Over 100 car enthusiasts gathered on the top floor of Parking Structure 3 over the weekend to feature their automobiles and share their mutual interest.
On Oct. 1, the Driver’s Club of UTD once again organized Cars and Comets, an event held on the first Saturday of every month. The club officially launched in January 2015.
Muhammad Faizan Babar, a mechanical engineering sophomore and the president of Driver’s Club, said Cars and Comets provides a platform for people to display their cars and meet other car lovers.
“This event is open not only to UTD students but also to people around Dallas since its inception. People come and showcase the best of their cars, make new friends and learn more about cars,” Babar said.
Babar, who joined the club his freshman year, said being a part of it has helped him grow his hobby.
“I was a car enthusiast since I was a kid and I wanted to join the club to make more friends that had similar interests as mine and would help me advance my knowledge,” Babar said.
When Babar first joined, only 10 to 15 cars would come to the meet, but after increasing advertising, hosting meets on campus and playing music to change the environment, the number of cars that turn up now are 110 to 120 each time.
Babar said the cars displayed at the Cars and Comets meets sometimes have a meaningful significance to their owners.
“There was once a man in his 60s whose son had passed away in a car accident,” he said. “His son was an avid lover of cars. In the memory of his son he made a car model with parts from three different models that his son loved and showed it up at the event. That car was the best car and it was very emotional to see how the father had built the car in the memory of his son.”
Alexandar Chou, a computer science sophomore and the funding chair of the club, said he enjoys bringing his car to the events and talking to people about the latest cars in the market.
“I admit to the fact that having this hobby as a college student is pretty expensive,” he said. “But when you get to learn new and cool stuff about cars like the new models, the parts, current market trends it always compensates for the cost of the hobby.”
Chou also said companies attend the meets and the club is working on building relationships with them. In the past, representatives from a Lexus dealership and Texas Tire came to target potential customers.
“We have partnered up with Formula Society of Automotive Engineers, an automobile manufacturing company and are hosting tech sessions to let people get hands on experience with cars and motorcycles and help them to work on their cars,” he said.
The members of the club also started a YouTube channel to feature videos of their meets and events.
With these projects in the works, Babar said he wants to move the club in a direction that will provide more opportunities to its members.
“I would like to build a culture for car enthusiasts at Dallas,” he said. “Bring in more companies and dealerships to not only display cars but also to help our members find jobs with them.”