Jacksonville Car Culture events calendar:
The next Caffeine & Octane Jacksonville is set for 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, at The Avenues mall at 10300 Southside Blvd. For this Saturday, they are celebrating Japanese Sport and GT Cars. Send them a DM if they want your group to be included. Gentle reminders – All vehicles parked in the Central Lot Features area must remain in place until the show concludes. If you cannot stay until then, please park in the exhibit lot.
The C&O crew set up a special memorial to local collector – and wonderful car guy Wellington C. Morton – June 29, 1943 – June 5, 2025:
Now here’s just a peek at last Saturday’s C&O:
Upcoming events:
Jacksonville Sports Car Museum: Open to the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, at 7601 Centurion Parkway. Tickets are $24.92 per person, plus fee and tax, and free for children under 12. Explore 40+ rare & exotic cars including Ferraris, Lamborghinis & Porsches and more. There will be racing sims, Lucky Goat Coffee, and prize giveaways. For tickets and information, scan the QR code above.
Kathleen’s second annual Car Show: 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, at Cracker’s Bar and Lounge at 1241 Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park. Free for spectators and $15 per show vehicle, or $10 and a new toy – proceeds benefit Wolfsons Children’s Hospital.
Southside Business Men’s Club Car Show: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, at the USS Orleck ship museum at 610 E. Bay St. Free for spectators and $25 per show vehicle.
Children’s Miracle Network Car Show: noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, at the Walmart at 1580 Branan Field Road in Middleburg. Free for spectators and $15 per show vehicle.
Walmart Car, Bike and Truck show: 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, at the Walmart at 9218 Florida 228 in MacClenny. Free for spectators and $20 per show vehicle.
Toontown Meet: 8 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, at the Toontown Pickleball and Event Space at 1726 E. Church St.
SummerFest 2k25 Car and Bike Show: noon Saturday July 5 to midnight Sunday, July 6, at St. Johns Fairgrounds.
Morning Motor Social “Night Edition”: 6:30 pm. Saturday July 19, at 100 Palmetto Park Place in Ponte Vedra.
Cruis’N Into Class Car Show: 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Maceo Elks Lodge at 712 West Duval St. in Jacksonville. Free for spectators and $25 for show vehicles – school supplies will be distributed.
Ultimate Car Show, presented by the Town of Hilliard: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6th at 37328 W. First St. Free for spectators and $20 per show vehicle.
True Point Church Cruise-in for Jesus: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at Truth Point Church, 5330 Dunn Ave. Free for spectators and $20 per show vehicle, proceeds to benefit children and youth programs.
R.A.W. Music Festival and S.A.W. Kustomz Cars for a Cause: 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Flamingo Lake RV Resort at 3640 Newcomb Road. Free to spectators and $20 for show vehicles, process benefitting the MS Foundation.
2025 Fall Classic/Pontiac-Oakland-GMC Car Show: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine, 4730 Dixie Highway in St. Augustine. Free for spectators and $25 in advance/$30 day of show for display vehicles. Presented by the Dixie Chapter Pontiac Club.
Cars of Purpose Rev Out Cancer Pink Out Show: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18 and 19, at the Clay County Fairgrounds at 2463 Florida 16 in Green Cove Springs.
29th Annual 8-Flags Car Show: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18 on Centre Street in historic Centre Street in Fernandina Beach. Free for spectators and $30 per show vehicle – advance registration required – no day of show registration. Proceeds go to local organizations.
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: 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. every second Saturday at The Avenues Mall at 10300 Southside Blvd. Information: https://bit.ly/3gPRvVQ.
Morning Motor Social: 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the third Saturday of each month at Park Place at Nocatee, 100 Palmetto Park Place in Ponte Vedra – free for spectators and show vehicles, all makes and models welcome. And Extreme SIM Racing & REViT SIM Racing will bring state-of-the-art racing simulators onsite.
*** Morning Motor Social “Night Edition”: 6:30 pm. Saturday July 19, at 100 Palmetto Park Place in Ponte Vedra.
Cars and Conversations – 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 17th, at The Lakeside at Amelia Island, 649 Amelia Island Parkway, Fernandina Beach – Auto Legends Amelia.
Duval Car, Truck and Bike Meet: noon to 5 p.m. every first Saturday at 10749 N. Main St.
