UNLV Car Club welcomes enthusiasts with open arms
With the 2023 Fall semester underway, the UNLV Car Club continues to gain more members.
Seth Matteson’s, UNLV Car Club president, club banner on his 2007 Saturn Ion.
Photo by Ian Cruz
The UNLV Car Club seeks members who love all things cars. From coupe to dually, the club creates an environment of friendship and community with a common interest of the automotive industry. From long-time car enthusiasts, and UNLV Alumni, to newcomers, the UNLV Car Club welcomes all to discuss, hang out, and collaborate with members of the community who carry the same passion. They collaborate with Team Tekito, Acura Las Vegas, Speed Tribe Sakura, and more. These are clubs and organizations in town that have similar goals of bringing the community together.
Clubs have pros and cons associated with them. Jed Basilio, a 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe owner and an ex-Team Tekito member, said he believes some car clubs are better for the community than others.
Jed Basilio and his 1965 Mustang Coupe.
Photo by Ian Cruz
“I wouldn’t change a lot about clubs, it’s just a compatibility thing sometimes,” Basilio said. “Whenever I go to events with cars, I find myself interacting with more cars than people, unless they’re cool. A lot of people are there to hang out, so going there and enjoying the cars only kind of speaks to that. There are nice people, and there are other personalities that I don’t necessarily get along with. If there was more involvement with the UNLV Car Club with other bigger clubs in the community, I think I’d be more interested. But for now, I’m just going to focus on school. I’m a student, so for the time being I’m focusing on that and don’t really have time for anything that would take a lot of my time.
For UNLV students, a common theme lies in going to class and going home right after. In terms of campus life, UNLV does not have the most vibrant experience. The feeling of hesitation for joining clubs is one UNLV students all relate to in some capacity. Not to say that all clubs in the Free Speech section are bad, but every student has experienced receiving a fake dollar bill that they will end up throwing away on their way to class. Although engagement fairs and tabling have proven to be successful, there are most students who do not get involved because they want to focus on school as much as they can, or just do not want to get involved at all.
For Basilio, working on his car and driving is a hobby in every sense. His Mustang is his secondary car, so he gets to work on things without the stringent deadline of having to go to work the next day. Therefore, any activity, club, or meet must revolve around his schedule and whenever he wants to do such activities. He mentioned that some clubs have mandatory events and meets, and for him, those kinds of things just do not align with his schedule most of the time. As a biology major who wants to become a doctor in the future, he is trying to be as efficient with his time, while maintaining the fun of owning a cool car.
The point of car clubs is to get people together who have that common interest. They used to be, and still are to some capacity, exclusive and limited in their member selection. To this day, there are clubs that try to recreate their favorite eras of other vehicle clubs. Specifically in Vegas, Team Honda has a roster comprised primarily of Honda vehicles, serving as a beacon for all Honda owners who want to get together and go to meets with other fellow Hondas. The variety of cars ranges from 1990’s Integras to newer 2010’s-2020’s model Civic Hatchbacks.
During the 90’s in Japan where JDM cars reigned supreme, Touge (Mountain) Racers all had similar cars and shared this common interest. In America, where the market is extremely mixed, there are clubs now that even have Prius’ and Mustangs rubbing shoulders with one another. This tale is certainly true for the UNLV Car Club, as their members and cars are widely mixed.
First-time UNLV Car Club member and 2019 Hyundai Veloster owner, Gabriel Esguerra, shines a light on the first-time experience, specifically in the UNLV Car Club.
Gabriel Esguerra and his 2019 Hyundai Veloster
Photo by Ian Cruz
“I joined the club a couple of weeks into the semester and have enjoyed the experience so far,” Esguerra said. “The community is nice and they’re pretty active on the Discord server and Instagram group chat. I guess I would say the biggest con is that my phone gets blown up, but that’s not really a con. I’ve been pretty busy and I work full-time, so I’ve only been to one Yard House dinner that the club did. But overall, the club members that were there were really nice. The car community in general can be pretty toxic, and there are memes and jokes out there that are funnier than others. A funny stereotype I get about my car is that KDM (Korean Domestic Market) owners all listen to K-Pop, even though my plate says K-Pop it isn’t necessarily true. In general, people who are into cars are usually pretty cool.”
Esguerra has been a part of the car community in Las Vegas since COVID-19 started in 2020. He joined a car crew back then and loved the opportunity to meet interesting people with cool cars. At first, he just wanted to be alone, but now he loves being a part of the community and exploring the variety Las Vegas has to offer.
However, the car community in Las Vegas is not perfect, and he would change how tribal the clubs tend to get. Cliques such as JDM and Domestic (American) tend to stick to each other, and he does not want to see that. There was an experience he had where the advertised meet was supposed to be JDM only. A C8 Corvette pulled up to the meet and wanted to park near the other cars. They were there to enjoy the meet as well and did not want to get in the way at all, but they were asked to leave. Esguerra stated these sorts of things are very uncommon in Vegas, but he has seen different examples on YouTube of this sort of thing happening elsewhere. The Las Vegas car community is small, but it connects to car communities worldwide as car people are car people, no matter what engine, body type, or market they are in.
“Just join a club, it’s fun,” Basilio said. “Some will like it, others won’t, but above all it’s fun.”
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Related Stories:
Benjamin Moore, “Student Submission: UNLV Car Club Races onto the scene,” The Scarlet & Gray Free Press, Nov. 30, 2022.
Alan Hunt, “Carolina Cars club brings together UNC’s car enthusiasts,” The Daily Tar Heel, November 21, 2021.
Glynn Williams, “What is a car club or car sharing?” Business Motoring, June 11, 2021.
Korky Hickman, “A Brief History Of Car Clubs And Their Effect On Auto Culture,” Street Muscle Magazine, Feb. 16, 2014.
