This past Saturday, Jan. 20, the FGCU campus welcomed cars of all makes and models to the first ever FGCU Motor Show.
The event, hosted by the FGCU Car Club and Auto Faction, saw more than 200 cars fill parking lot three and the bus loop outside of McTarnaghan Hall, with cars ranging from the latest Ferraris and Lamborghinis, to old school Jaguars and everything in between.
The FGCU Motor Show was organized to benefit the American Heart Association.
A portion of the proceeds raised from registration fees and merchandise sold will be donated to the Association. The FGCU Car Club President Carter Kozminski went to Auto Faction; a company that hosts automotive events ran by a former FGCU student, for help organizing the show.
“I talked to them and said, “Would you be willing to donate your time to help us put this on? Carter Kozmiski said. ”They did promotion, they did photo shoots, they did online registration for us. They did a lot of stuff to have this show at the caliber it is.”
While not the first car show held on FGCU’s campus, this was the first show organized and hosted by the FGCU Car Club in conjunction with Auto Faction and support from the South West Florida car scene.
“I came to one a couple of years back on the library lawn, and it was no where near the scale that this show is,” Mike Smith, a participant in the show and owner of a Shelby Cobra, said.
The event, which ran from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., left much of parking lot three and the bus loop filled with a wide variety of cars, such as modified Nissan GTRs, lifted pick up trucks, and a show stopping pairing of a Porsche 918 Spyder and a brand new Lamborghini Huracan Performante.
“This is definitely more than I was expecting,” Kozminski said. “I’ve been here since 6:15 a.m.. It’s been one hell of a ride to get here, but I’m pretty proud with what we’ve pulled off.”
Awards were handed out for the “Top 20” cars of the show, judged by the FGCU Car Club and Auto Faction. Individual awards were handed out for cars that stood out from the crowd. The “Top Exotic” award went to a Porsche 918 Spyder. FGCU Car Club’s best in show was a Jaguar E-Type. FGCU Dean’s Pick was a 1962 Maserati Ghibli. Auto Faction’s best in show was awarded to a heavily modified BMW E46 M3. The overall best in show award went to a two-time SEMA winning wide body Mazda RX-7.
Jose Jaime, owner of a white Volkswagen Jetta featured in the show, came out to the event to show off his car and see what other people would bring. Jaime’s car was one of 20 cars chosen for the “Top 20” award.
“I’m a little surprised. It’s unexpected,” Jaime said. “There are a lot of great cars out here and I just came out to have fun and support a good cause.”
