Jacksonville Car Culture events calendar

Caffeine and Octane

Caffeine and Octane Jacksonville embarks on its second year under that epic moniker from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday August 13, at The Avenues mall’s Southside Boulevard parking lots.

An estimated 1,000-plus cars, trucks, motorcycles and more come to the all-makes, all-models free show, with all parking spots first come/first serve. Cars should start arriving by 7 a.m. each Saturday to the Southside Boulevard side of the shopping mall, the best way in through Malabar Boulevard. As always, there will be a Porsche section, and an exotics area at the August C&O. And look for literally hundreds of vintage and classic cars, muscle cars and so much more.

Official Caffeine and Octane merchandise is on sale at all Caffeine and Octane Jacksonville events.

Gentle reminder – All vehicles parked in the Central Lot must remain in place until the show concludes at 11 a.m. Please Park in the Exhibit Lot if you need to leave prior to 11 a.m. Those parking in the Exotics Lot and the Porsche Corner are free to arrive and leave at any time!

Benefit motorcycle ride:

A police-escorted Hometown Hero’s Ride will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday starting and ending at Adamec Harley-Davidson of St. Augustine at 380 Outlet Mall Blvd. Registration is from 8:30 to 10 a.m., $25 per bike; the first 300 registered bikes include a ride t-shirt. The ride benefits Builders Care, a faith-based nonprofit of Northeast Florida Builders Association, to fund the construction needs of local first responders and military vets. The ride will honor retired Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Motorman Lonnie Mills, recently paralyzed from the waist down when he was rear-ended in a March 10 accident. Food trucks, vendors, live music and raffles will also be on-site, but no vehicles like Slingshots or T-REX can ride.

Now the car shows:

Cypress Village Classic Car Show: 9 a.m. to noon this Friday at the Cypress Village retirement village at 4600 Middleton Park Circle E, behind Mayo Clinic off San Pablo Road. All classic car, motorcycle and hot rod owners can show off their ride. If interested, reach out to Community Life Director Lisa Drew at (904) 807-6114 or DrewLisa@cypressvillageretirement.com.

Nassau Moose Riders Dreams Come True Rocking Car and Bike Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Nassau Moose Lodge at 850062 U.S. 17 N. in Yulee. Free for spectators and $20 per pre-1989 show vehicle and all years of motorcycles. Proceeds benefit Dreams Come True.

Staker Productions X Autobahn: 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, July 29, at Autobahn Indoor Speedway & Events, 6601 Executive Park Court N. off Philips Highway north of Butler Boulevard. Staker Productions partners with Autobahn for a monthly (last Friday of each month) car and truck meet at the electric go kart racing and axe throwing venue, with discounts at its restaurant.

Touch-A-Truck: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 30, at the Clay County Fairgrounds at 2497 Florida 16 in Green Cove Springs. Local and county work vehicles and trucks will be on display. Quiet time is 9 to 11 a.m., then lights and sirens sound off until 2 p.m. Free for spectators.

Exchange Club of Jacksonville’s Family Center Car Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20, at St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church at 12760 Beach Blvd. Free for spectators and $25 day of show for display vehicles.

7th Annual Freedom Fest Car Show: 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, September 10, outside the JCPenney at the Orange Park Mall at 1910 Wells Road. This year presents the Truck and Off-Road Edition, although show vehicles of al kinds are invited. The show highlights the service that firefighters, police officers, active duty, reserves armed forces, and first responders provide. Free to spectators, registration is $25 in advance and $35 day of show here.

Best Of the Nest Car Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 17, at Yulee High School, 85375 Miner Road. The Yulee High School Cheerleaders and Amelia Island Cruisers present the show to benefit the YHS Cheer program.

Car Truck and Motorcycle Show: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, at American Legion Post 401 at 37405 Henry Smith Road in Hilliard. Free for spectators and $20 registration for show vehicles. Callahan Cruisers proceeds benefit the building find for American Legion Post 401.

38^th annual Ancient City Auto Club Show: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Classic Car Museum of St. Augustineat 4730 U.S. 1 S./Dixie Highway South in St Augustine. Free to spectators and $25 day of show for display vehicles.

The FIRM (Florida International Rally and Moto Park): Open Track Days held most weekends at the road course and rally course at 7266 Airport Road in Starke.

All the Cruise-ins

First Coast Car Council, Clay County Cruzers, Callahan Cruisers and Amelia Cruizers all hold regular weekend cruise-ins, so check their Facebook pages.

