JDM Meet & Eat

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It’s been years since I found myself hanging out at a Sonic on a weekday night for a car meet. This was sort of the thing back when I started going out on Thursdays. In fact, some of those nights I’d be on shift manning the kitchen and sending orders out. Hell, even back then I was in a Civic – just a different shade of blue. So it was pretty cool seeing someone get the ball rolling and starting this all up again!
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A few people had sent me the flyer to the event, and a few days prior, Jose himself sent it my way. You all might remember his S13 from the Cars & Cosplay event late last year that took place at the Harlingen Mall put together by Tuned Motorsports. Taking on the responsibility of hosting a meet seems like it’s just a matter of throwing a flyer together and hoping the word gets out but, to do it properly, it takes a little bit more than just that.

Jose partnered with Sonic Drive-In; more specifically, he partnered with Crush Enterprises. Some of you all might have seen a few Sonic Drive-In locations that look a little different. I just through it was a design choice for certain locations. So, to clear things up (because even I had didn’t know the difference), Sonic Drive-In is the brand but Crush Enterprises is the franchise group. It’s also an acronym for Commitment, Relationships, Unity, Striking Forward, and Honesty – and pairs perfectly with the automotive community.

After Jose guided me over to an open spot to park, I started making my way around the lot to check out the rest of the early-birds. While I got there in time to grab the last open spot alongside the drive-thru side of the building, it didn’t take long ’til others started driving in. This event was aimed towards the local JDM and Euro crowd to come out and hang, grab some food and drinks, and enjoy a chill night. You’d think, with having everything done properly, the night would have gone off without a hitch. Unfortunately, there are certain egos you can’t account for.

I headed out around 9:50pm, so everything that follows is what I gathered from talking to several people there. And while I really care about the integrity of what I put out in the world, if none of these really matched up with each other, this article would have gone a different way. At some point during the event, several Edinburg PD units pulled in with lights and sirens. The reason? “Too many cars”. Which is interesting considering several things: One, there is no real capacity or limit for these establishments; two, this whole event was in collaboration with the business itself.

Shortly after, management tried to get things cleared up with an officer. The officer’s response to being told that everyone had permission to be there was along the lines of, ” we’ll be pulling people over as they leave”. This, to me, seems like a clear sign of police harassment and intimidation. To me, there’s a big difference between ‘reasonable suspicion’ and switching things up to get people pulled over. I can sit here for days talking about how ridiculous this was, along with some choice words for how it was handled. However, for there to be change, there needs to be productive conversations. This event was the complete opposite of a “takeover”, and yet it was approached by law enforcement as such. But why? Instead of grouping together real automotive enthusiasts with these smooth-brain, car swinging idiots that have no permission or respect for any establishments, why doesn’t local law enforcement try and find a solution for events like last night’s to continue without hostility?

Maybe it’s my old age, maybe it’s being tired of seeing this cycle happen over and over again throughout the years. A part of me thinks this is just going to be me preaching to the choir, falling upon deaf ears, plain and simple- the people who should read this won’t. But maybe it’s us in this community who should take the first steps to reach out. Wanting change and understanding comes with a price; hopefully this situation would be the only form of “payment” that’s needed to make this happen.

Huge Thanks to
Jose Lopez
Crush Enterprises
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Photos and Words by : Bobby Villarreal