What is it?: The Automotive Enthusiasts Club (AEC) is a student-run organization on the UW- Platteville campus that diligently focuses on fixing, improving and learning about all things automotive-related. This club began as a collection of automotive enthusiasts that wanted to group a wide range of knowledge and skills together. Since the beginning, the club has grown exponentially. In a few short years, we have grown from a very small group to over 80 current members. There is an overwhelming wealth of knowledge throughout our club, which includes motor building, ECU tuning, welding, electronics, troubleshooting, bodywork and paint. The club owns a red 1985 Pontiac Firebird and takes part in the endless process of converting it into a drag car and lowering our timed passes. The club also owns a 1985 BMW 528i that is used for autocross events and for members to learn fabrication and maintenance skills involved in keeping an autocross car running. Our most recent project, a 1991 Chevy S10 is being built from the frame up and will serve as a more advanced and higher-performance drag racer.

Who can join?: Any UWP student can join. Although a lot of members are knowledgeable within the automotive field, there are no requirements necessary in order to join the club. You don’t have to know anything about cars or even own one to join; at AEC we simply require that you have the desire to learn.

Meetings: If anyone is interested in the club, we hold meetings on Wednesdays at 6 pm in Russell Hall, room 101B.

Events: We host two car shows every school year, one in the spring and one in the fall. This year, our Spring show will be on May 6, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Russell Hall parking lot. Event Registration for this show is $15. You can get $5 off of your registration if you bring at least one non-perishable food item for donation to the local food pantry. You can find more information about this car show on our Facebook page.

Note from our President: Here at AEC, we encourage any automotive enthusiast who has a passion for automobiles or the desire to learn or share automotive-related knowledge, processes and procedures to consider joining our club.