WATERLOO -- Spicoli's had the strongest and most star-studded parking lot on University Avenue Saturday night.

Muscle cars -- possibly one from a hit TV show -- and others that closely resemble famous vehicles took center stage during the University Avenue Cruise. An estimated 300 cars and trucks participated in the two-hour "show and shine" in the parking lot before rumbling up and down University for another two hours.

The General Lee was there. Shane Kleinhans of Cedar Falls believes his 1968 Dodge Charger is one of the just more than 300 used during taping of "The Dukes of Hazard."

Kleinhans said there was no way he was going to miss the second-annual cruise. The General had to make an appearance, he said, despite the old boy showing his age with rust spots on the roof and sides.

"People love it. (He) usually puts a smile on everybody's face," Kleinhans said.

Especially his. Kleinhans, an avid fan of Chargers and the show, didn't blink when his wife took out a second mortgage on their home to purchase the orange superstar on e-Bay last November. She won't tell him how much she spent on the present for his 36th birthday.

"It has to be at least $40,000," he guessed.

Kleinhans is working on acquiring documentation that the car is authentic. In the meantime, there's several clues to lead him to believe the General isn't a replica, namely its cost. Others include:

Warner Brothers, which produced the show, would place small identification plates around the car with a "W" and a number.

Wires were cut in the motor and dash areas for non-essential parts to prevent fires.

The grill and tail light assembly was changed to make the '68 Charger look like a '69, which were predominantly used on the show.

Kleinhans doesn't plan on restoring the car until it's authenticated. Still, he said it's an eye-catcher.

"The first thing I see is people take out their camera phones and start clicking," he said.

Daisy Duke's Plymouth Roadrunner -- well, almost -- made an appearance. Ron and Michele Farley's classic happens to be a 1973 model and maroon, instead of a '74 and yellow like Daisy. Both have the black racing stripe that goes over the back of the roof and down the sides.

No problem. The couple from Aplington said it used to be yellow. And their son, Jesse, owns a yellow 1973 model as well. No Uncle Jesse cracks, please.

Ron is a little worried about giving it to his daughter, Ashley, for her 16th birthday. She'll be able to handle the Mopar power of the 318 cubic-inch motor, he said.

"The only thing is this will be a boy magnet," the concerned dad said.

Judging by the throng of guys drooling over the car Saturday, the concern is genuine.

What car show would be complete without an appearance by Burt Reynolds and Sally Field. On Saturday, the parts were played by Ray and Polly Pettengill of La Porte City and their 1978 Pontiac Tans Am.

The couple says it doesn't matter that the car is a year newer than the one used in "Smokey and The Bandit" and that the firebird emblem is blue instead of gold -- people relate the car to the blockbuster movie anyway.

And so do the Pettengills.

"I'll say 'do we want to be Burt and Sally or Bonnie and Clyde' before we go on Sunday drives," Polly said, referring to taking the TransAm or a 1929 Ford Model A the couple also owns.

Last year 250 to 300 vehicles showed up for the inaugural event. Judging by this year's turnout, cruise organizer Jim Koch believes it will continue.

"This just closes the summer out right. It's good for the Cedar Valley," he said.

Contact Matthew Wilde

at (319) 291-1579 or

matt.wilde@wcfcourier.com.