Jacksonville Car Culture events calendar
The next Caffeine &Octane is set for 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 at The Avenues mall at 10300 Southside Blvd.
But here’s just a hint of the sculpted metal that rolled and rumbled into last Saturday’s packed event at The Avenues:
Gentle reminders – All vehicles parked in the Central Lot must remain in place until the show concludes. If you cannot stay until then, please park in the exhibit lot. 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.
Recent events:
Callahan Cruisers’ Saturday cruise-in at Hardee’s in Callahan was a memorial to Tom Poleski, and a packed crowd of cars and gearheads raised more than $4,000 to help the late Callahan Cruisers member’s family.
And VFW Post 10095 at 37965 Eastwood Road in Hilliard is raffling off this T-bucket
And….
Cars at the Bar – Sunshine State Chevelles’ third Monday of the month cruise-in at 1937 Spirits and Eatery, 1842 Kings Ave in the San Marco area.
Upcoming events:
Fifth annual Car Show: 8 a.m. Saturday at Suwanee County Coliseum, 1302 11th St. in Live Oak.
Advance Auto Parts Show ‘n Tell: 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at 10014 Atlantic Blvd.
Hot Rods and Harleys: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3rd, at Adamec Harley-Davidson at 380 Mall Outlet Blvd. in St. Augustine. Free for spectators and $30 for vehicle registration.
Frank. H. Petersen Academies Showcase Car and Truck Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at the school at 7450 Wilson Blvd. Free for spectators and $25 for vehicle registration.
Benefit Car and Truck Show: 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at Jordan’s Auto, 10844 County Road 224 in Glen St. Mary, Fl. Free for spectators and $25 per show vehicle.
Cars of Purpose Rev Out Cancer Car Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at Calvary Assembly of God, 9 Knight Boxx Road, Orange Park. Free for spectators and $25 per show vehicle.
Seventh annual Pedro Menendez High School Athletic Booster Club Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday Feb. 17, at the Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine, 4730 U.S. 1 S./Dixie Highway South in St Augustine. Free for spectators and $20 day of show for display vehicles.
Second annual Nease NJROTC Classic and Exotic Car Show: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at the high school at 10550 Ray Road, off U.S. 1 in St. Johns County. Spectators free, and show vehicles $25 day of show.
12th annual Kruisin4Kids Car Show and burnout competition: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Dinsmore Baptist Church at 10500 Old Kings Road.
Strawberry Festival Car Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 24 and 25, at the Suwanee Count Fairgrounds, 1302 11th St. SW in Live Oak. This is a 2-day car show, free to spectators and $40 for show vehicles for both days – Sunday is a judged show; held by Florida Misfits Association and Mopar Muscle of North Florida.
Troop 77 Car Show: 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 9, at Old Plank Road Baptist Church, 8964 Old Plank Road. Free for spectators and $20 per show vehicle.
Town of Hilliard Car Show: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at 15859 West County Road 108. Free for spectators and $20 for vehicle registration.
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…
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.
***New cruise in: Abandoned Treasures: 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, at Abandoned Treasures at 7358 Florida 21 in Keystone Heights. Featuring Beau and the Burners for live music.
Sunshine State Chevelles: 4 to 7 p.m. every third Monday of each month at 1937 Spirits and Eatery, 1842 Kings Ave in the San Marco area.
Pharaohs of St. Johns NEW cruise-in: 2 to 5 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month at Adamec Harley-Davidson at 380 Outlet Mall Blvd. in St. Augustine.
Saturday Morning Cruise-and-Chill: 9 a.m. to noon every third Saturday at Big Boy Airbrush in a neighborhood at 7822 Fox Tail Lane.
Caffeine and Gasoline: 8 to 11 a.m. each first Saturday of the month at J-Tech Institute at 8813 Western Way in Jacksonville. House rules – “respect the property.” And J-Tech will be holding events to coincide with C & G with staff on site to give tours of the campus.
North Florida Domestic Car Club’s cruise-in: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each first Saturday of the month at the Crossroad Church UMC, 10005 Gate Parkway.
Wings & Wheels Cruise-in: 2 to 6 pm. each first Saturday at Dicks Wings & Grill at 6055 Youngerman Circle.
Rides and Coffee: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every fourth Sunday at Detail Garage, 9390 Arlington Expressway.
First Coast Car Council: All cruise-ins postponed.
Callahan Cruisers: 4 to 7 p.m. every second Saturday at Hardee’s at 542309 U.S. 1 in Callahan. The next cruise-in is a memorial to Tom Poleski, and a fundraiser for the late Callahan Cruisers member’s family.
