From hot rods to low riders, muscle cars and motorcycles, the Pacific Beach community can expect to see a variety of new and old vehicles during the Pacific Beach Classic Car Show.
Also known as Charger Steve’s Wild Rides and Classic Car Show, the ission-free event is returning to Garnet Avenue from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10.
Garnet Avenue will be closed to through traffic from Mission Boulevard to Everts Street. After a baton hand-off from Discover PB, the Pacific Beach Town Council stepped up this year with the help of Steve Lordigyan — known in the car community as Charger Steve — to plan the event.
“This was the golden opportunity for the town council to take it on,” said council President Charlie Nieto. “I also personally have a stake in it because I own a classic car (a 1974 Buick Apollo) and so does my brother (a Plymouth Duster). My whole family has loved those kinds of cars for a very long time. I have wanted something like this to come to Pacific Beach.”
While this is the first year the council is organizing the show, Lordigyan has been involved in putting on the car show since the beginning in 2009.
He also plans car shows in El Cajon and Imperial Beach, and he’s the author of “Charger Steve’s Car Show Handbook: A Complete Guide to Hosting Your Own Car Shows.”
The Pacific Beach car show has happened off and on over the years, but this year, Nieto said he’s excited for the revamped event.
“We’re still going to have the same kind of base with the show that Steve from San Diego Wild Rides has been building as the feature, but we’ve been marketing it more toward the residents and families,” Nieto said.
Sean Bellinger and Stacy Orr entered their 2007 Corvette last year. They said they hurricane warnings that put a small dent in the 2023 event.
“Last year, there were still good numbers of people that turned up — we showed up — but that hurricane steered people away,” Bellinger said.
This year around, they’re hoping to see new and familiar faces.
“We met a lot of people last year (in PB),” Bellinger said. “Throughout the car season, we see these people and we become friends with these people.”
Like other car shows, there will be judged categories for the cars at the event, but there will not be people’s choice awards this year. This is something Lordigyan said he hopes to bring to the show next year.
The judged categories are determined based on entries. Nieto said there will be a stage at Garnet Avenue and Cass Street where announcements will be made and trophies given out starting at 12:30 p.m.
But for Bellinger and Orr, this event is less about the awards and more about the community gathering.
“For us, it’s not about the winning,” Orr said. “It’s really important to have your friends partake in all the trophies as well. We just like watching people have their fun. It’s fun for us. That’s what it’s all about.”
Orr and Bellinger said they like to bring the flair for fun in their Corvette, which they describe as a “rolling piece of art.”
“It looks like a third grader just had fun with it, with a bunch of color,” Bellinger said.
Unique features of their car include a metallic paint job in the front, which gives the car a sparkly, rainbow effect. It also features underglow and in-wheel lights. To check out their Corvette, visit their Instagram @carsandcoffeecrashers.
“The world is so upside down. Sometimes to just go out and do something and let it all go for a little while, it’s OK,” Bellinger said. “We all need something like that. (At) car shows, car meets, we’ve just met so many people. It’s become our way of life. It’s become an escape from whatever.”
While Bellinger and Orr’s car is on the more spunky side, Lordigyan said attendees can also expect to see classic and vintage cars too.
Bellinger said older cars, while different from his Corvette, are an important part of the show.
“Especially with these older hot rods, they’re there to preserve history and to let the car tell a story,” Bellinger said. “It’s really fun to sit and talk to people about their cars.”
There will also be some crowd favorites returning this year, including the magic car.
“The magic car is a nostalgic, nitro-burning dragster,” Lordigyan said.
He said they plan to fire up that drag-racing car from the 1960s after 12 p.m.
“It’s really fun and really loud,” Lordigyan said.
Beyond the cars, Nieto said the location is prime for eating and shopping in Pacific Beach.
“Our hope is that the people who come out will then the businesses in return,” Nieto said.
Businesses on Garnet Avenue are encouraged to bring their storefront into the street alongside the cars, according to Nieto. He said some might have booths or even take food orders from the street.
Show sponsors include Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, Pop Pie Co. & Stella Jean’s Ice Cream, Waterbar, PB AleHouse, Union Kitchen & Tap, The Crack Shack, SD Tap Room and Diamond Parking Inc.
Orr said she enjoyed getting to see and meet people from all walks of life last year.
“There was roller skaters, dog walkers, skateboarders and car people, non-car people,” Orr said. “There was something for everyone. You can find yourself lost in nostalgia or looking at the new car. It was a good mix of new and old and neat cars and neat people that go with them.”
Nieto noted there’s also going to be a special giveaway, and the ticket sale funds from the giveaway will go back into the community or into future car shows. More information will be available at the event.
Want to go?
Pacific Beach Classic Car Show
When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10
Where: Garnet Avenue, between Mission Boulevard and Everts Street
Cost: free for spectators, $40 to enter vehicles and $25 to enter motorcycles on the day of show.
Good to know: Vehicles can arrive starting at 8 a.m. To enter, visit tinyurl.com/PBcarshow24.
