 Three Sisters Park in Peoria,...  Three Sisters Park in Peoria, Illinois, was the setting for the 1994 cruise, which feature 13 tours converging on this single site. Three Sisters is a nice facility that has room for thousands of rods and customs, as you can see in this colorful photo. |
 Americruise is the only place...  Americruise is the only place you will see such a diversity of cars. In this shot from 1994, an early Merc custom is followed by a Galaxie, a 1926 T coupe and a 1955 Chevy. |
 Here&8217s a cool group of...  Here’s a cool group of street rods playing follow the leader at Three Sisters in 1994. Notice the wide variety of street rods in attendance. If you look in the background you&8217ll notice a Harley-Davidson. They are also welcome at Americruise. |
 In 1995, Editorial Assistant...  In 1995, Editorial Assistant Karl Brauer’s street rodding bug bit on day one of his tour while he was riding in Gary Rudolph&8217s really red 1932 roadster. Karl loved every minute of it. |
 Also in 1995, the California...  Also in 1995, the California bunch was shocked to see snow as the group traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska. They dont get much out there in SoCal, but after they finished staring at the white stuff our R&C photographer got them all to look his way before they left the Rockies for flatter ground. |
 The Wyoming Technical Institute...  The Wyoming Technical Institute offers classes in collision repair and upholstery for a real hands-on learning experience. One of the 1996 tours stopped by on the way to Lincoln, which was again the convergence locale for Americruise. |
 What a cross-section of street...  What a cross-section of street rods, customs, and classics! There was certainly something for everyone to get excited about at the 1996 event. The most common road problem was caused by suspensions that were a tad low for the unfamiliar terrain. Fortunately, there was no permanent damage that we&8217re aware of. Evening activities in 1996 centered around dining and cruising "big O" street. Locals said it was a straight 30-mile strip from downtown Lincoln to the other end. |
 "Wil Chil" is Vintage Air...  "Wil Chil" is Vintage Air President Jack Chisenhauls CB-handle--he kept contact with other members of the tour he led in 1997 with both his CB and cell phone. Much of each tour takes place on freeways or open state roads, but keeping track of everyone is always a challenge. |
 The ididit tour was the largest...  The ididit tour was the largest of the nine tours in 1997. The 80-plus rod and custom parade started from the shop in Clinton, Michigan. Reluctantly, some members of the tour decided to set their own pace to scale down the unwieldy parade. |
 In 1997, as with all Americruises,...  In 1997, as with all Americruises, the staff photographers liked to snap photos of the brightly colored cars in the sun, but there was plenty of shade available for your lawn chair and cooler. |
 Americruise 1998 took place...  Americruise 1998 took place at Snowmass Village in Roaring Fork Valley near Aspen, Colorado. Yes, its July, and, yes, thats snow above one of the upper parking lots. |
 Can you see your car? The...  Can you see your car? The 1998 Manufacturers’ Midway on the baseball field at Snowmass below the golf course was the sight of the show ’n&8217 shine, the Custom Classic Truck Corral, the Under 25 Corral, and the awards ceremony. |
 Colorado Custom hosted a 1998...  Colorado Custom hosted a 1998 stop and impressed everyone with its facilities. Here’s the company&8217s fresh AirRide Technologies-suspended 1937 Ford sedan leading the way. |
 Talk about beautiful! Here&8217s...  Talk about beautiful! Here&8217s a great shot of the 1999 Wescott tour (one of 10 individual tours that year) cutting through the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon on the way to the eventual Americruise site at Madison, Wisconsin. |
 Jim and Pat Downs lead their...  Jim and Pat Downs lead their 1999 Tour group through Michigan&8217s upper peninsula, following close to the lake. Run tight and see how many cars we can get in one photo! |
 Posies&8217 Tour winds its...  Posies’ Tour winds its way through some pastoral pastures. Hey, there’s a produce stand up ahead. Let’s stop for some farm-fresh fruit! |
Longtime Rod & Custom readers may remember that the magazine spearheaded the first Street Rod Nationals in 1970. For that event, rodders from many areas of the country got together and caravanned to Peoria, Illinois. To the amazement of the R&C staff, 600 rodders showed up at Peoria, which was the largest-ever gathering of street rods at one place until then. Today that turnout is small compared to many national and regional rod shows, but it was a fantastic starting point.
One of the reasons for the 1970 run was to show that street rods can be reliable and dependable. It proved that the fun of owning a street rod was driving it, not just showing it. This "street is neat" philosophy has led to the development of many of the top-quality parts we can buy for our street rods today to make them more dependable than ever. Street is still neat, and that is what inspired Americruise.
A few years ago, the R&C staff decided it would be cool to duplicate that first cruising event and do it annually. We kicked it off with Americruise 1993, which turned out to be an incredible success. In each succeeding year, Americruise has started with as many as 13 different tours from all over the country. The tours were designed to make stops at many of the top street rod shops and companies along the way. Early on, the R&C editors began to travel with separate tours, reporting on the events and cars that caravanned to a central location each year. Then, the weekend following the tours, the actual Americruise event takes place, complete with a huge car show, a variety of entertainment, and manufacturer and vendor displays of all kinds.
The R&C staff is also on hand to photograph each Americruise, and in the process of doing so we find cars for upcoming features. In fact, there are so many nice cars at this event each year that the editors are kept busy all three days and there were still many cars we don’t get a chance to shoot.
The daytime activities at Americruise keep participants and spectators alike busy and entertained. However, there are also plenty of things to do in the evening. There may be barbecues, live bands, cruises, contest--the whole gamut of carnival excitement mixed with the world’s most fabulous cars.
But instead of reading about the event, take a look at our collection of photos from 1993 to the present. Even better, sign up for this year's tour! For more information, call 800/622-3960 or 323/782-2837.
Click here for the latest information about Americruise.