaching our kids anything. Oh well, gotta close for now, just remember, THERE AIN'T NO BAD CRUIZ-INS, except when there ain't one. HAPPY CRUIZIN!!!!

Come over to WEST ASHEVILLE

Its on a smaller scale but the one that they put on in Pilot Mt NC is sweet. It is not the size of some of the ones mentioned in earlier posts, but it is still pretty cool to check out if you live in NC or VA.

Betty and I just wanted to say thanks to Gary, Cindy and Russell for an awesome cruise Friday. What a "non-boring" way to begin the New Year. The only thing extra that we could have hoped for would have been a little higher temperature. I just couldn't convince Betty to let me put the top down on the little Mustang. Now that I think back, I don't remember seeing other convertible owners brave enough to cruise with the top down. We're really glad that you did not postpone the event until today. I don't think many people would have showed up; IT'S COLD.

We're looking forward to the next big "Cruisin' Carolina" event. If you need our help again, you know how to find us; just give us a call. Thanks again and HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Speaking of cars, I'd love one. If you happen to find something worth buying...
From, Your nephew.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really can't imagine why this blog hasn't caught on. Gary "Bear", Cindy and the entire staff at Cruisin' Carolina are doing an awesome job with their publication. I really look forward to receiving every issue. I admit that I haven't spent much time on the website, but I discovered today that it is a very wonderful compliment to the magazine. It would be nice to see more activity on this forum. This is a great place to tell about your cruise-in/car show visits and to tell others about your "set of wheels", be it truck or car.

Like "Bear", I prefer "Made In America" cars and trucks. If you own the other stuff, sure you have a right to be proud of it and to show it off. I respect that, but please forgive me if I really don't get too excited about looking at the "foreign rides". I am a firm believer in "Support America", but I will also acknowledge that you can't buy "all made in the USA". It's impossible. The one thing that is puzzling however, is when I hear statements (regarding cars) like, "American Manufacturer's don't offer a lot for young folks today." I'm not sure where these young people are looking, but they must have on blinders. Even in the midst of this economic crisis and high fuel prices, the choices of great looking cars (including Muscle Cars) are better today than they have been in many years. The three hottest cars that immediately come to mind are the new Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger and the Ford Mustang. The top fully equipped models of each of these cars are absolutely beautiful and all of them are packing more horsepower than many of the muscle cars of the 60's. There's no shortage of "horses" and you can easily get more if you want them. All you need to do is take a look at versions like Rousch, Shelby, Saleen and more. Are these cars expensive? Yes, but not any more than hot cars of the 60's when you compare buying power of today's dollar vs. the 60's dollar. If this still doesn't work for you, then try looking at pre-owned. You can find an affordable muscle car if you really want one.

I was hit so hard with the "fever" recently that I started looking for a way to get into a "muscle car" that was affordable to drive. My fever finally broke this past Saturday (September 26, 2009). I narrowed my search and my focus turned to Ford Mustang Convertibles. I found four that I was keenly interested in, but before I could make an offer on any of them, three of the four were sold. They were on the lot one day and actually sold the next. I was beginning to think that it was not meant to be. I finally hit a "home run" with the fourth and to tell the truth, it was my number one choice of the four to begin with. Our new (pre-owned) muscle car is a 2006 "Screamin' Yellow" Mustang GT Convertible with a 4.6 liter V-8 that packs 300 horsepower. That's plenty of horses for me. I don't have to tell you how good the power feels, most of you already know. And believe it or not, this car will get 26 miles per gallon on the interstate with the top up and I actually got 27 with the top down (go figure). Around town mileage is around 18 and it may drop a little less depending on the amount of time spent sitting in traffic or stopped at traffic lights.

My wife and I go to as many car events as we can. Sure we see many of the same cars over and over, but we also see something new at every event. More importantly you meet some of the nicest people at Car Shows and Cruise-In's. We have made a lot of new friends over the last few years and we are really looking forward to adding more to the list in the months ahead.

Thanks Gary & Cindy, we're proud to call you "friends".

