Cars

She drives a 2002 Honda and drove a Toyota before that, but Sandy Norris’ heart is set on her 1949 Ford — one of her late husband’s favorite cars. Born in Chicago and raised in Cleveland until she was 12, Norris came to La Crescenta in 1952. She graduated from Glendale High School in 1957 and married her husband in September that year. They were happily married for 42 years; it will be 10 years this August since he died after battling cancer. When they met, she was driving a ’49 Ford and he was driving a ’49 Mercury.

Darleene Barrientos Taste in cars helped retired Glendale Police Capt. Jim Swinford bond with the woman he has been married to for the past 35 years. After meeting his wife, Donna, Swinford offered to drive her to her car. She got into his 1967 Fastback Mustang without saying a word. She didn't have to when he drove up to her 1967 Fastback Mustang. Swinford and his wife both kept their Mustangs and will show hers off this weekend at the 12th annual Cruise Night on Brand Boulevard.

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Amber Willard DOWNTOWN -- Seven cars, including three that were set on fire, were found with their tires slashed in the 400 block of Oak Street. The vandalisms were reported early Friday, about two hours after police responded to a report of loud music coming from an apartment along the street. Only one of the cars received severe fire damage. Firefighters extinguished a fire under a Chevrolet Lumina, whose rear portion was damaged. Officials found a rag hanging from its gas tank.

Alexa Capeloto Glendale will no longer be home to the Blessing of the Cars, the annual hot rod showcase known for providing a Catholic priest to bless classic automobiles. For the past five years the event was held at Verdugo Park, attracting more than 7,000 spectators and 800 cars in 1998. This year, organizers decided to rent Sun Valley's Hanson Dam Park for the July 29 event instead. Organizer Stephanie Baltierra said she and husband Gabriel decided more than a year ago that the event had outgrown Verdugo and needed a bigger space.

Brand Boulevard dealership plans complex as trends in renovation along the main drag continue.DOWNTOWN GLENDALE -- It has the amenities of a five-star hotel: a Starbucks, plasma TVs, free internet access, a boutique, ATM, elevators and enclosed parking. Nothing is spared for the "guests" at Lexus of Glendale, one of several dealerships on the landmark Brand Boulevard of Cars that are investing millions to upgrade their facilities. Lexus completed its new 225,000-square-foot facility at 1221 S. Brand Blvd.

The past was present Saturday during the seventh annual Foothill Festival of Cars at the First Baptist Church of La Crescenta. More than 160 cars that spanned nine generations of automobile ingenuity were spread across the two-tiered parking lot in what organizers said was one of the year’s biggest church fundraisers. Last year, the event pulled in $10,000 — the highest amount since the car show debuted in 2001, volunteer Joan Sapper said. Money was raised through a combination of food and drink sales and the sale of raffle tickets.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Vandals shattered windows on 10 cars parked on city streets over the weekend with what appears to have been shots fired from a BB gun, police said. No injuries were reported in the incidents, but the shooting spree will rack up thousands of dollars in damage, making the crime a felony, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. "It's a pretty serious offense," he said. "It's obviously unnecessary, and it's pretty low that someone would do something like this."

GLENDALE ? Calstar Mercedes-Benz, the 25-year-old dealership of high-end luxury cars on the Brand Boulevard of Cars, announced plans to expand its operations by more than 170,000 square feet, even as the sluggish economy has claimed at least one dealership in Glendale and slowed business at most others. The expansion revelation from Mercedes and city officials this week comes amid increased turbulence for the auto industry but was planned before the current economic downturn. ?

Police arrested three people Saturday morning for allegedly stealing an iPad 2 and other pricey items from a parked car. Nicole Villegas, 26, Bryan Ochoa 18, and Pedro Orozco, 18, of Altadena were charged with burglary and taken to Glendale City Jail, said Sgt. Daniel Suttles, of the Glendale Police Dept. The incident that led to the arrests unfolded at around 4:15 a.m., when a neighbor spotted two men breaking into a two-door Scion parked on the 3600 block of Figueroa Street in Glendale.

Glendale officials today opened the registration period for car enthusiasts who want their vehicles -- made in 1979 or earlier -- to have a spot on Brand Boulevard for Cruise Night. The event on July 21 is expected to showcase roughly 400 vehicles, but the slots fill quickly, according to a announcement from the city today. Those who want to enter their vehicles may submit their registration online via www.ci.glendale.ca.us/CruiseNight2012.asp or by calling (818) 548-4860 with questions.

Cruise Night - the annual event in which hotrods and custom and classic cars take over downtown Glendale - will be scaled back this summer after officials this week decided to more than halve the event's budget. The $103,000 required to stage the massively popular regional event has in past been paid for with redevelopment funds. But with Glendale's redevelopment agency dissolved by a state mandate, the city will now have to dip into its tight General Fund to cover a smaller $42,840 show.

Brotherly love has turned sour between two siblings after police said one of them fraudulently obtained credit cards, established a bank account and bought a new car under the other's identity. Glendale police were alerted to the identity theft two weeks ago when an Allen Gwyn Chevrolet employee advised Christopher Higa, 24, to return a new 2012 Chevy Malibu that he purchased using the identity of his 21-year-old brother, Nicholas Higa, according to Glendale police reports. Employees at the Brand Boulevard dealership spotted the bogus purchase when they ran a credit report on Nicholas Higa and discovered a fraud alert warning.

Fiat's recent move onto the Brand Boulevard of Cars has proven to be popular with potential new-car buyers and with enthusiasts of the storied Italian brand, according to representatives for the dealership - and the building's new exterior isn't even complete. The interior of the 8,400-square-foot dealership was completed about five weeks ago, said Joe Paine, general manager of Glendale Dodge Chrysler Jeep, which owns the Fiat franchise. Fiat enthusiasts began showing up immediately, he added.

A 45-year-old San Pedro woman was killed Sunday after the stalled car she was in was rear - ended by another vehicle on the Glendale (2) Freeway , officials said. The woman, Teresa Rodriguez, was pronounced dead about 1:34 p.m. at the scene of the crash, which was just north of Mountain Street, according to the California Highway Patrol. “This is a bad area,” said Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Greg Godfrey. “We have multiple [traffic collisions]

Police arrested four men suspected of burglary Tuesday after the men led officers on a brief car chase and then fled on foot into a West Glendale neighborhood, putting the area on lockdown for several hours. Officers from the Special Enforcement Detail spotted the men running out of a home and getting into a vehicle just after 11:40 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Everett Street in the Rossmoyne district. The driver refused to pull over, prompting a brief car chase on the Ventura (134)

Burbank police arrested a 76-year-old man early Thursday morning for allegedly firing off two shots in an attempt to scare off two men who were on his property in search a vehicle for reposession. Konstanin Abramian was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon about 12:30 a.m. in the in the 3300 block of Lismore Lane after allegedly admitting to police that he fired two rounds toward the ground to scare the men off the property. The car they were searching for was at the location, police said.

Two women reported Tuesday that a motorist rolled his vehicle window down and began masturbating as he drove pass them, police said. The women, who were both 23, were walking for exercise about 8:38 p.m. on Kenneth Road near Merriman Drive when a white, four-door, 2002 Toyota Camry pulled up and stopped at a curb, according to Glendale police reports. The driver of the Camry rolled down the passenger side window as they were walking by it, and one of the girls looked inside the Camry and saw the motorist masturbating, prompting her to yell, according to reports.