Over the past 40 years, the car enthusiast community has worked to become more accepting of car culture.
Based in Southern California, Great Autos is an auto club for the LGBTQ+ community, friends, and allies. Since the ’80s, the club has provided a safe space for a hobby typically dominated by hyper-masculine and sometimes homophobic personalities. The club has over 1,000 members of all ages and many different groups throughout California, including one in Palm Springs.
In a recent interview with Great Auto board member and club historian Mike Parente, he explained how the club began.
“They were formed in 1983 and basically had a lot of gay people in the Cadillac/LaSalle Club of Southern California and the Thunderbird Club of Southern California,” Parente said. “Our founding members were a couple, Herb Rossman and Ted Davidson, who were an older couple who had been together for many years, had a collection of classic cars, and were very active in both clubs. was very famous and well-liked within the Thunderbird Club, but back in the ’80s, some men found it offensive and experienced homophobia, so Herb and Ted were very well-liked by some men. We came up with the idea of getting together and forming our own club.
Seventy-five men and women attended that first meeting, and Great Autos was founded. Parente looked back on the club’s growth since 1983.
“We currently have about 1,200 members,” he said. “This is the largest LGBTQ car club on the West Coast, and we are very welcoming. We have friendly couples, we have straight men, and we have straight members on our board, so we don’t discriminate. , we wanted to create a place where men and women who love cars can come together, feel more comfortable, and have a great social club.”
Parente personally discovered the club several years after it was founded.
“I actually found this car in West Hollywood when the founding fathers were driving their ’57 Thunderbirds to the gay pride parade. I was so excited because I thought I was the only gay person who liked cars. I did,” Parente said. “I have always been a car enthusiast, collecting and restoring cars since high school, and finally, I finally found my community.
“Great Autos has been a big part of my adult life. I’ve served on the board off and on. I’ve served as president twice. I’ve served as vice president twice. He is also currently the club’s historian.
Great Autos members can be found throughout California, but the majority of members have retired or moved to the Coachella Valley.
“We have always had a trusted relationship with Palm Springs,” Parente said. “We used to have regular events here. The club as a whole would have one big event a month, and then the club would split into areas and the Palm Springs area is very active. It was basically a move from the Los Angeles area to the Palm Springs area, and now a lot of our members, like myself, have retired to the Coachella Valley, where about 40% of the club lives here in the Coachella Valley. We are very active here.”
Beyond monthly meet-ups to check out cars or just grab coffee, one of the biggest events Great Autos hosts is an annual weekend event featuring brunch, awards, and 90 years of vehicles; Causal Concours Charity Car Show. The club has raised more than $100,000 for local nonprofit organizations. You may also have seen or will see the club’s presence at the Palm Springs Pride Parade. Some cars from the recently held Causal Concours charity car show.
“We are big supporters of the Pride Parade and not only have our cars in the parade, but we also supply cars to dignitaries, and we really enjoy it,” Parente said. Ta. “In addition to the Pride Parade, we also work with and supply vehicles for the Veterans Day Parade and the Festival of Lights. We really like doing community service. They also host events regularly…We recently did an event with Guide Dogs of the Desert. They invited us to take a short cruise and tour their facility. We definitely want to be part of the community.
Look for Parente’s ’71 Ford Pinto, also known as the Disco Pinto, in this year’s parade.
“I own the club mascot, a ’71 Ford Pinto covered in mirror tiles,” Parente said. “…It’s like a driving mirror ball and the club created it many years ago when they were doing a 70s themed event. It continues to take on a life of its own. , and it just makes people smile and laugh, because it’s a mirror pinto. It’s a parade staple, and a lot of people know about the club through Disco Pinto.”
Of course, things have changed for the LGBTQ+ community over the past four decades.
“Many gay men and women still don’t know that LGBTQ+ car clubs exist.” Mike Parente, Great Auto Executive and Club Historian
“When we first started, a lot of our members were closed-minded,” Parente said. “We used to send out newsletters in plain wrappers, but homophobia was such a big issue that[and our members]didn’t want to be listed. I don’t think young people necessarily feel the need to belong to LGBTQ groups, but that being said, we do have young members and it’s a great hobby and there’s a huge demographic. We encourage it.
Great Autos is just one of many groups that allow the LGBTQ+ community to explore different hobbies without fear.
“Many gay men and women still don’t know that LGBTQ+ car clubs exist,” Parente said. “We’ve been trying to basically promote the club for the last few years so that people who want to know about the club know about it, and one of the first events we did was , about six or seven years ago, there was a big car club event at the Los Angeles Convention Center and we were a little concerned because the whole car hobby can be a little bit homophobic and a little too masculine. But we decided to make a presence there—and it was great. Everyone was very, very accepting. I just felt really proud and awakened there. It was great to be there as a part of the larger automotive community, as an LGBTQ+ club, because let’s face it, Southern California is a city of cars.”
Palm Springs is an older gay community, and collecting cars has become a hobby for older people, but Great Autos aims to make things more accessible.
“We have been actively recruiting young members and expanding the scope of the club, because the original club was basically cars from the 50s and 60s, and the club originally Because it was called Yesterday (GAY),” Parente said. “In the last 15 to 20 years, people have just started calling us Great Autos, and we thought ‘yesterday’ was kind of outdated, so we decided to change our brand. changed to Great Autos Southern California.
“All cars are welcome. Our members have Japanese cars, imported cars, and even new and special cars like new Porsche cars. We’re also thinking of doing an event that focuses on electric cars. Because this event is about friendship and camaraderie around the automotive hobby. Many of our older members like Lincolns, Cadillacs, and Imperials, and I do too. But there’s a much broader scope to the hobby, and we’re trying to tap into that.”
For more information, visit greatautos.org.
