IDLE WORSHIP AUTO LOVERS SAVOR PARKED CLASSICS ON.Byline: Benjamin Parke Benjamin Parke (September 2, 1777 – July 12, 1835) was a 19th century American soldier and politician. Born in New Jersey, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 1797, where he studied law in the office of James Brown. He moved on to Vincennes, Indiana between 1799 and 1801. Staff Writer GLENDALE - Chrome shimmered. Vinyl squeaked. Engines rumbled. Owners of 400 classic cars put on the vehicular equivalent of their Sunday best Saturday night. ``There's so much more I wanted to do, but I ran out of time,'' said Ben Stott, pampering his 1970 Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (môNtā` kärlō`), town (1982 pop. 13,150), principality of Monaco, on the Mediterranean Sea and the French Riviera. . He and friend Jim Hinton spent the final moments before Glendale's seventh annual Cruise Night trying to muster a little more shine from the phantom blue Phantom Blue was an all-female heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, USA in 1987. After a promising start they were undermined by lineup instability and finally petered out in 2001. , black vinyl-topped sports car. Classic cars no younger than 1972 lined the curbs along five blocks of Brand Boulevard, drawing a mix of older couples in country club attire, rambunctious kids sucking on Popsicles, and tough-looking mustachioed mus·ta·chio also mous·ta·chio n. pl. mus·ta·chios A mustache, especially a luxuriant one. [Ultimately from Italian dialectal mustaccio, mustache; see mustache. bikers. Part display, part competition, the annual show draws thousands of car fans from across Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . Last year, 30,000 enthusiasts showed up, and organizers expected at least that many this year. ``We had 15,000 people the first year and attendance has grown steadily every year,'' said Gerry Milota, who pulled together the event. People strolled past Chevrolet Impalas and Volkswagen campers as a 1950s-style band's rendition of ``La Bamba'' reverberated along the shops and office buildings on the street. ``There are a lot of guys like me who like the old muscle cars,'' Stott said. He has been a spectator at the event for several years, so he knew the pressure to make his car sparkle as a first-time contestant this year. ``I spent last night washing it and used a flashlight (while working) to dry it,'' Stott said. Stott said he bought his car new 30 years ago but had worked hard recently - putting on new fenders, aligning the body panels, and generally waging a battle against rust. ``So you didn't bring any Armour All?'' Hinton chided his friend. Further down the boulevard, Danny Gonzalez, president of the Chicano Style Car Club, watched over his friend's white 1959 El Camino - a model produced in the first year that Chevrolet ever manufactured the car/pickup. ``Every car show, we try to be a part of the scene,'' said Gonzalez. Two stages were set up for bands to play rockabilly, swing and blues music for the crowd. Restaurants and shops along the boulevard were open for car fans to stroll in. Even those who had to work the event didn't seem to mind. ``This is not the hardest money I've made, I'll tell you that. I love old cars,'' declared one Glendale police officer as he sauntered past rows of hot rods, sunglasses sunglasses A tinted pair of glasses used to ↓ light arriving at the eye, which are labeled according to the amount of UV light blocked; nonprescription glasses are classified according to use and amount of UV radiation blocked Sunglasses in hand. ``It's only the heat that makes me feel like I'm working.'' Saturday was a day of fantasy for a lot of car fans, hopping behind the wheel of a favorite sports car or peering over the chromed, souped-up engines. Frank Tomaro, who was showing his recently acquired lime light lime´ light` 1. An intense light produced by heating lime. See ``My father passed away and I came into some money,'' said Tomaro. ``I thought, `I could play it safe and put it in the bank - or I could buy a muscle car.' '' The GTX GTX Gore-Tex GTX Global TeleExchange GTX Grand Tourisme Extra - with a 1971, 440 four barrel engine (balanced, milled and line bored) - appears in about one show every weekend, Tomaro said. The orange Air Grabber underneath the hood grabbed many people's attention. ``I didn't think about it at the time, but it's an investment,'' said Tomaro. ``Everybody's entitled to a toy.'' Staff Writer Nathaniel Greely contributed to this report. CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Sleek, shining classic cars draw admiring looks from fans Saturday during Glendale's annual Cruise Night. Organizers expected at least 30,000 people to attend this year. (2 -- color) A tattooed Damon Adler of Long Beach studies a 1967 VW Westfalia during Saturday's classic car event. At least 400 autos were on display. (3 -- color) Riley Miller, 3, of Sunland sits on a police motorcycle A police motorcycle is a motorcycle used by various police departments. They may be custom designed to meet the requirements unique of a particular department. A police motorcycle is often called a "motor" by police officers in the United States. during Cruise NIght in Glendale on Saturday. (4 -- 5 -- color) Geroge Howard of Van Nuys, above, sits behine the wheel of his 1929 Franklin, Julie Prather, at left of Glendale photographs a classic car during Cruise Night (6 -- color) no caption (hood ornament ornament, in architecture ornament, in architecture, decorative detail enhancing structures. Structural ornament, an integral part of the framework, includes the shaping and placement of the buttress, cornice, molding, ceiling, and roof and the capital and ) Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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