Revving up for summer
<p>Reino Hill, right, and Codey Harbison inspect Ben and Lyn Brocco's 1929 Ford rat rod before the start of the Car d'Lane cruise Friday in downtown Coeur d'Alene.</p>
<p>Foster Manning, suited up in 1920's gangster pinstripes, talks to the passengers in his 1925 Dodge while waiting for the start of the Car d'Lane cruise.</p>
<p>Rick Wahl keeps an eye on the Car d'Lane cruise traffic as hundreds of cars make their way along the route through downtown Coeur d'Alene.</p>
<p>Nate Smith, 3, makes sure his hearing protection is on tight before the onslaught of roaring classic cars roll by his vantage point at Seventh Street and Lakeside Avenue.</p>
<p>With Hank Williams playing through the radio, Ken Smith enjoys the view of the crowd watching him cruise along Lakeside Avenue from inside his 1955 Ford.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - That roar right there, that's the sound of summer.
That collective blast comes from low-riders, hot rods, trucks, classics, sports cars, muscle cars and relics with flames on their sides or shooting from the exhaust.
For 21 years, Car d'Lane has unofficially sounded the start of summer, and Friday evening hundreds of all types of wheels lined up and cruised downtown.
Right on schedule.
After all, nowhere else does summer announce its arrival with such a blast.
"Just right here," said Foster Manning, dressed in a 1920s pinstripe gangster suit along with his friends, all of them playing the part of Bonnie and Clyde in Manning's 1925 sunflower yellow Dodge.
That rare ride, which its passengers call "the real McCoy," rarely gets out, but it doesn't miss the cruise that boasts it's the 'Best in Northwest.'
"There's no other place," Manning said about taking out his prize, except up in Sandpoint, too. "This is perfect for it."
He's not alone.
Up and down the downtown staple streets the gleaming autos cruised, with crowds lining the sidewalks to take in the show.
"Every year I can, I come over for it," said Montana man Terry Burkholder, who rebuilt his 1960 turquoise convertible Corvette 10 years ago after it was destroyed in a fire. Its license plate, Hell n Back, filled the back story of the car's journey. But Burkholder's favorite part of the show?
"Seeing all the smiles on their faces," he said of the crowd.
Like Canadians Colby and Peter Darbyshire, who drove three plus hours to take it all in from lawn chairs while sipping beers.
"You can't beat it," Colby said.
Han Beggerly, who has been watching the show for its trucks - and there were plenty of them - wants to make sure his 2-year-old son, Jace, grows up every bit the car cruising lover his dad is.
"Oh yeah," he said while the boy watched the cars go by at the family-friendly event for the second year, matching the tot's age. "He's into it, but right now he might be a little distracted by his sucker."
The cruise put on by the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association, in partnership with the North Idaho Classics Car Club, roared from 6 to 10 p.m. It continues today with owners displaying their classic rides downtown until 4 p.m.
Some cars had hydraulics, some drivers blasted music, and all types of drivers donned costumes. And plenty of flames covered hoods.
Don and Judy Sterr, of Hauser, had mesa dusk flames on their champagne-colored 1957 Chevy, and Michael and Sharry Drowley had purple ones licking their 1950 Chevy.
"I just did it," Don Sterr said of his flames, a little wild and unusual for his usually calm demeanor. "It's not like me, but I love it."
For Michael Drowley, however, they fit his driving style perfectly. He even got in a little bit of a race with a Corvette on the way to Coeur d'Alene for the cruise from Spokane.
"My wife likes the purple," he said. "And I got to have flames."
And always the roar - cascading up and down Sherman and Lakeside avenues, Fourth Street, Garden Avenue and Second Street - the sound of summer.