A community-driven tradition returns to San Clemente

Chris Preusse 10/21/2026 Uncategorized

A 1971 Ford Bronco is presented with an open hood. Chris Preusse | Lariat

Morning traffic in downtown San Clemente was unusually dense on Sunday, Sept. 20 – and even more unusually eye-catching.

By 7:30 a.m., over 250 cars lined up side by side across Avenida Del Mar, ready for the 30th annual San Clemente Car Show, a free-to-the-public event put on by the SCDBA (San Clemente Downtown Business Association) each year.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., families, car buffs, locals and visitors crowded the street to appreciate the eclectic array of vehicles.

Lamborghinis were exhibited between surfboard-adorned woodies and lowriding Chevrolet Impalas, across the street from a colorful assortment of Corvettes.

JD Duncan, whose Elvis-themed car won the award for best convertible at the 29th annual San Clemente Car Show, was one of the proud Corvette owners in attendance on Sunday. Ever since purchasing his ‘62 Corvette in 1976 for $3000, Duncan has taken it to as many as 15 shows a year. Despite receiving substantial offers for the car at nearly every one, he has never budged.

“I’m not ready to cash-in,” said Duncan, “If the seats could come out of this, it’d make a pretty good casket.”

Duncan poses in front of his Candy Apple Red 1962 Corvette. Chris Preusse | Lariat

Just down the street, a blue 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS made its car show debut. Before owner Steve Lennon bought the car from a family friend about a year ago, he admitted to having limited knowledge of Ferraris and Italian cars, fixated mostly on American muscle.

“There’s another Ferrari down by the tents over there; it’s a red one that I really liked,” said Lennon, “In year’s past, I probably would have walked past it.”

Lennon noted that the Ferrari, which happens to be the same model and year as the one driven by Thomas Magnum in the television show “Magnum P.I.,” drew more attention than he is used to getting with his Mustang, which he’s shown at the San Clemente Car Show prior. Lennon also credited the car with rejuvenating his interest in vehicles over the past year.

Beyond the cars on display, many other free activities were available. There was live music from Irish rock band The Chancers, slot car racing, and even a Volkswagen Vanagon-turned-photo booth. Additionally, local vendors such as Gibroni’s Pizza, Blue Fish Bakery and Alohana Acai Bowls & Coffee offered food and refreshments.

The car show is the largest and highest-grossing event thrown by the SCDBA on an annual basis. While usually taking place in May or June, this year’s event was pushed back on account of internal restructuring.

“I knew we had to build up and make it as successful as possible for the 30th Annual,” said SCDBA co-chair Matt Hughes, “This is the year that we did a lot of rebuilding and a lot of refocusing and brought new board members on.”

Future SCDBA events include Treat Street on Avenida Del Mar on Oct. 24 and Puttin’ on the Glitz on Dec. 5. More information can be found on scdba.org.