I would have to say it's the last one I was at and the next one I am going to. Mostly because you meet some great people at each one.

America offers them American brand name cars. That lets the profits stay in the USA! This is America not Japan.

You guys talk about all the young kids and their tin cans. It's not their fault, it might be that the automobile industry is making fuel economy cars these days. I'm only 35, and when I was 14 my Dad bought me a 74 Firebird Formula. It had 42,000 miles on the clock. We kept it for a few months when my Dad found a 10th Anniversary Trans Am. This car had 36,000 miles on the clock. 400 small block, High performance heads, mild cam and so on. This car was all original, factory 4 speed. For a 16yr. old that was a beast of a car. They were only 1700 give or take a little produced with the options that mine had. Very rare car. Recently found one on E-Bay in Cali. with 11 miles on the clock. That car so far the highest bid was 50,000. So don't throw off on young kids today, they are just doing the best they can with what america has to offer them. to the Magazine crew, keep up the great work, you guys are doing a h#@% of a job.

Thanks !!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to show some support for the magazine. As a college student and a car guy, I've been wanting to do something like this for a long time but didn't have the means. It's very frustrating that my cars are 2 hours away in storage, so I figured, since I can't cruise I would just 'take in' as many shows as possible. (Which resulted in a 10+ page list of shows for this summer) I was at Punchy's the other day and low and behold, there it was! If you need any help with anything, I'd gladly lend my support.

Thanks,
Josh

I've have to say one of the neatest cruise story I heard ; I've known Brent Van Der Vort at Fatman's for a long time. He built a really neat '34 Sedan highboy. With only a handfull of miles on it ( I seem to remember something like 50 or a 100 miles on the car). He took off for the Left Coast and drove it all the way. No problems, out and back. That takes a lot of confidence and a large set!

Since the subject is Cruise In's, I would have to say the "Cruisin' The Coast" event in the Biloxi - Gulfport, Mississippi area is the best my wife and I have attended. We normally meet up with my cousin and his wife from Kansas to enjoy the event with.

The even starts on the first Sunday in October and runs through the next Sunday. Each day of the week more and more cars show up. Street Rods, Prosteet, Classics. Just a good mix of car guys and gals. There is something going on each day, at one or more of the towns around Biloxi. A block party, show and shine, parade. Each day there is something.

And with 30 mile of beach front to cruise from Ocean Side to Bay St. Louis, it is great. The people are very friendly and lots of delicious food. And of course if you are so inclined there are the Casinos to visit.

My wife and I both agree, when we get to the point in our life, that we can only attend one cruise in, it will be Cruisin' the Coast in MS.

Here is a link if anyone cares to look it over. http://www.cruisinthecoast.com/

THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS BUSTER,HOPEFULLY WE CAN MAKE OUR HOBBY EVEN MORE FUN! I GUESS AFTER ALL IT IS ALL ABOUT FUN AND FELLOWSHIP CORRECT? NOTHING LIKE CRUISIN IN AND OLD REAL STEEL AMERICAN MADE CAR THATS FOR SURE. I REALLY FEEL SORRY FOR THE KIDS TODAY AND THEIR LITTLE PUDDLE JUMPERS WITH THE TIN CAN MUFFLERS,THEY DON'T HAVE A CLUE.

I was just wanting to write and let you know how happy I am we are getting the local stories. I am one of the the car NUTS , I now have a 59 Corvette,a 66 GTO a 72 GTO a 72 Torino a 73 Ranchero and a 59 Ford carhauler. Heck I could have my own car show, So as you can tell I am a car guy all the way.I have the perfect wife who understands my love for cars and watches me work on , wash , wax and play with my toys. I tell her they are her insurance when I am gone , just sell all of the toys to a another car nut like myself.
Anyway I wanted to thank you for you magazine and the work you all do to let us know about the shows and car events in our area. I look forward to seeing you at the cruise shows. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Buster

I Remember buyin a 1968 ss396 chevelle in 1977 at jim connel chevrolet in anderson sc it was sitting in the back row and nobody wanted it.I had 32,000 miles on it and it looked like new,i purchased it for 850.00 dollars,factory air and all god them were the days!Down the street from their was a dealer called highway motors and i passed up on a 1967 impala ss 427 4 speed for 675.00 dollars.Man it makes me sick to think about it.At another dealer 1 day before i bought the chevelle i test drove a 68 or 67 cougar dont remember which,but it had a 427 in it. find 1 of those today.Todays kids dont have a clue driving their hondas around with the coffee can mufflers do they?Thanks for your time,cant wait for my first mag you guys!

