So I'm cruising through Beverly Hills last week, returning from the Infiniti G37 Convertible event, when I spot this sign on the corner of Sunset and La Cienega. Between logistics and time I rarely drive on Sunset these days, and with the near constant state of traffic on this famous boulevard I don't much miss it.
But seeing this sign unexpectedly sends my mind cascading back 20-plus years, to West Colfax Avenue in Denver. It's the summer of 1986, and I'm spending nearly every night (certainly every weekend night) crusing "the 'Fax" in a 1969 Plymouth GTX. Blame one too many viewings of American Graffitti if you must, but the thrill I get immersing myself in a cornicopia of cars piloted by similarly bright-eyed youth is addictive -- I simply can't get enough. The stories from those days are many -- most of them unfit for print.
But for the first time, gazing at this sign, I came to a sad realization: cruising is a dead past time. Between its ecological implications and modern's youth's preference for technology over traffic it's hard to imagine anyone under the age of 30 choosing to spend hours in low-speed cruising on a Saturday night (though plenty of Angelenos are forced into it against their choice, and not just on Sunset).
The sign actually struck me as comical the more I thought about it. Once upon a time local law enforcement had to actively discourage cruising in cities across the country (Denver police effectly killed it on Colfax by the end of 1988). But cosidering the turbulent price of gas, the clear assault on "green" thinking and the population density of Los Angeles I find it inconceivable that anyone cruises today.
Certainly I don't, and while I may get nostalgic thinking about the glory days the act of cruising doesn't even appeal to me anymore; not when there are motorcycles to ride, Xbox games to play and Ford GTs to enjoy on open roads at speeds far above cruising velocity.
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm too disconnected or -- dare I say -- old. Maybe modern youth sees past the theoretical environmental implications, past the traffic density, and even past the "No Cruising" signs. Movies like Fast and Furious certainly suggest automotive passion, and bad behavior, live on. Does that mean cruising lives on as well, even if it's not on Sunset Boulevard?
Let me know. Tell me my generation isn't the last one to understand the joy of cruising.
Or tell me I'm right, and cruising has been relagated to the status of drive-in movies, roller disco and the card catalog.
By dougtheeng
on March 24, 2009
07:09 AM
I've never heard of signs/laws like this. My MINI club definitely cruises, but on a monthly, not weekly/nightly, basis.
By whoosierdaddy
on March 24, 2009
07:46 AM
Teenage cruisers and watchers - you still see it Saturday nights in small towns, in the midwest anyway.
By brn
on March 24, 2009
08:05 AM
I still see it going on (small town), but it's a fraction of what it used to be. In the large cities, it's dead.
By shaddai
on March 24, 2009
09:04 AM
Cruising? Boring. Give me a twisty mountain road any day (or night).
By mopar424
on March 24, 2009
09:37 AM
Its kind of disturbing to think that you can actually get a ticket for driving through an area more than once in 4 hours. Do you have any personal freedoms left out in Cali?
By altimadude00
on March 24, 2009
09:51 AM
Frankly, there hasn't been many cars built in the last 20 years to really cruise with. Style has taken a backseat to technology in today's cars. People are more interested in Bluetooth conectivity, GPS turn-by-turn navigation, and XM radio than by what they look like rolling down the road. I mean, most people have their windows up and the A/C set to 72 and following the direction of HAL9000 on their dashboards rather than leaning against the open windowsill and letting their music waft out of their car. (And even if that was the case, the music wouldn't be as enjoyable and the people in the car wouldn't necessarily be doing it to enjoy the night.)
Times, people, and cars have changed. Then again, what comes around, goes around. Maybe with the introduction of the new muscle cars, cruising will return.
By george2040
on March 24, 2009
10:20 AM
Cruising isn't dead here in the Dallas suburbs, but it appears to be limited to the part of the youth population that also customize their cars. In small towns cruising doesn't require a coffee can muffler and aftermarket wheels.
By bpgluckman
on March 24, 2009
11:03 AM
These signs now exist not to fight cruising, but to combat prostitution. The anti-cruising laws were put into place in areas like this to provide a legal resource for targeting and stopping suspected johns looking to pick up a trick.
See: http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2007/01/anticruising_la.html
By edubya
on March 24, 2009
11:12 AM
I remember no cruising signs in Richmond, VA, during the early 90s. Cruisers would jam up busy roads, take away parking from restaurants, get drunk, fight, and make general nuisances of themselves. They were roundly hated, and we were very glad to see the police crack down on their idiocy.
Sorry, Karl, I don't miss that practice one iota.
By opfreakx
on March 24, 2009
11:18 AM
we still have crusing, theres 2 kinds though, the near sub 'crusing'. And the inner city completely blocking of streets, dancing on cars, and throwing out cash.
Both are looked down on. One however far less innocent then the other
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29729637/
By blueguydotcom
on March 24, 2009
11:25 AM
Depends on the area. In the Mira Mesa area of San Diego they get tons of kids cruising in tricked out junkers.
There's a giant difference between cruising - as in slowly rolling up and down a blvd - and a group of middle-aged paunchy men riding their > in a row on the way to wine bistro.
By blueguydotcom
on March 24, 2009
11:27 AM
How the blazes did a >> end up in my post? I wrote "a group of middle-aged paunchy men riding their trendy vehicles (harley, collector cars, etc) in a row on the way to wine bistro.
By estreka
on March 24, 2009
02:33 PM
I cruised when I was younger (late 90's). Mostly we hung out in auto shop parking lots in college, though. That's still the practice today from what I gather.
I cruise a little bit, but mostly I look for windy mountain roads.
I should also preface that things are very different for us convertible owners.
By redliner
on March 24, 2009
02:34 PM
opfreakx
Interesting. I never thought of it that way, but it makes complete sense.
By carlisimo
on March 24, 2009
06:35 PM
When I was little (in Reno in the '80s) there was cruising, but now there are "no cruising" signs and no one seems interested in it anyway except for during special events. But then, Reno doesn't seem interested in anything anymore.
During my driving years, here in the SF Bay Area, cruising is like 8-tracks. No one does it. It doesn't even occur to people. There's still not-fit-to-print action in parking lots, but that's different. We go to milk tea cafes, or pool halls, or lounges. Car people might have regular meeting places at a strip mall where they take up half the parking lot the first weekend of the month or something. Hanging out in the parking lot happens a lot. Lately though there are a lot of stunt cyclists trying to stake their claim on the same turf.
There's still street racing like what you might see in F&F, but it's like raves - they've gone underground. Unless you're already really into it, you'll never hear about the events and it's hard to even find out they exist. The backlash to the first movie was extreme. Police, concerned parents, and concerned legislators made it tough to be into cars and racing. Rumors started that undercover police in San Diego would rev at you at stoplights and arrest you if you left the light quickly... that and endless stories of police harassment made driving to a parking lot sound like a much better idea. For the same reasons, modified cars lost their luster and now you might as well just show up in a stock BMW if you want to be cool. Environmentalism never entered into the equation, just persecution and public disdain.
But even that - cruising around for impromptu races - sounds different from what cruising was about. I have a hard time understanding it - "Hey, let's drive up and down Main Street all evening!" The entertainment value escapes me.