Rides and Brews: 8 to 10 a.m. each first Saturday of each month at 10618 Deerwood Park Blvd. Then at 6 to 9 p.m. each third Saturday of the month, Rides and Brews meets at World of Beers Bar and Kitchen at 5105 Butler Blvd. Both are held for car clubs and vehicles, organized by vehicle style, by the North Florida Type R/Type S community.
Mod Talk Tuesdays: 5 p.m. every first Tuesday at Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant at 10915 Baymeadows Road. For car, truck and bike enthusiasts.
Players Grille Mandarin at 10140 San Jose Blvd., 4 to 7 p.m. every third Wednesday.
Cruise-in at the Creek: 9 a.m. to noon every fifth Saturday at Trout Creek Park, 6550 Florida 13 N.
New – Fernandina Beach Car Meet: 6 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month at Famous Quick Lube, 1707 8th St. Fernandina Beach.
Duval Car, Truck and Bike meet: Free cruise-in from noon to 5 p.m. each 1st and 3rd Saturday at the shopping center at 3000 Dunn Ave.
Orange Blossom Breakfast Show: 8 to 11 a.m. every third Saturday at Orange Blossom Diner at 14329 Beach Blvd., presented by Beaches Classic Cruisers and Carl Bush.
Amelia Cruizers: 3 to 5 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month, now at Townies Pizza, 819 T.J. Courson Road.
Jax Beach Classic Car Cruise: 4 to 7 p.m. every fourth Tuesday at Latham Plaza, 143 2nd St. N. in Jacksonville Beach. This is a City of Jacksonville Beach sponsored event. Park on the walkway at Latham Plaza.
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.”
North Florida Domestic Car Club’s cruise-in: Changed to 5 to 8 p.m. on each first Saturday of the month at Culhane’s Irish Pub, 9720 Deer Lake Court off Southside Boulevard. Postponed this Saturday.
** On hold for the summer – Cruisin’ Classics Cruise-in: 1 to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month on the back lawn of the Elks Lodge at 1855 West Road, off Beach Boulevard – Hamburgers and more on sale.
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.
Callahan Cruisers: 4 to 7 p.m. every second Saturday at Hardee’s at 542309 U.S. 1 in Callahan. The next cruise-in – Sat. Aug. 10 – is the event’s 10th anniversary.
Downtown Kingsland Cars & Coffee: New summer hours – 8 to 11 a.m. 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 12 to 4 p.m. 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.
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.
Brunch with Cars: noon to 3 p.m. every third Sunday at Pink Salt Restaurant and Wine Bar, 1567 University Blvd. W.
Cars and Gars: noon to 5 p.m. every 1st and third Saturday at Allusion’s restaurant and bar at 5045 Soutel Drive.
Jeremiah’s Italian Ice cruise-in: noon to 3 p.m. every fourth Saturday at the business at 18111 Golden Eagle Way on Fleming Island.
Apex Auto Car Show and Cruise-in: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every third Saturday of the month at Apex Automotive, 9962 San Jose Blvd.
Cars, Bikes and Burgers: 7:30 to 11 p.m. every last Friday of each month at Steak ‘n Shake at 10661 San Jose Blvd.
Clay County Cruzers’ events: 2 to 5 p.m. every first Saturday at Big Dawg Sports Restaurant, 1330 Blanding Blvd.; 2 to 5 p.m. every second Saturday – Woody’s barbecue, 2452 Stoney Glen Drive in Fleming Island; 2 to 5 p.m. every third Saturday at Callahan’s Irish Bistro, 2141 Loch Rane Blvd. in Orange Park; and 2 to 5 p.m. every fourth Saturday at Gator’s Dockside, 8316 Merchants Way, Jacksonville.
Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine events:
The regular 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. And the museum is open Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
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.
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.
Wait, there’s more…
Here it is – THE most powerful production Chevrolet Corvette ever – Otherworldly power and impressive traction from what the company calls America’s hypercar – the ZR1X.