Caffeine and Octane Jacksonville: 8 to 11 a.m. every second Saturday at The Avenues Mall at 10300 Southside Blvd. Information: https://bit.ly/3gPRvVQ.

First Coast Car Council: The second Saturday cruise-in is from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Medical & Merchants Center of Mandarin, 11701 San Jose Blvd.

The Part’s House/The Brothers Banter Podcast Cruise-in: The renamed White Brothers Auto Parts Cruise-in at the same time – 5 to 8 p.m. every second Friday at 405 Lane Ave. N.

Callahan Cruisers: 5 to 8 p.m. every second Saturday at Hardee’s at 542309 U.S. 1 in Callahan.

Auto Legends Amelia Cars and Coffee: 9 a.m. to noon every second Saturday at Mocama Beer Company, 629 S. 8th St. in Fernandina Beach.

Johnny Angels: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. every third Friday at Johnny Angels diner at 3546 St. Johns Bluff Road S.

Returned cruise-in: Jax Beach Classic Car Cruise: 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Latham Plaza, 11 Ocean Front N. in Jacksonville Beach. Thanks to the support of the City of Jacksonville Beach, the Sea Walk Pavilion and Latham Plaza (across from the Pavilion between 1st and 2nd St on the corner of 2nd Ave. North can be used to showcase pre-registered cars.

Cruise Fruit Cove: 3 to 7 p.m. every third Saturday at the PDQ at 194 Florida 13 in Saint Johns, just south of Julington Creek.

Amelia Cruizers: 3 to 6 p.m. every third Saturday at Cold Stone Creamery, 808 Sadler Road, Fernandina Beach.

Yulee Cars and Coffee: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every third Sunday at the Sonic Drive-In at 463939 Florida 200 in Yulee.

Clay County Cruzers’ events: 3 to 6 p.m. every first Saturday at Big Dawg Sports Restaurant, 1330 Blanding Blvd. The Cruzers’ other events: At 3 to 6 p.m. on the second Saturday, the cruise-in returns to Dick’s Wings Fleming Island at 1803 E. West Parkway; 5 p.m. every third Friday at Freddy’s Steakburgers at 386 Blanding Blvd.; and 2 to 5 p.m. every fourth Saturday at Gator’s Dockside Oakleaf, 316 Merchants Way, Jacksonville.

Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine monthly cruise-ins: St. Augustine Cruiser’s “Cruise In” from 5 to 7 p.m. every third Saturday, and Cars and Coffee from 8 to 10 a.m. every fourth Saturday, both at 4730 U.S. 1 S./Dixie Highway South in St Augustine.

Cars and Coffee Fleming Island: 8 a.m. every fourth Sunday of the month at 2310 Village Square Parkway, Fleming Island.

New cruise-in: 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, and every third Saturday at Hardee’s at 6852 Wilson Blvd.

New cruise-in: 6 p.m. every fourth Saturday at Mission BBQ, 8440 Blanding Blvd. in Jacksonville, hosted by Modern Mustangs of Jacksonville.

New cruise-in: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every fourth Saturday at the Rockin’ 50’s Eatery at 3501 N. Ponce De Leon Blvd. in St. Augustine.

New cruise-in: Custard Cruise-in from 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 5, at Culver’s, 3433 U.S. 1 in St. Augustine.

Show and Tell, 6 to 9 p.m. every fourth Thursday at Advance Auto Parts at 10014 Atlantic Blvd.

Historic Springfield Main Street Cruise: 4 p.m. every fourth Saturday between 8th and 17th streets at Main Street in Jacksonville’s Springfield community.

North Florida Domestic Car Club’s new cruise-in: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each first Saturday of the month at the PDQ at 4816 Gate Parkway.

And finally…

Images courtesy of Aston Martin

Aston Martin, England’s 109-year-old creator of some of the world’s most iconic sports cars and grand tourers, including those of Sir James Bond, are making a change to its iconic winged emblem as it takes flight “into an intense new era,” it says.

Along with a new “Intensity. Driven” creative identity and borne on new models such as DBX707, V12 Vantage and the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar, the company’s strategic repositioning is the largest investment in Aston Martin’s brand for more than a decade, it said. It also “strengthens its position at the pinnacle of the performance ultra-luxury segment” as it builds on Aston Martin’s growing appeal to a wider, affluent global audience, it said. Hence the subtle change in its winged logo, created in collaboration with British art director and graphic designer Peter Saville.

