Last modified: Friday, September 7, 2007 10:53 AM PDT Week's End: Get set for Payette’s ‘Cruise Night’ By Steve Krehl Tonight is the first day of the two day 19th Annual A&W Cruise Night in Payette. Hanigan automobile dealerships is sponsoring the “Friday Night Cruise” tonight. It’s on Main Street at 7:30 p.m. and runs until 9:30 p.m. There will be a prize for the best cruisers. Three Rivers Insurance is sponsoring a cook off and there will be music in Bancroft Park. In addition to the main sponsoring businesses that I’ve already mentioned, there also is Payette County and the City of Payette. I also counted around 50 other businesses that helped with their contributions to make the A&W Cruise Night a success. We went last year and truly enjoyed the evening. Some of the cars I could identify, and a few I had either owned or rode in when they were new. It brought back some memories. One thing you have to admire is the love and workmanship that goes into restoring the cars. Of all the cars I’ve owned, the little Austin Mini would be the one I wish I still had. I don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet it’s worth some money today. I saw the other day that Steve McQueen’s Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta went for a cool $2.3 million at auction. I saw a picture of the Ferrari and it is awesome. The story goes McQueen ordered it with chestnut brown paint job, and tan leather interior. It probably was pretty rare that any Ferrari would leave the factory in any other color than the signature blood red. I’ve seen some in blue, and the most unusual one was in burnt orange in Miami. Now I know that doesn’t seem attractive, but it was. It was dark at the top and gradually became lighter toward the bottom. Every once in a while I’ll watch the car auctions on television. Barrett Jackson has several shows a week. The money that some people will pay for automobiles is amazing. They say if the car was owned at one time by a celebrity it really adds to the value. I did see the car I’ve always thought would be the ultimate one to own. That car is the Gullwing Mercedes. They were built from 1955 to 1957, and they are rare. I saw a few in Germany, and the last one was in San Francisco. It was called the Gullwing because of the doors that opened up and out. They are similar to the DeLorean in the movie “Back To The Future.” If you can afford to own one, it’s likely you’ll only drive it on Sundays, and only if the weather is good. While there won’t be any classic Mercedes or Ferraris, there will be some real beautiful automobiles in Payette this weekend. This event is one of several held in our area, and if you like cars you’ll love the 19th Annual A&W Cruise Night. Have a great weekend, and keep it in play. Steve Krehl is the publisher of the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at SteveK@argusobserver.com