Cruisers would also gather in parking lots, particularly those of drive-ins. ĭriving slowly down long, straight streets, preferably with many traffic lights to increase opportunities to talk to other cruisers or pedestrians, was only one part of cruising.

One appeal of cruising was that youths could evade the supervision of parents and family. Although cruising was predominantly boys showing off their cars (ostensibly to meet girls), groups of girls joined in cruising as well. Ĭruising culture was an evolution of old traditions of strolling down Main Street or around the town square. There is no clear-cut date when casual driving turned into cruising along a specific route, although it generally began in the years after World War II with youths of Mexican heritage driving lowriders in Southern California towns, and it rapidly became a popular teenage activity. Meets, like those at lowrider and auto shows, are popular across the United States and worldwide in large part due to these ethnic communities. Some ethnic groups identify with lifestyles related to cruising, such as the Hispanos of New Mexico, Chicanos, and Mexican-Americans of the Southwestern United States along U.S. A cruise can be a meeting of car enthusiasts at a predetermined location, organised predominantly through the internet (in recent times) but also largely through mobile phone, word of mouth or simply by a cruise being established enough that it becomes a regular event. 'Cruise nights' are evenings during which cars drive slowly. A popular route (or ' strip') is often the focus of cruising. Cruising is distinguished from regular driving by the social and recreational nature of the activity, which is characterized by an impulsively random, often aimless course. Cruising can be an expression of the freedom of possessing a driver's license. Cruising is a social activity that primarily consists of driving a car.

Street car showoff