IU’s Car Club hosted its first event of the spring semester Sunday morning in partnership with Fishers Car Club.
At “Cars and Coffee,” attendees drank coffee, enjoyed doughnuts, networked with members of the club and alumni and looked at a variety of different parked cars on display at Showalter Fountain.
Though it was cloudy and sprinkling at times, over one hundred people still attended, and members brought their cars to display and were ready to talk to other guests about their love for cars.
Paul Fedorovsky, IU senior and Car Club president, founded the club along with close friends, Jack Stewart, Chai Bokka, Pina Desai, Maxwell Daily, Nick Bouza and Grace Upholzer in 2023.
Fedorovsky grew up in Southern California, which he said is popular for its car scene. Fedorovsky said at home, he is surrounded by rare, exotic cars all the time. The cars and coffee concept can even be traced back to Crystal Cove, California, 2003.
In 2006, the gatherings of car enthusiasts in Crystal Cove were shut down due to noise complaints from residents. However, the events gained attention in the media and key figures in the automotive industry worked with car enthusiasts to hold the events at Mazda’s headquarters and Ford’s Design Studio in California — they named them “Cars and Coffee.”
Fedorovsky is an assistant manager at Hopalong Auto Storage & Concierge, an exotic and luxury car storage facility in Costa Mesa, California. Fedorovsky also started his own car consulting business, Paul The Car Dude.
The Car Club welcomes anyone to come out to the car meets; typically, IU and Car Club alumni members, students and local Bloomington residents who hear about the event attend. This weekend, the club had about 100 RSVPs.
The event was open to all spectators, however, to showcase a car, collectors had to reach out to the club. The club accepts any car at the events; it does not limit to any price range or manufacturer.
“It's a place for everyone, you know,” Fedorovsky said. “Whether there's a $500,000 Aston Martin or a $5,000, everyone's treated the same.”
If a Car Club member spots a car that an enthusiast might own in a campus housing parking lot, apartment garage or on the streets around Bloomington, they leave a promotional card on the drivers' windshield to build more traction within the community, Fedorovsky explained.
Car photography is important at car meets to capture the distinctiveness of all the cars. Attendees brought cameras and took photographs and videos for personal use or professional social media work. The attendees tended to take pictures of the bright-colored cars, luxurious cars and classic cars.
Eric Shaffer attended the event to take photos of the cars on display. Shaffer originally started shooting with a film camera at car meets in Indianapolis but later switched to a digital camera. Shaffer offers car photoshoots for $75.
“I tried new car photography, and I made a little bit of money off of it,” Shaffer said. “A bright green Porsche, that gets a lot more attention. That’s what I like to shoot — more attention-getting cars.”
Sophomores Sahaj Shah and Ethan Timpe attended just to look around, check out cars and talk to others. Both of them found their love of cars through their fathers. Timpe’s grandpa owns a Chevrolet Corvette, and his father is a car enthusiast who got him into the car scene. Shah said his father has some nice cars at home in California and they enjoy racing together.
The cars on display ranged from models of Porsches, BMWs, Chevrolet Corvettes, Ashton Martins and Ford Mustangs. Some of the people who brought cars revved their engines.
Jack Pontius, a senior, brought a classic green 1947 Hudson Super Six. Pontius fixed the car up in April 2023 after his father picked it up from a family friend who passed away.
“I guess I grew up in a car town, too, so that’s a big part of it,” Pontius said.
Pontius grew up in Auburn, Indiana, which holds the annual Auburn Cord Duesenberg FestivalAuburn Cord Duesenberg (ACD) Festival for car enthusiasts to see classic cars through parades, auctions and shows, which he enjoys.
Esther Epp, a freshman, has been doing videography for a couple of years and is a part of the Car Club. Epp takes videos at events for the club to use.
Families and groups of friends crowded around cars and connected with the car owners to learn more about their car and modifications they may have done. Each time a car sped off from the event, people turned their heads and pulled out their phones to record the special moment.
“You know, at the end of the day, everyone's there to just have a good time and bond over something they love, and we want it to be a great experience for everyone,” Fedorovsky said.
