Car Culture in Newport Beach

If you want to see how connected the city of Newport Beach is with the car culture, just sit anywhere near Pacific Coast Highway for a while.

I hear roaring engines outside my office window semi-regularly.

No, P-C-H isn’t a drag strip, and drivers aren’t speeding.

This beautiful noise is just sheer horsepower — spectacular cars and their mechanical synergy underneath the hood.

The kid in me always gets excited when I’m waiting at a stoplight and some magnificent high-powered car pulls beside me.

But people in Newport Beach don’t have to rely on a chance encounter with amazing automobiles.

This weekend dozens of great cars will all be side-by-side in Corona del Mar for the Coastline Car Classic and Coastline Motoring Road Rally.

Saturday, you can watch or participate on this glorious caravan of beautiful vintage vehicles in a gorgeous roadside setting. The event starts at 7:30am at Big Corona del Mar State Beach and travels along the coast and then inland, before heading back to the coast.

Sunday, more than 150 vintage and dealer select cars in 16 different classes will be showcased at the Coastline Car Classic.

There will also be live entertainment, food and beverages, and unique vendor exhibits.

This is a must-see event here in Newport Beach.

You may find some of the vehicles that were once featured in magazines like Car Life. In fact on my wall above me, I see an April 1961 issue that features a red Corvair Monza on the cover. It’s cruising what looks to be a street in Corona del Mar.

Car Life Magazine’s editors John and Elaine Bond not only owned Car Life Magazine, but Road and Track. They captured the car culture, many times here along the coast in their magazines a half-century ago.

They’d be fans of events like the Coastline Car Classic.
Cars and Newport Beach go hand in hand. And beyond the luxuriousness of these cars — whether they are exotic Europeans, classic Americans, or muscle cars — there is a shared passion.

We are seeing the culture thrive in Newport Beach, not just with the assortment of high-end automotive dealers here, but with the arrival of such things like the Russo and Steele Collector Auction in June.

We hope to bring you some more posts about the great cars in Newport Beach. Our next trip just might be to a dealer.

And if you’re from out of town, you should know that you could rent some flashy wheels while you enjoy your stay in Newport Beach. There are several luxury car rental businesses here.