Motorized magic
<p>Lee Westhafer holds his three-year-old son Konrad during the 2015 Car d'Lane cruse in downtown Coeur d'Alene on Friday evening.</p>
<p>Fire comes out of the exhaust of a vintage Model-T during the Car d'Lane cruse in Coeur d'Alene on Friday evening.</p>
<p>Cassie Willson, center, laughs with friends during the Car d'Lane cruse in Coeur d'Alene on Friday evening.</p>
<p>Fire comes out of a pre-1975 Chevrolet during the Car d'Lane cruse down Sherman Ave. on Friday evening.</p>
<p> Over 500 pre-1975 cars and trucks participated in the 2015 Car d'Lane event on Friday evening.</p>
<p>A young boy sits in the front seat of a truck during the Car d'Lane cruise down Sherman Ave.</p>
Motorized magic
<p>A man cheers as a car he enjoyed drove past him on Friday evening at the Car d'Lane event.</p>
<p>More than 500 pre-1975 cars and trucks participated in the 2015 Car d'Lane event.</p>
<p>Logan Cornelsen, left, (2) sits on top of his grandfather Larry Rubins shoulders while watching the classic car cruse during the Car d'Lane car show on Friday evening.</p>
<p>From left, Jax Peterson (4), Ella Peterson (4), Payson Shaw (6) and Nolan Shaw (4) race across Sherman Ave. on Friday evening shortly before the Car d'Lane classic car cruse through downtown.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Three generations of the Coeur d'Alene Epstein clan were cozily situated in Mary Epstein's gleaming Tahoe turquoise 1966 Ford Mustang, anticipating the cruise beginning Friday evening.
Mary sat in the backseat while her dad, Richard, took the wheel and prepared to once again drive the sweet ride in the Car d'Lane "Cruisin' by the Lake" car cruise, an event the family never misses.
"We've been doing it almost 25 years," Richard said. "This car is about 25 years old, since I rebuilt it. We've been cruisin' ever since."
The Epsteins share this milestone with the event itself, as Car d'Lane is 25 this weekend.
For a quarter of a century, Car d'Lane has turned downtown Coeur d'Alene into an automotive playland for dads and car enthusiasts alike each Father's Day weekend, rain or shine.
"Keep it going," Richard said.
"It's exciting," Mary said, happy to spend the cruise with her dad, brothers, niece and nephew.
"Every time somebody goes, they have to slam on the brakes so hard," Mary's nephew, Cameron, 7, said with enthusiasm. "There was a big truck and it had a hole back there. Some of the old cars won't even start."
Just about every square inch of downtown Coeur d'Alene was packed with spectators as more than 500 old-school gems rolled, purred and roared along the streets. Chevrolet El Caminos, Bel Airs and Blazers, rusty rat rods and glossy hot rods, lifted trucks, tricked-out vans, classic Volkswagens, muscle cars, buggies, wood-paneled wagons, every hue of Ford Mustang imaginable and many more cruised by the curious, intrigued, animated and amazed onlookers of every age.
Unexpected engine revs and loud, musical or mischievous horns and sirens added to the excitement.
"I've always loved old-school American muscle," said Layna Bruhn of Spokane Valley. "Definitely been loving the Mustangs. And I do like the Army ones."
Bruhn and her good friend, Allison Chamberlain of Coeur d'Alene, sat on the lawn of the old Elks building, energetically commenting to each other when something caught their attention. It was their first time attending Car d'Lane.
"Favorite cars? There's so many," Chamberlain said. "The Army vans, those are really cool."
The cruisin' vehicles funneled into the parade route from Eighth Street and made a loop through downtown, along Lakeside Avenue, Fourth Street, Wallace Avenue, Second Street and back down Sherman Avenue. They stretched beyond 15th Street before the parade began, with many side streets stuffed with cars waiting to join.
"I think it's going to be a good year," said cruise registration coordinator and North Idaho Classic Car Club member Caren Easterly. "We have been busy. I don't know if the numbers are up or if they're all coming at once, but it feels busier than last year."
The club managed the registration tables in the parking lot of Peterson Family Foods, where Easterly said people wanting to register appeared as early as 8:30 a.m. with a constant line all day.
"It's been a good 25 years," she said. "It doesn't seem like that long. I've been doing it most of those 25 years. It's grown, it's changed, but it still has the small-town feel. All the people, everybody's in a good mood, they register, they're anxious to get out there and play. It's been good. There's been a lot of good changes."
The Car d'Lane Cruise commenced the Car d'Lane weekend, which continues with the Show and Shine on Sherman and Lakeside avenues from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. The day's events will also feature demonstrations, a poker walk and the 4 p.m. awards ceremony.
Car d'Lane is a major fundraiser for the North Idaho Classic Car Club and is facilitated by the club in conjunction with the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association.