Back about the summer of 1979 me and some freinds were cruisin the strip in Myrtle Beach SC in a 1970 mustang mach 1 428 scj it would run 11.80 with the exhaust open and slicks in the quarter mile,so it wasn,t no sled it commanded respect.Some punk in an ugly primered 1969 dodge charger gave us the pipes and wanted to race,so we went just north of town to chalk them off.A crowd of about 30 people gathered to watch,but what we didnt know was so did the cops.They were hiding at about the end of the quarter mile that was marked off. I beat the Charger by about a car length it was pretty strong for such a peice of crap.About the time we slowed down their were 2 cop cars chasing us red lights and sirens.Back then the cops were still driving those old plymouth furys with the 440,s in them.I thought shit they aint going to catch me with one of those things,after all with 4:30 gears all I had to do is keep turning corners and winding it out bye bye coppers.After about 15 to 20 minutes of maybe five different cop cars chasing me I was getting worried because I only had 1/4 Tank of gas when I went to race that dodge and my buddys had got out of the car when I raced so who knows where they were by now! And them old 76 440 plymouths just kept me in site I couldnt shake them damn cops.Then it happened I ran out of gas pulled over and waited,and obviously the police did not like me ,they were on me like a pair of pants! Cuffed and ruffed up pretty bad,I sat in the back of that cruiser you would have thought I had just robbed a bank or something.I think every cop that showed up yelled at me and slapped me around a little bit,but I guess I deserved it though.They caught the guy in the dodge too and him and I got to know each other real good we spent the night in the same cell together.The moral of the story is if you ever get caught doing somthing wrong and the police light you up to stop you then STOP! It aint worth it.But back then it was fun.Now today ,you would probably get 1 to 5 in jail? By the way John I am glad you still got the girl it was fun cruisin back in those days.

Back in 1968 I bought a brand new SS396 chevelle it had about 600 miles on it on a late night in sept. and decided to take it to and old cruisin spot down by Gastonia,and do some street racing,while their I met a pretty little blonde girl and she wanted to go for a ride and I said hop in,she got in!It was a 68 coupe white with a black top SS396 hub caps redline tires 396 375 h.p. with 4 speed and 373 posi. It would rip!Any how I got into a race with a dodge dart 383 and dusted him and the little blonde loved it.She said let me drive it please(I thought man I dont about that,could she even handle the 4 speed!)Well being the hottest girl that I had ever seen I said OK,but your sure you can shift it,and she said her daddys truck was stick shift!What she didnt tell me was she had only driven a colum shift 3 speed, never on the floor and she was only 17 years old but man she was a looker.After getting behind the wheel she took off real easy and went from 1st to 4th,I thought oh shit but didnt say anything because i thought about taking her down by the lake to watch the submarine races later.Well she cruised a little while down the street and I told her not to lug it down so much,Ithink she was scared to death.On down the road she came to a red light and shifted it to first gear and I said remember dont lug it down so much(didnt want to foul the plugs)keep your rpm,s up pretty good she said ok.The light turned green and she stalled it.She said Im sorry and I said just give it a little more gas when you take off.She took off and at about 6000 rpms I said SHIFT! she shifted into 2nd gear but it didnt go in ,she was so nervous and upset she never let off the gas it granaded that 396 like an A bomb in japan.At 642 miles I had to get a new engine all under warranty thank god!I dont have the chevelle any more but I still have the girl so it all worked out. But still I wish I could find that car it was good clean fun! God bless those muscle cars they were fun! Thanks for reading my little story John Cander