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Racing! April 5 Honda Cars, Bikes & Coffee Show

by | Mar 13, 2025 | 0 comments

Racing! April 5 Honda Cars, Bikes & Coffee Show

 Bimonthly Cars, Bikes & Coffee Shows are an enthusiasts’ open house at the American Honda Collection Hall in Torrance, Calif.

Enthusiasts at The entrance to the American Honda Collection Hall in Torrance, Calif.

The entrance to the American Honda Collection Hall in Torrance, Calif. (Photos courtesy of American Honda)

BY MARK MAYNARD

Honda is powered up for its April 5 Cars, Coffee & Bikes show at American Honda headquarters, 1919 Torrance Boulevard, Torrance, CA 90501. The show is themed “Racing” and will be a celebration of all forms of auto and powersports racing. It is also the kick-off party for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach — held the following weekend — which American Honda sponsors.

“We’ll have the biggest display of Honda and Acura auto and Honda motorcycle race vehicles yet,” said Carl C. Pulley, Honda Heritage Public Relations. Six HRC Supercross and Motocross championship bikes will be on view.

Participants can drive their own race car, bike, or other performance vehicle in the Parade of Performance.

A Racing Showcase

The April 5 bimonthly gathering of enthusiasts — Honda and non-Honda — will showcase a significant collection of race vehicles. The event honors the 75th year of Formula One, the 60th anniversary of Honda’s first F1 race win, and the 50th running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Among the special exhibits and activities will be:

  • Ayrton Senna’s 1992 McLaren MP4/7 F1 racecar
  • Current Red Bull Racing F1 display racecar
  • Current Honda IndyCar display racecar
  • Acura ARX-05 IMSA racecar
  • Acura NSX GT3 racecar
  • Honda Baja Ridgeline race truck
  • Ricky Carmichael’s 2004 450 MX Champ (First CRF450R championship)
  • Jett Lawrence’s 2021 250 MX champ
  • Hunter Lawrence’s 2023 250 SX east/MX champ
  • Chase Sexton’s 2023 450 SX champ
  • Jett Lawrence’s 2023 450 MX champ (Perfect Season)
  • Jett Lawrence’s 2024 450 SX champ

There will also be an IndyCar photo-op where attendees can get behind the wheel of a vintage Lola racecar to take photos. A racing simulator will show the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit.

Honda 0 Series Prototypes On View

Also featured will be the first public showing of the Honda 0 Series Saloon and SUV Prototypes. Production versions of the new 0 Series line of battery electric vehicles are expected to launch in North America in 2026, followed by global markets. Both midsize models will be built at the Honda EV Hub in Ohio.

The interior of the SUV prototype illustrates the company’s direction to offer a new value for its future Honda 0 Series EVs as a “space” for people. Both sedan and SUV will debut automated driving technologies backed by Honda’s Level 3 automated driving technology. Honda says the technology is “highly reliable.”

A nose to nose image of the futuristic looking Honda 0 prototype SUV and sedan

Honda 0 Saloon & Honda 0 SUV prototypes.

Honda C&C

The themed bimonthly shows get an average of 2,500 attendees, including entrance to the Honda museum, a live DJ, food trucks, free coffee, and special exhibits.

“The Feb. 15 show broke a record with 3,900 people showing up,” Pulley said. “The addition was most likely due to the Trailsport Adventure off-road ride-along experience in the new 2026 Passport Trailsport.”

Those attending also get free admittance to the American Honda Collection Hall.

The 20,000-square-foot museum space presents a timeline of American Honda vehicles and corporate growth since its U.S. start in 1959. More than 60 vehicles from Honda and Acura are on view, including motorcycles, power products, engines, and racing machines. The Collection Hall displays will be updated several times a year to highlight different products and themes.

The collection hall is in Honda’s U.S. headquarters lobby, 1919 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90501.

the Acura ARX-05 IMSA racecar at speed on a track.

#6 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi, DPi: Juan Pablo Montoya, Dane Cameron

Upcoming 2025 Cars, Bikes & Coffee Shows

June 21: “Summer’s Here” car and bike fun in the sun

Aug. 16: “Heritage & Museums” old-school cool

Oct. 18: “Customizing” Halloween/Día de los Muertos special

Dec. 13: “Clubs & Community” holiday event with toy drive

IF YOU GO

The American Honda Collection Hall is at 1919 Torrance Boulevard, Torrance, CA 90501. Gates to the American Honda parking lot open at 7:30 a.m., with activities beginning at 9 a.m.

Learn more about the shows and the collection hall here.