In physical form, the new wings design is handcrafted by artisans in Birmingham’s jewelry quarter, planted first on Aston Martin’s next generation of sports cars. It is the first major update to the marque since 2003 and only the eighth time in Aston Martin’s history that it has been significantly adjusted. And this weekend, the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One team will proudly feature the new wings on its livery for the French Grand Prix.

Celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the brand’s first Grand Prix entry, Aston Martin will symbolically race with its original button logo on the nose of its cars, mirroring the marque featured on its first Grand Prix entries in 1922.

But in case you don’t know what the current logo looks like, here it is adorning the steering wheel of the DBX SUV.

 Images courtesy of Aston Martin

Aston Martin also released a short film in association with the logo news, featuring all five of its current high-performance production models.

As for the new wings, Saville said they are “a classic example of the necessary evolution of logotypes of provenance.”

“Subtle but necessary enhancements not only keep forms fresh, but allow for new technologies, situations and applications to be accommodated in the future,” he said. “The process was one of clarifying and emphasizing the key feature of the Aston Martin marque.”

Meanwhile, Hyundai’s high-performance N sub-brand has revealed two new EV sports car concepts, N Vision 74 (left) and RN22e, “rolling lab” concepts as inspirational examples of its electrification vision.

RN22e melds the new IONIQ 6 and company’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E‑GMP), while N Vision 74 combines EV technology with an advanced hydrogen fuel cell system, making it Hyundai N’s first hydrogen hybrid rolling lab to explore “driving fun” in the electrification era.

“RN22e and N Vision 74 play an important role in the strategic development of our entire product lineup, especially our electrified, high-performance vehicles,” Hyundai executive VP Thomas Schemera said. “Rolling labs represent the continuous development of our most advanced technologies. This unique approach makes us ready for the challenges of the future by empowering us to push ourselves to the limit.”

If N Vision 74 looks vaguely familiar, that is because it pays an homage to the Hyundai Pony Coupe concept from 1974, developed by the legendary car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. The concept was then built into prototypes for Hyundai’s first production sports car.

Both RN22e and N Vision 74 will continue to be tested and verified by Hyundai’s engineers, so future N road cars can be equipped with their advanced technologies.

JDM fans will recognize the name as that of a mostly Japanese market Toyota that’s been around since the mid-1950s, and briefly graced a sleek early 1970’s coupe sold in the U.S. Now Toyota has introduced the latest Crown as a reimagined full-size sedan with vaguely crossover tones.

The new Crown will offer two different hybrid powertrains: Hybrid Max, or the fourth generation Toyota Hybrid System.

Hybrid Max, exclusive to the Platinum grade, is Toyota’s new performance hybrid with an estimated 340 net horsepower. Paired with a 2.4-liter turbocharged engine and a direct shift 6-speed automatic transmission, Hybrid Max produces powerful torque at low rpm, paired with a new high-output bipolar nickel-metal hydride battery for a manufacturer-estimated 38 mpg combined city/highway rating.

The Crown comes on a new chassis, and is almost four inches taller than Camry to offer “increased road visibility, along with easy entry and exit,” Toyota says.

The Toyota Crown should hit U.S. streets later this year.

And a reminder, An Evening with Brumos is a social gathering set for 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5, at The Brumos Collection at 5959 San Pablo Road S. in Jacksonville:

Jacksonville’s only automobile museum has cars from the Brumos Racing team’s past, plus historic Indy racers and classics in a 35,000-square-foot museum guarded by a big orange Union 76 ball once used by spotters at Daytona International Speedway. The brick building’s design hearkens back to the 1920s Ford Model A plant under the Mathews Bridge.

Tickets are $29.59 each, and include to the collection and a workshop open house with technical staff available for questions, as well as two drink tickets per guest for brews from Intuition Ale Works, wine, soft drinks or water.

The event is for guests 21 and older, IDs needed for alcohol consumption. No drinks are available beyond the two complimentary drinks.

Tickets for the Brumos evening event, as well as the museum itself, can be found here.

N Vision 74 inherited the pure surface, the dynamic proportioned profile and the unique B pillar from the 1974 Pony Coupe concept. Hyundai’s design heritage meets the electrification era with high performance to shape N Vision 74. In addition, Parametric Pixel lighting provides a futuristic flourish.