If you’re one of those people who has to turn and look every time you see a cool car, you would have had a really sore neck at Saturday’s Cruise Night event.
Cruise Night — the second of the summer held by the Neosho Chamber of Commerce —took place from 4-8pm. It was different from a car show, where a panel of judges decides who has the best vehicle. Cruise Nights are just for fun, a socializing event, and that’s what Dee Alejandro, Carthage, likes about them.
“It’s a family atmosphere,” she said. “Just good, clean fun.”
Alejandro brought her 2006 Dodge Ram —a 25-award-winning Dodge Ram —which she has owned for about three years. She attended a car show in Joplin and realized that she probably could have won if she had entered her truck. That’s when she decided to make some enhancements to it.
“We started (fixing it up) just a little bit here and there; we started with eBay,” she said.
She and her son, AJ Alejandro, began work on the truck and have been entering it in car shows ever since.
“We just keep adding (to) it,” Dee said. “Most of the stuff is his (AJ’s) idea.”
Visiting car shows are a family matter for the Alejandros. At the Cruise Night, AJ had his 2000 Chevrolet Blazer. Dee’s husband, Victor Alejandro, brought his original 1973 Mach 1. AJ’s girlfriend, Jessie Dempsey, had a 2006 Dodge Stratus at the event.
Though Dee is the smallest person in her family, she drives the largest vehicle.
“I don’t really care for cars; I want something big around me,” she said.
While most car enthusiasts with a nice vehicle keep their car in their garage almost all the time, Dee’s is considered a “daily driver.” She uses it for everything.
“I do drive it to work every day,” she said. “I couldn’t afford to (buy another vehicle).”
Though Dee is a woman competing in a male-dominated competition, nobody has ever given her a hard time for it.
“People look kind of shocked when (AJ) tells them, ‘That’s my mom’s,’” Dee said. “I’ve got enough of a positive feedback at shows.”
AJ has done most of the work on the vehicles in the Alejandro family. He has an automotive degree and has been building cars for years.
“My motto is ‘built, not bought,’” AJ said.
He has a passion for cars and has performed most of the add-ons to his family’s vehicles.
“A vehicle is not something that gets you from point A to point B,” AJ said. “The vehicle is the point.”