It starts with the ZR1’s LT7 V8, generating more power than any other V-8 produced by an American auto manufacturer — 1,064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft of torque, sent to the rear wheels through an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. With a forged flat-plane crankshaft, finger-follower valvetrain, and dry-sump lubrication, this hand-built 5.5-liter Gemini small-block V8 was developed alongside the naturally aspirated flat-plane crankshaft engines powering the Corvette Z06 and Z06 GT3.R race car. “From day one, we designed the mid-engine Corvette architecture with ZR1X in mind,” said General Motors senior VP Ken Morris. “This is the most revolutionary platform in Corvette history, supporting the widest range of American sports cars3 and delivering world-class performance at every level.”
This V-8 includes dual 76-mm turbochargers, a “maniturbo” exhaust design that combines the manifold and turbocharger housing to get the turbos as close to the exhaust valves as possible, improving throttle response by decreasing time needed to build boost; and dynamic anti-lag controls that maintain turbo speed when off-throttle in certain situations so boost is available rapidly when throttle is reapplied.
The Corvette team added all-wheel drive capability, seen first in 2024 by E-Ray, the first-ever AWD Corvette.
ZR1X’s battery pack, located low and centralized within the rigid spine of the chassis, was designed specifically to rapidly cycle between applying bursts of power and charging. While the battery capacity is 1.9 kWh like E-Ray, the usable energy has grown to provide greater lapping capability. This improvement raises the peak operating voltage, which increases the power output from the front drive unit. The compact electric motor on the front axle is capable of 186 hp and 145 lb-ft of torque on demand. While retaining the same shape and size of the E-Ray front drive unit, the ZR1X unit pairs strengthened internal components and improvements in energy deployment to generate an additional 26 hp and 20 lb-ft of torque. The front axle is engaged and can apply power through 160 mph before disconnecting, directly benefitting ZR1X’s quarter-mile acceleration stats and on-track balance.
Engaging the Charge+ button adjusts the battery’s energy storage strategy for extended lapping and consistent eAWD output for a full tank of fuel. And there’s Push-to-Pass – Max available power on-demand.
The J59 braking package, standard on ZR1X and an option on ZR1, is a clean-sheet design intended for superior heat resistance and ultra-responsive braking. Alcon 10-piston front and 6-piston rear calipers are mated to 16.5-inch front and rear rotors — the largest diameter rotors ever offered on Corvette. The rotors are carbon ceramic, constructed with continuously woven carbon fiber threads.
“This is the most resilient production car braking system we’ve tested within GM,” the Chevrolet news release says. “And during testing, we saw J59-equipped Corvettes achieve 1.9G of deceleration from 180 to 120 mph.”
Customers can equip the high-downforce Carbon Aero package to a standard chassis ZR1X, adding dive planes, underbody strakes, a hood gurney lip over the front heat extractor and a highly effective rear wing. This package is capable of 1,200 lbs of downforce at top speed and comes standard on ZTK-equipped cars.
Built at General Motors’ Bowling Green Assembly Plant in Kentucky, with every LT7 engine hand-assembled by the master engine builders at the Bowling Green Performance Build Center. Further details on price and availability will be shared closer to production.
Courtesy McLaren
McLaren Automotive and McLaren Racing are collaborating to offer a highly exclusive opportunity to deliver the exhilaration of driving an authentic Le Mans Hypercar to a select few as part of the unique Project: Endurance customer partnership program.
Those chosen for Project: Endurance participation will become part of McLaren’s racing history – which includes the iconic 1995 victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, two Indy 500 wins, and more than 190 Grands Prix.
“I’m delighted to announce that McLaren Automotive is collaborating with our colleagues in McLaren Racing to introduce a bold, authentic Le Mans Hypercar customer ownership experience,” McLaren Group Holdings CEO Nick Collins said. “In addition to owning the very latest LMDh race car – a driving sensation alone few will ever experience – customers will enjoy unique, wholly immersive access to the development and racing program that will underpin our 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship contender.”
Courtesy McLaren
Like the WEC LMDh Hypercar run by McLaren United AS, Project: Endurance will be powered by a race-built V-6 twin turbo hybrid powertrain driving the rear wheels, built in partnership with race car constructor, Dallara, which is also the exclusive partner to the NTT INDYCAR Series.
Stickerdick’s Garage: There’s a new podcast in town by the guy who brings you the Stickerdick’s award for the coolest ride at many local car events.
Listen in with Mark Richardson on personal stories, adventures, truths and “lies” about the things car folks talk about in the garage, or working on our rides! Produced at WJCT Media’s new podcast studio, and at a car event near us.