POST FALLS - Troy Alvarez digs burning rubber.

And he got a dose of it on a sun-soaked Friday night during the opening of the 13th annual River City Rod Run at the Hot Rod Cafe.

"It's great to come here to see the cars perform," said Alvarez while watching the burnout contest. "I make it a tradition."

The Post Falls man had only one gripe.

"I want to be behind the wheel myself," he said with a wide grin.

The burnouts, allowed at only selected shows across the country, were just the start of what made classic car enthusiasts and thrill-seekers drool.

"There's a lot of guys who bring their tires mounted specifically to burn them off the rims," said Larry Sherman of the North Idaho Classics Car Club, a major supporter of the Rod Run. "It gets a little exciting."

Chase Arnold, an 8-year-old from Coeur d'Alene, was excited and wide-eyed as he watched the High Ridaz motorcycle group pull its stunts, seemingly on one wheel more often than two. Arnold liked the trick where the riders sat on the gas tanks, legs over and in front of the handlebars, and flipped a wheelie.

"I think it's awesome," Arnold said. "Someday I want to do that."

Arnold's dad James added: "Not with a little practice you won't."

Sherman gave the stunt artists the ultimate compliment, calling them "lunatics."

"When you look at these boys, they've been on the ground more than once," Sherman said. "They're nuts."

A cruise along Schneidmiller Avenue was a new feature this year and seemed to be a popular attraction with attendees.

Post Falls' Gene Davis enjoyed the classics passing by under clear skies.

"What a setting this is," Gene said. "Beautiful cars, beautiful weather and beautiful you know what. It all can take your breath away."

Sherman said the cruise was resurrected from several years ago because people like seeing the vehicles in motion.

"We're just trying to make it so that things are happening," he said, adding that most shows don't have cruises. "It's one think to see a car just sitting there, but it's another to see them rumble by and smell them."

Also new was the loud pipes contest, which Post Falls' Tammi Johnston couldn't bear to listen to as she stood nearby with hands over her ears.

"Hearing my teenager's car stereo is one thing," she said. "But this is another."

Sherman said the mix of free activities and attendees make the Rod Run a special event.

"You see young families with their babies, parents with their middle schoolers and grandparents," he said. "I go to 30 or 40 car activities a year and this is pretty unique."

The show continues today from 9 a.m. to midnight.

High Ridaz perform at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., music by Crossfire will be at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Rock Bottom from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The Miss Hot Rod 2010 Contest starts at 9 p.m.