Summer cruising is a rite of passage.
As we recall our youth, our first car often plays a pivotal part of those memories. Mine was a Vette (actually a Chevette) and while out cruising the main drag, I’d hear dares from schoolmates to ‘light em up.’ One day I gave in and revved the engine, popped the clutch and sure enough, burned some rubber. Unfortunately, the thrill was soon quashed after a glance in the rear-view mirror revealed flashing red and blue lights. It seemed like forever for the officer to write my ticket as friends circled past laughing and honking.
It’s an embarrassing memory, one that’s reminiscent of a time when cruising, drive-ins and your cool factor was equated to your vehicle. Of course, everything would change once I got married and kids were involved.
There was plenty of vehicle nostalgia on display this past weekend at the 18th annual Peach City Beach Cruise. Over 850 vehicles registered and it was great to see the town come alive with so many people and all those classic cars. Three hundred plus volunteers helped make this year’s event the best we have had for registrations, diversity of vehicles and record numbers of people strolling the streets.
It is also one of my favourite weekends. Not only does the city come alive, but the event is free, ageless and everyone is happy. The car parade on Friday had people from Skaha Lake all the way to Okanagan Lake. There was a tremendous cheer as we drove past the Best Western; which made me feel pretty good until I realized it was the host hotel for the Mustang club and I was being chauffeured in a Mustang.
It is also perhaps the only time where my decision can’t be criticized as I have to select the Mayor’s Choice award and there really isn’t a wrong pick. I must have spent four hours going back and forth (my two favourites were at the exact opposite ends of the show) and when I finally made my choice the sun came out glimmering off the cars which almost made me need to start over again. My choices in the past ranged from a Bel Air, to a Mercury Cruiser, to an industrial looking rat rod, to this year’s 1939 roadster. It was fitting that we are the Peach City and this year’s pick was quite the Peach of a car.
With the passing of time comes change and this year’s show welcomed several electric vehicles including a hot rod that cosmetically was a show stopper, minus an engine. Well, it didn’t have a real engine it was electric! It was pretty cool to see and while it didn’t have that old car stink (exhaust) it also didn’t have that purring engine sound that captures just as many looks as the car itself.
As a society, we need to become less reliant on gas guzzlers, not an easy task when a large part of our history and identity are somehow connected to our love affair with the automobile. I’m encouraged that lately there are more and more fully electric and hybrid vehicles being purchased, plus a greater acceptance of cycling as options, along with transit and walking, to move people from point A to point B.
Andrew Jakubeit is the Mayor of Penticton and provides the Western News with a column twice a month. Contact him via email Andrew.Jakubeit@penticton.ca. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewJakubeit
