Basehor Boys kick off the 2012 Kansas City car cruise season

All these new car shows and auto museums are nice, but I've been itchin' for a normal old car cruise for months now. And as it turns out, the same guys that had the last cruise of the season in 2011 came through with the first cruise of the year in 2012.

The Basehor Boys Car Club hosts these monthly cruises in the parking lot adjacent to the Sonic Drive-In in Basehor. And for a cool, dark night in March, I'd say they had a pretty nice turnout. Dozens of hot rod owners made it out to nosh on foot-long hot dogs and creamsicle slushes, and it was a positive start to this year's car cruise season.

Things are bound to improve too. The biggest problem with this deal Friday night was that it got dark too early, and they weren't turning on the lights in the bank parking lot where all the cars were. This issue will solve itself as the summer wears on and the sun stays out longer.

I can tell you right now that my dad is not going to be happy that I didn't call him to go to this show, because he is a certified old Oldsmobile freak, and there was a fine little '50 Olds 88 coupe sitting right at the end of the row. The owner was from the Topeka area, and told me he had several other vintage Oldsmobiles, including a '51 and a '57 wagon. This '50 was a recent eBay purchase, and he said he was happy with it so far.

Other notable participants included a '64 Galaxie 500 XL (those babies really had great interiors), a pretty period correct-looking '32 Ford highboy coupe, and a good looking '70 Olds 442 coupe with contemporary Cragar mag wheels.

The Basehor Boys will be holding these cruises on the second Friday of the month from now until November 9. And later in the summer, they will also host a big car show at the Basehor City Park. Look for more information on that here as it becomes available.

In the meantime, let's start the 2012 season off right, with--you guessed it--a photo slideshow from the evening's festivities. It's about time.