Northwest valley activities in high gear for auto enthusiasts

Herman Horak has a time machine.

As emcee of Cruise Night, a weekly gathering of car buffs and admirers, he knows the power of nostalgia.

He calls himself the Rebel Rouser and he spends two nights a week playing 1950's and 1960's music and escorting his listeners to a time gone by. He loves watching people show off their cherry rides and others scoping out one they may have had or wish they did.

"That's when you were happiest," he said, "when you got your first car."

Horak hosts Cruise Night, a gathering of classic and special-interest cars, from 7 to 10 p.m. Fridays at Sonic Drive-In, 3431 N. Rancho Drive, and 6 to 9 p.m. Saturdays at Quiznos, 4450 N. Tenaya Way.

Horak has about 30 years' experience hosting or participating in car shows. Pictures and event listings from car shows in his past homes in Texas and California fill two large scrapbooks that he loves to show off.

He brought his fuchsia 1951 Chevy, pink 1965 Lincoln Premier and 2005 Mustang Charger to Las Vegas car shows around town before starting Cruise Night two years ago.

He formed a nonprofit group, Automotive Event Promotions, and turns his car shows into fundraisers for The Animal Foundation, 655 N. Mojave Road.

The car shows are free and open to the public, but Horak collects donations and accepts event sponsors. The events are alcohol-free and family-friendly.

All makes and models are welcome, Horak said.

Cruise Night is one of the many car shows and gatherings hosted around the valley. There are two weekly shows in Centennial Hills.

The West End Boys Sunday Morning Car Show is hosted from 7 to 10 a.m. in the parking lot of Santa Fe Mining Company, 5021 N. Rainbow Blvd.

The show boasts "Dust off that pride and joy and bring it out."

Centennial Hills resident Brian Kundinger started attending car shows in Las Vegas to track down a Mercury convertible from between 1954 and 1957. He settled for a red and white 1957 Fairlane 500.

"After you buy, what you want always turns up," he said.

He visits Cruise Night and the West End Boys Sunday Morning Car Show when he can, he said.

Kundinger said he's formed friendships at the events.

He said he likes the laid-back atmosphere and the luck of what the events will draw.

"It's like what they say on that pawn shop show, 'You never know what you're going to have come in,' " he said. "The only thing that is not diverse there is that everyone has gray hair."

The Las Vegas Cruisin' Association is a nonprofit group that helps car owners gather and network. A Las Vegas Cruisin' Association-sponsored car show, Figspeed Speed & Performance Friday Cruise Night, is planned from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at 7715 Commercial Way in Henderson.

The Super Run 2011 classic car show is slated for Sept. 22-25 in Henderson, too.

Car enthusiasts for most all makes, models and eras gather weekly or monthly for a meal, a car show or a cruise.

For more information on car shows and gatherings around the valley, visit lasvegascarclubs.com, lasvegascarshows.com and oldride.com/clubs/nevada-clubs.html.

For more information on the West End Boys Sunday Morning Car Show, email judggto69@aol.com.

For more information on Cruise Night, email herman-lek@cox.net or call 656-8107.

Contact Centennial and Paradise/Downtown View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.