cruising the gut

Same as Cruisin' the Gut, though it wasn't limited to Appleton, Wisconsin. In the 1960s, teenagers in Battle Creek, Michigan, would "cruise the gut" or "go cruising the gut." They'd load their car with friends and drive slowly along Michigan Avenue, the main downtown shopping street on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the spring, summer, and fall.

As in Appleton, cruising the gut was primarily social, a chance to show off your car and how cool you were...and to eye everyone else, too.

These days, classic car collectors seem to have taken over the term. There's an annual "Cruise the Gut" event in Battle Creek, and a larger "Cruising the Gut" classic car show in Vancouver, Washington. Another regional variant is "Dragging the Gut," as celebrated in McMinnville, Oregon.