SPANISH FORT, Ala.—It was all about old-fashioned cars and hotrods at the Eastern Shore Centre Saturday night during the Eastern Shore Cruisers’ Classic Car Cruise-In.

About 45 of the area’s most pampered cars lined the Panera Bread parking lot for the cruise-in.

“My favorite was the Mini,” Tasha Clark of Mobile said. “It’s so cute and just tiny.” The 1973 Austin Mini DeLuxe was 4-feet, 7 inches wide, 4-feet, 5 inches tall and is only 10-feet long. The 34-horsepower car has been owned by Rodney McDonald, of Spanish Fort, for about three years.

“It’s a great little car,” McDonald said.

“It’s the only British car in the show tonight.”

Bob Schoolcraft of Silverhill flaunted his 1958 Chevrolet Impala.

“It’s a completely restored original,” he said. “It’s the first one ever made: serial number is 00001.”

Schoolcraft said he has restored cars since the early 1950s. He has had the white Impala for about 23 years.

Kenny and Mary Keith of Pensacola, Fla., sat in lawn chairs next to  “Precious,” the couple’s yellow, 1968 Ford Mustang. The car last year won a kids’ choice award at an Eastern Shore cruise-in.

Mary said the car earned the name “Precious” because the their children always wondered where their dad was and they would say that he was outside with precious.

Kenny said the car sat outside in his yard for about 10 years before he decided to restore it; the process took about two years.

With the classic cars came the latest wheels; a new Ford Thunderbird, Honda S2000 and a Ferrari were just some of the later models present at the cruise-in.

“This right here is every man’s dream,” Jason Teague said as he pointed to a Ferrari. “One day…”

“It’s a great way for people to connect with others who love fancy cars,” Dina Talbot, of Spanish Fort, said of the event. “I grew up around old cars and my family passed the torch to my husband, Steve.

“He’s fixed up everything from Mustangs to 1950s Chevys.”

Fred Minke, event organizer, and disc jockey there, said he  “was very pleased with the turnout.”

“I was afraid that we would have very little cars due to Cruisin’ the Coast going on in Mississippi,” he said of a simultaneous event. “We ended up with 45 cars and still had several people just walking around that were shopping and saw the cars.”

The Eastern Shore Cruisers holds a monthly cruise-in at the Eastern Shore Centre, March through November, on the second Saturday of each month.

The Nov. 8 event—set for 5 to 9 p.m. in the Panera Bread parking lot—will be the fifth annual Toys for Tots Cruise-In. The U.S. Marine Corp will be on hand to collect children’s toys. Last year the corp’s Humvee and half of a pickup-truck bed were filled with toys.

This year, Minke said he hopes to bring in even more.

New, unwrapped, toys should cost around $10 in value.

Goody bags will be handed out for the first 100 participants who bring a toy.

A 50-50 raffle, doorprizes and 30 kids’ choice awards will round out the evening, Minke said.

For more information visit www.easternshorecruisers.com or contact Fred Minke at 709-5900.