Only seven miles from Elon University is Ace Speedway. Drive five miles further and reach the Piedmont Dragway. Venture 90 miles south, and you’ll find the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway.
There’s no doubt, this is car country.
Elon senior Michael Palombo and junior Taylor Davis fit right in, having founded the Elon Car Club last spring.
“We met last year in a class, we had a philosophy class together and we discovered that we both love cars,” said Palombo, the club’s president. “We got to talking and we figured it might be cool to start a club for this, because we both know guys on campus who love cars.”
With what Davis called “the wherewithal to take the lead,” Palombo went through the motions to officially start a student organization. After months of work, the two began welcoming members to the university’s newest club.
“I knew three or four people interested in cars, and they also knew a few,” Palombo said.
Davis said they got the word out pretty quickly. Now, they’re continuing to gain momentum and remain hopeful.
In May, the club lost only one member to graduation — its only female. Without her, they still have 24 members. With this week’s organization fair approaching, they expect participation to increase.
“It’s becoming more and more common for people to be interested in cars,” Davis said. “You go on the Facebook group and we’re consistently growing.”
The two attribute the club’s popularity to a change in the industry and its perception.
“People watch ‘Top Gear’ and they say ‘Oh I want to do that,’” Davis said. “With shows like that, that are getting more mainstream, people are getting more interested in cars, especially since now is such a weird time for cars because they’re changing so much. Cars are the leading forefront of that, especially with electric and all that stuff.”
Palombo agreed, citing Ferrari’s new 1,000 horsepower hybrid.
Whatever the reason for joining, members of the Elon Car Club have a lot in common.
“The thing I like most about the car club is when we just hang out and talk,” Davis said. “Most people don’t know a lot about cars, but the people we have in the club, most of them do know a lot.”
According to Davis, this type of shared interest is difficult to find on campus, which makes the Elon Car Club an especially unique student organization.
“We bring all different kinds of people together,” he said. “(Palombo and I are) in fraternities, but there’s people involved in all different stuff, but we all have a common interest, and that’s sort of cool. That’s one issue with Elon, that there’s not a lot of inter-Greek groups.”
Even the club’s adviser Anthony Hatcher, associate professor of communications Anthony Hatcher, the club’s adviser, was an unexpected ally for both Palombo and Davis, neither of whom had met Hatcher prior to last semester.
“My psychology adviser is big into cars, but he didn’t have the time to do it,” Palombo said. “He recommended I talk to Dr. Hatcher. I didn’t expect it, but at the end of our first meeting I asked if he’d be comfortable being our adviser and he said yes.”
Palombo said Hatcher has been a huge help, even recommending programs and events in the area, including a monthly cars and coffee gathering in Greensboro.
“This semester, we’re looking to get some speakers in from some of the car clubs, or some racers if we could get in touch with them,” Palombo said.
Although hopeful, Palombo and Davis have a lot of planning to do for the upcoming semester. Active clubs at Elon have requirements and guidelines, including a minimum number of members. But no matter if the club gets off the ground, Palombo and Davis will always have their passion for cars.
“My family owns a dealership back in Cleveland. My dad bought it before I was born and I’ve been around cars ever since,” Davis said. “Along with the dealership, my dad was a car guy. It’s in my blood.”