How Orlando Is Becoming Known For Cars, Not Just Disney World
When you think of the "car capitol" of the United States, which city do you picture? Detroit springs to mind; it is the Motor City, after all, but it's cold for half the year, making it difficult to enjoy sports cars. Los Angeles is a great contender, with amazing roads and endless sunshine, but it also has traffic that belongs in nightmares.
What about Florida? It has sunshine in spades, but a lack of windy driving roads makes it a tough sell for car enthusiasts, right? Miami might seem like a car lover's paradise with supercars and hypercars roaming the beachfront roads on a daily basis. But if we're being honest, supercars are practically everywhere now, and Miami's traffic gives LA a run for its money. There may be supercars, but they rarely exceed 25 miles per hour.
What about Orlando? The city known mostly for Disney World has been quietly growing into a car lover's paradise for discerning enthusiasts who want to see cars that are rarer than a run-of-the-mill Ferrari or McLaren (though we have those in spades as well). CarBuzz recently attended the first event in a new iteration of Orlando Cars & Coffee to learn how one passionate gearhead is reshaping the land of the mouse into a mecca for car fanatics.
Meet Stewart Sensor
Chris Junecko @ chrisapinado
Orlando resident Steward Sensor created Orlando Cars & Coffee over 11 years ago, and has been attending car shows in the state of Florida for over 15 years. "I love the community, I love the people, I love the enthusiasm, and I love cars. I think that there's nothing else like it in the world," Sensor told CarBuzz. "There is something very special about bringing people together to experience a nice morning with other enthusiasts. And I get to be the one who manages and helps lead that community."
Sensor's Cars & Coffee event recently changed locations, now taking place on the second Sunday of every month at Dezerland Park Orlando, a former mall turned amusement park/automotive museum (the event also takes places on the first Sunday of each month at Henry's Depot in Sanford, Florida). The first event at the new venue, which was sponsored by Hemmings, turned out hundreds of local car enthusiasts with some incredible cars that you will rarely see in the US.
"Hemmings has a longstanding commitment to connecting car enthusiasts and fostering collector car culture," said Jonathan Shaw, President of Hemmings. "By supporting Orlando Cars & Coffee and collaborating with Dezerland Park, we're proud to help provide a platform for enthusiasts to gather, share stories, and celebrate the vehicles that bring us all together."
Orlando Cars & Coffee row of cars
"We wanted to partner with another enthusiast, Michael Dezer. He has the largest collection in the world with over 2,000 cars. This guy is at a different level and his enthusiasm is going to leak out to everyone else," Sensor explained. "You also have to think about what people are going to do while they are at the event. You have to make it enjoyable for them. They can bring their kids, come inside, there are trampolines in there, and cool cars. They're going to want to come back and spend time here."
What Is Dezerland?
Toyota 2000GT Convertible
For those unfamiliar with Dezerland Park Orlando, it's almost impossible to explain. Formerly an ordinary shopping mall on Orlando's International Drive, the 150,000 square foot property was originally purchased as a storage facility for Mr. Dezer's vast car collection, but was eventually transformed into a one-of-a-kind amusement park. "It's Orlando's best hidden gem," says JJ Morales, Dezerland Orlando Auto Museum Logistics Manager.
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Iconic Mullin Automotive Museum Shutting Its Doors For Good
Following the passing of founder Peter Mullin, the exhibit will be closed for good this February.
The centerpiece of Dezerland is Mr. Dezer's $200 million car collection. The mall has been transformed with former stores now acting as themed storage rooms for cars, including a Military Pavilion, Gatsby Lounge, Mico Cars Launch, Batcave, and Bond Museum to name a few. This collection features some oddities, including three examples of the Sabra, the only sports car built by Israel. But the crown jewel is the Toyota 2000GT, the most expensive Japanese car of all time. And this is no ordinary 2000GT. Mr. Dezer owns possibly the only 2000GT Convertible in the world, used in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and valued at over $30 million, according to Morales.
Even if your children aren't interested in old vehicles, there is plenty to keep them busy at Dezerland. "We have go-karts, an arcade, laser tag, a trampoline park, mini golf, you name it. It's all indoors," Morales detailed. If you find yourself visiting Orlando on the second Saturday of a month, and you need a more affordable break from the hustle and bustle of Disney World, bring the kids to Dezerland to enjoy one of the most eclectic car collections anywhere in the world, and an amazing Cars & Coffee.
Bringing JDM Royalty
Collection of JDM Cars
To help make his first event at Dezerland a smashing success, Sensor enlisted the help of a few local car enthusiasts, who together own some of the finest JDM cars we've ever seen. Vincent Howard and Wei Shen Chin are co-owners of CMS Dream Garage, a joint collection housed in Orlando that now includes 35 cars.
In fact, CarBuzz joined in to help bring 10 vehicles from the CMS collection to the inaugural Orlando Cars & Coffee at Dezerland. These included an R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R (which we drove in the morning), an R33 GT-R LM, Nissan Silvia 270R, Nissan Skyline GT-R Hakosuka (driven by Howard), Acura Integra Type R, Acura NSX Zanardi Edition (driven by Chin), Acura NSX Type S, Toyota Supra 30th Anniversary, Subaru Impreza 22B (which we drove leaving the event), and an E36 BMW M3 Lightweight (the only non-Japanese vehicle in the collection).
"We wanted to make this somewhat special, so I called nine of my friends and said, 'hey guys, let's take 10 cars to the show and have this great caravan driving down I4 in this massive rolling JDM show," said Howard. "10 of us met early in the morning, took the cars out of the garage, and all the cars arrived safely. This is my biggest rollout ever. I've had six out at a time, but to get 10, that was awesome. It shows the power of having a bunch of friends that you trust."
Jared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
Seeing these cars cruising down the highway was a spectacle that attracted plenty of attention. When do you ever get to see a Hakosuka driving with two other Skyline GT-Rs flanking it? Our morning began with the R32 GT-R, the car that originally earned the title of "Godzilla" for its world-beating performance. Howard's example is a mint Nismo model with only 56,000 kilometers on the odometer, so we treated it gingerly on the drive to the event. Of course, we wanted to try another vehicle from the collection, and Stewart gracefully traded keys with us to CMS's immaculate Impreza 22B. Subaru only built 400 units of this car, which is why nice examples can sell for well over six figures. The 22B was radically different from the GT-R; it's buzzy and manic with short gearing, and it grips the road like a cheetah.
Bringing More To Orlando Car Culture
Orlando Cars & Coffee
Thanks to his strong friendship with Mr. Chin and Mr. Howard, Sensor will soon take on a new role as general manager of Auto Vault Orlando, an upcoming car storage facility that will also act as a venue for car events and a social hangout spot.
"A year and a half ago we found a 53,000 square-foot warehouse, and thought it could be a car storage facility," Chin explained. "It's going to be climate controlled with security, and we are hoping to have a Cars & Coffee event when it opens. We have square footage set aside for a member lounge to be a gathering site for car enthusiasts. There will be simulators, a detail bay, EV chargers, all the things a car enthusiast would want. Stewart will be involved in running the facility. I never would have met him if it wasn't for Cars & Coffee."