Downtown Kingsland Cars & Coffee: 9 a.m. to noon each second Saturday at the Historic Downtown Kingsland Homegrown Market at U.S. 17 and Georgia 40.
Cruise Fruit Cove: The Sunshine State Chevelles’ cruise-in hours are 1 to 5 p.m. (winter hours) every third Saturday at the PDQ at 194 Florida 13 in Saint Johns, just south of Julington Creek.
New cruise-in: 1 p.m. every third Saturday at Hardee’s at 6852 Wilson Blvd.
Amelia Cruizers: 3 to 6 p.m. every third Saturday at Cold Stone Creamery, 808 Sadler Road, Fernandina Beach. The Amelia Cruizers Car Club will stage a cruise to the ice cream store, staging at 2 p.m. in the parking lot next to the closed Krystal’s (2020 Sadler Road), then make an informal parade along the ocean and on Centre Street through downtown to end at Cold Stone.
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.; 3 to 6 p.m. every second Saturday at Dick’s Wings Fleming Island at 1803 E. West Parkway; New – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every third Saturday at Mr. Chubby’s Wings at 2349 Village Square Parkway in Fleming Island; 5 p.m. every third Friday at Hooter’s/Miller’s Ale House at 1756 Well’s Road – replaces Freddy’s; 3 to 6 p.m. every third Saturday at the OP Dreamette at 1177 Park Ave. in Orange Park; 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 cruise-ins are 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: 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: Vaughn Motorgroup’s “Cars & Coffee Reunion” is 8 to 11 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month at dealership at 11350 San Jose Blvd. First Come First served on indoor parking.
Show and Tell: 6 to 9 p.m. every fourth Thursday at Advance Auto Parts at 10014 Atlantic Blvd.
Azalea City Cruisers: Monthly cruise-in from 5 to 8 p.m. every fourth Saturday at Velchoffs Corner, 105 N. 2nd St. in Palatka.
Historic Springfield Main Street Cruise: 4 p.m. every fourth Saturday between 8th and 17th streets at Main Street in Jacksonville’s Springfield community.
And …
Photo courtesy Stellantis
Dodge teased us with some “spy photos” this week of its upcoming Dodge Daytona redesign, showing off what appears to be a near-production version of the sleek-looking coupe set to replace a somewhat aged Challenger sedan. The coupes depicted seem identical to the Charger Daytona SRT concept, Dodge’s social media posting stating only that this was not a final vehicle, and that it will be available later this year.
What’s most interesting is a later image posted after the first round – a rear angle shot that appears to show a coupe without visible exhaust pipes. That just implies that the “Row C” image appears to be that of an electric Daytona, although a gas-engined model is also in the pipeline.
Photo courtesy Stellantis
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance founder Bill Warner (and Jacksonville car guy) has already been named grand marshal for the Sebring SpeedTour, set for Feb. 22 to 25, at Sebring International Raceway.
Now the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix announces Warner as its choice for Grand Marshal of the 2024 Vintage Grand Prix Motorsport Festival, July 25 to Aug. 4. In 2022, Warner assumed the role of Chief Steward of the Rolex Historic Races, showcasing his dedication to preserving automotive history. FYI – he has a new book – The Other Side of the Fence: Six Decades of Motorsport Photography .
The Amelia concours d’elegance returns for its 29th iteration from Feb. 29 to March 3 of 2024. Multi-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and Chairman/CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group, is next year’s honoree – and that will include a special display of vehicles from Hendrick’s collection including the Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that was prepared for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans. Special concours classes include Japanese performance cars of the 90s, Porsche: 911 The Original Owners Club, Cars of Pike’s Peak, Bugatti Type 57 as well as two classes featuring Ferrari 250 Competition and Grand Touring Cars.
Photo courtesy of PCA
Werks Reunion Amelia Island: The Porsche Club of America’s annual event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, March 1, at the Amelia River Club at 4477 Buccaneer Trail in Fernandina Beach. all Porsche clubs, owners, and enthusiasts to the eighth annual Werks Reunion. Expect a display of 500+ Porsches and dozens of vendors. Onsite spectator parking is $40 per vehicle; Porsche Corral display is $114 per car, while the Judged field is $164 per.
Kicking off The Amelia weekend is Classic Motorsports Magazine’s Amelia Island Kickoff presented by Sunoco at Fernandina Beach’s Main Beach Park, set for 1 p.m. on March 1. Spectator entry is free – Vehicle entry price is $45, and all cars must pre-register online – no registrations will be accepted at the show gate. Joining the Classic Motorsports Amelia Island Kickoff, the Concours d’Lemons is free for spectators – registration is just $20.