American Honda Collection Honors Car Clubs, Community at Dec. 14 Event

by | Nov 19, 2024 | 0 comments

American Honda Collection Honors Car Clubs, Community at Dec. 14 Event

Bimonthly Cars, Bikes & Coffee Show at the American Honda Collection Hall in Torrance, Calif., is an enthusiasts’ open house 

Car enthusiasts stroll the lobby of American Honda in Torrance California

Shop for Honda-Acura merch in the American Honda lobby in Torrance, Calif. (Photos courtesy of American Honda)

BY MARK MAYNARD

American Honda is in the holiday spirit for its Dec. 14 Cars, Bikes & Coffee Show. This gathering of the third Saturday events honors Clubs & Community and features a Toy Drive. Clubs will get special entry and space to display vehicles and promote their work. The toy drive is in collaboration with the City of Torrance. Those who bring a new, unwrapped toy will receive a special thank you commemorative item.

The Cars, Bikes & Coffee Show is a free enthusiast event held every other month. Fans of all models, makes, and eras of automobiles and motorcycles are welcome. Each show includes free admittance to the museum and the Power of Dreams boutique of Honda-Acura merch.

The gatherings also feature:

  • DJ Music
  • Vendors
  • Starbucks and food trucks
  • Giveaways
  • Special exhibitors
a formula style race car on view in the Honda American Collection Hall

Honda Racing has a big presence in the museum.

The 20,000-square-foot Collection Hall museum opened in mid-September 2024. More than 60 vehicles are displayed from Honda and Acura, including motorcycles, power products, engines, and racing machines.

Each cars and coffee show attracts a consistent 1,200 vehicles and 2,500 enthusiasts, Carl Pulley, American Honda Heritage, said in a release. The grand opening of the Collection Hall was last September.

2025 CARS, BIKES & COFFEE SHOWS

Feb. 15; April 5; June 21; Aug. 16; Oct. 18; Dec. 13.

IF YOU GO

The American Honda Collection Hall is at 1919 Torrance Boulevard, Torrance, CA 90501. Gates to the American Honda parking lot open at 7:30 a.m., with showtime from 9 a.m. to noon.

Learn more about American Honda Heritage here.

The “Lost Speedways” of American motorsports history

by | Jul 12, 2021 | 0 comments

The “Lost Speedways” of American motorsports history
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matthew Dillner sit along a banked portion of the Texas World Speedway,

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matthew Dillner sit along a banked portion of the Texas World Speedway in “Lonely Star”  (Allie Fredericks/Dirty Mo Media)

BY MARK MAYNARD

I was shuffling through TV channels recently and landed upon an episode of “Lost Speedways. The docuseries on Peacock was created and hosted by Earnhardt and co-host Matthew Dillner. Together they explore historically significant and visually stunning racetracks that are now abandoned, dormant, or in decay.

Dale Jr. and his team explore deserted tracks, search for artifacts and solve unanswered questions at venues all across the country.

I immediately connected with the show because of my interest in history and cars. And the show’s focus on automotive history and motorsports made the discovery even better. I had tuned into “Danger Zone,” which was episode seven from the first season. It told the history of the Jungle Park Speedway, an hour west of Indianapolis.

The half-mile dirt track opened in 1926 and closed in 1960. It closed after one more in a long line of horrific accidents, according to a 2016 report by Will Higgins of the Indianapolis Star.

Reclaimed By Nature

Nature has been reclaiming the grounds ever since it closed. But remnants remain, such as the grandstand.

“Sycamore trees stand 40 feet tall in the middle of the first turn. Honeysuckle grows thick in what once was the pits.

“The grandstand is the most obvious remnant. It was built in 1947.

“Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century,” Higgins wrote. “It was a proving ground for some of the top American race drivers. Eight Jungle Park veterans went on to win the Indianapolis 500, including one of Indy’s all-time greats, Wilbur Shaw, who won the 500 in 1937, 1939, and 1940.”

Jungle Park on Facebook

“It’s been over fifty years since the big cars roared around the Parke County racing bowl, wrote author Tom W. Williams in the intro to the Jungle Park Speedway Facebook page.

“It was a track where a driver could hardly tell how many curves there were or where the next one started. It was a place where engine noises echoed off the trees and hills like voices in a cave. If you go there, you may experience the presence of ghosts as well. Perhaps you will encounter a spier darting off the track into the trees or flitting from seat to seat in the old grandstand, empty for so many years. The ghosts are most certainly there.”

Williams is the author of “The Ghosts of Jungle Park, History, Myth, and Legend, the Story of a Place Like No Other.”

Free Streaming

Eight episodes of “Lost Speedways” were produced for the first season that debuted on July 15, 2020. The eight-episode second season debuted on July 1, 2021.

Season 2 of “Lost Speedways” is available to stream for free on Peacock now.

Speedways featured in Season 2 include Arundel Speedway (Arundel, ME), Pennsboro Speedway (Pennsboro, WV), and Columbia Speedway (Cayse, SC).

Racing legends, such as seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty, join as guests throughout the series.