News Room
Classic cars to Kruze on Lake Shore Drive
Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune
September 8, 2004
Dust off your Duesenberg and polish your Packard.
Chicago has given its blessing to a Kruze, a parade of 750 vintage, antique and classic cars along Lake Shore Drive that will wind its way to Soldier Field for a get-together.
The first in what organizers hope will become an annual show, the Chicago Chi-Town Kruze has been set for June 5.
Unlike the Chicago Auto Show, which displays the newest Detroit, Japan and Europe have to offer, the Chi-Town Kruze will bring together machines owned by Chicagoans for the enjoyment of Chicagoans--though visitors from other states and countries also are welcome to line Lake Shore Drive, said show organizers.
"It was a hope, but now the City of Chicago has given us a time and place, so it will happen," said Jerry Robbin, president of the 1,500-member International Mercury Owners Association and Kruze organizer.
"We still have to work out the route, but part or all of the Kruze will be along Lake Shore Drive to the Soldier Field south parking lot for a car show," Robbin said. The event is patterned after the annual Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit.
Although the Chicago Auto Show typically attracts more than a million visitors each year, it focuses on new hardware in showrooms or coming soon. And it's held in February.
The Kruze, Robbin envisions, will include at least 750 examples of what cars used to be. And it will be held in summer, so folks can gather along Lake Shore Drive to view it.
"It's an opportunity for collectors, and there are several in Chicagoland, to strut their stuff along the parade route," he said. "It's also an opportunity for people to sit back along the route and admire, as well as reminisce about all the cars, to chat among themselves and make it a social event."
The Woodward Avenue cruise in Detroit has a 16-mile route where about 40,000 cars parade for 1 million people to enjoy over a weekend.
"We're starting small. We don't have a 16-mile-long street to work with like they do with Woodward Avenue in Detroit, but we plan to get bigger," Robbin said.
Although the show has a time and place, it still needs a few things, such as 750 classic, vintage and antique cars.
Those interested in participating can e-mail info@chitownkruze.com, which also will provide details on the Kruze as plans are completed.
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