© Hot Rod Network Staff050-massive-gallery-from-quarantine-cruise-12
In a year that hasn't had many bright spots, the Southern California Quarantine Cruise has been a very welcome change from the groundhog days most of us have been experiencing. The event that started a year ago just completed cruise number 12 and has seen a rapid swell of interest and attendance, coupled with some exceptional SoCal weather. HOT ROD caught up with a two of the event's co-founders, Jason Scudellari and Heck Valdez, for a quick chat about this crazy year.
Quarantine Cruise Five Huntington Beach California
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HOT ROD: How do you feel the cruise has affected the community during this year's trying times?
Heck Valdez: It gave something for people to look forward to-you know, to get out of the house and interact with other like-minded people and check out some cool cars. People were just really needing something to feel normal when nothing felt normal.
HR: Has the local community supported the event?
Jason Scudellari: Absolutely. When we started, we just picked a parking lot to show up at, but it grew so quickly we knew we needed to find a venue that could handle the numbers. We partnered up with some local real estate groups like SOCO and Newland Center, which are retail shopping venues that welcomed the exposure to their businesses and could also provide some shops to provide food and drinks. Since most of the businesses don't open till 10 or 11 a.m., it is a good chance for them to get some early customers, as well.
© Hot Rod Network Staff HR: Having great weather this fall and winter must have really helped?
HV: Yeah, we only had to reschedule one of the cruises due to impending weather. It's been really great other than that.
HR: What kind of cars are showing up?
HV: It's been such a diverse crowd; there's clubs, and big buck builds, but more than anything, there has just a ton of regular drivers.
JS: Yeah, we've had everything from brand-new C8 Corvettes on airbags, to import tuners, to a huge C-10 club that had 300-plus members roll in.
HR: What's the plan when things start to open up more?
HV: We are definitely going to keep the cruise going, but our ultimate goal is to do some cruise events that are two- or three-day events to support local businesses, as well.
JS: Yeah, and we have also been doing some after-cruise destinations with Chihuahua Cerveza.
If you're in SoCal and want to cruise, information on the Quarantine Cruise can be found on Instagram @Qruisinpch and through founders' Instagram accounts:
Ken Johnson@ken, @classicsdaily
Hek Valdez@hektattoo,
Jason@week2wickedjason
Patrick Wagenbrenner
@keystoneautomotiveoperations