Fun with Wheels

Car collector Gerald McCrystal of New York walks between a 1954 Coupe, left, and a ’56 Sedan de Ville on display at the Great Labor Day Cruise and Car Show in Costa Mesa. The annual event draws classic and antique car devotees from all over the country. This year’s show will be held Sept. 2-4 at the Orange County Fair & Exposition Center. (Don Bartletti / LAT)

Sept. 16, 2014 1:11 AM PT

Cars have seldom meant ‘transportation only’ for Southern Californians. Car cramming to cruising have been just part of the fun.

Stephanie Baltierra founded the “Blessing of the Cars” in Los Angeles. She is all dressed up matching her red and white 1964 Comet Caliente. The event started as a friends and family affair 10 years ago; it’s turned into an gathering of more than 10,000 classic car fans who show up at Hansen Dam Park to have their cars blessed and admired. This year’s Blessing of the Cars will be on July 29. (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

What road trip would be complete without tunes for the road? A 1947 Chrysler Town and Country comes with this radio. (Mark Boster / LAT)

Los Angeles residents Heather Collins, left, and her friend Kenya Reeves enjoy a drive on Sunset Boulevard at night. (Béatrice de Géa / LAT)

Regine Chassagne of the band Arcade Fire puts her feet up while on a drive through the rain near Pismo Beach, Calif. She and her husband and bandmate, Win Butler, took to the road to do a little sightseeing while on tour last year. (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

It seems like surfing and station wagons have always gone together in SoCal’s car culture. Guy Adams’ 1948 Ford Woody is photographed at Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

Barry Lavette bought a Subaru Legacy wagon for the room — for surfboards. (Luis Sinco / LAT)

The setting sun makes for a nice drive along Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, Calif. (Geraldine Wilkins-Kasinga / LAT)