With speakers blaring music and headlights polished, flashy cars and sleek motorcycles filled the entire Mira Mesa Market Center lot, Nov. 10. Partnered with Insomnia Cruises and BB6, Car Club president Sohom Das (12), treasurer Nick Speir (11), and several other executive board members had only two weeks to plan this event. They knew their meticulous work would create a monumental milestone for the club.
“The reason [meets] are really important for us is [that] they help get the word out there that we have a club for cars and that we’re actively doing things,” Speir said. “It also helps build a sense of community with our members, and helps get everyone tightly knit. It’s just a bunch of guys and girls who want to have fun with their cars.”
Das said that he hopes Car Club and its events can be used to connect seasoned car enthusiasts and curious newcomers alike.
“I think [the club]’s important for people who otherwise have an unrealized passion,” he said. “We help people realize their passion about cars or help grow one, and we help them connect with other people who share the same passion.”
Das said to get the club’s show on the road, they have been holding more consistent meetings and utilizing bolder publicity, exemplified by the cars that lined the quad on Oct. 29, in which friends of the club members lent their vehicles for a morning and lunchtime display.
“Originally, we were planning on having two or three, but then we kept adding on cars because people were interested and [the exhibition] just grew and grew to the point where we had eight cars in the quad,” Speir said. “Overall, it was a success, and everybody seemed to enjoy the cars and just have a good time. We gained about 30 members from it.”
Since the club’s establishment two years ago, new members have been welcomed with open arms. For publicist Haniel Mikhaiel (12), the friendly attitudes of the members is one of the main draws of the club.
“It’s a really friendly and open community,” he said. “Anyone can join whether or not you have cars and whether or not you’re into cars. Our club is really big — we’re growing really quickly — and it’s really nice seeing everyone join.”
This year, new members make up a majority of the club, which the executives said gives the teaching aspect of meets a new feel.
“[Having new members] is different because they don’t necessarily understand the terms you’re throwing out there,” Speir said. “You have to kind of teach them about the car as you’re going along so they can still understand and keep up with [the club’s] chats.”
In addition to pacing the club differently, these new members also pose a challenge to scheduling.
“For activities that we provide, [members] have to have their own resources to participate, and many of [the new members] don’t,” executive Aarush Naikk (11) said. “But people who want to participate, participate. We try to keep [meets] local [in case] they don’t have transportation to get there and back, and we try to include as many people as we can.”
The club holds their meetings during lunch every other Tuesday where members play car-trivia games and learn new facts about the history and mechanics of different cars. Speir said that through these meetings, he hopes to give students the knowledge needed to implement new, hands-on experiences to enrich their time in high school.
“With everything going digital nowadays, it’s hard to find people who want to get their hands dirty and do work, and we want to bring that back in a sense,” Speir said. “We’ll teach you how to work on [your cars] as a way to educate you on how to actually do things with your hands.”
Speir said the club aims to maintain a safe and collaborative space to help members feel the sense of camaraderie that defines the car-enthusiast community.
“[Being in the club] has brought me a close group of friends whom I can turn to almost any hour to get help with my car or just for a general chat,” Speir said. “It’s just a great, tightly knit community here.”
