NM Motor Events revs up for huge car show in RR

RIO RANCHO — There have been car meets and shows in Rio Rancho before, but Michael Gonzales, owner of Cafe Bella Coffee and New Mexico Motor Events, is gearing up for one of his biggest events yet.

Gonzales, alongside event partner Outlaw Desert Racing, intends to bring car enthusiasts from the entire state to the Rio Rancho Events Center upper parking lot June 28 for New Mexico Motorfest. Registration for participants began April 29.

“New Mexico Motorfest 2025 is going to be massive. In the past, New Mexico Motor Events has done a wide portfolio of community events, most of them wide open, come as you are, like our tacos and ride series. This event is stepping it up a little bit,” Gonzales explained.

The large-format event will require advance online registration for a gated selection of participants, he said. Gonzales, a known organizer in the car enthusiast world, has done similar events before, but nothing on this scale.

“It’s kind of a culmination of the New Mexico cruise series. We had a good success with that for years, but with the success also came many challenges, and it was mostly, unfortunately, due to the structures of the municipalities,” he said.

He explained that the cruise, typically held in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and later in Belen, worked until it didn’t.

“So we decided to pull back on that. And our legacy comes from being facilitators of the Jemez Cruise for the last three years until we literally broke it and were politely asked to never come back, which is fine,” he said.

The large-scale gated event, he said, is something new and different that will offer a “festival environment” for the community.

“We’re trying to combine the energy of a concert series or electronic music festival vibe where everybody is in parcel of land, diverse activities and attributes going on, party within a party type thing,” Gonzales said.

He got into what makes this event different from other events and more specifically the difference between a car meet and a car show.

“Traditionally, a car meet is a meetup. It’s usually marketed electronically, that’s when it started being a popular trend and by doing that, they’re able to create an invite for people to meet up and with an automotive meet car meet, truck meat, bike meat, whatever. Optional structure of that is an allocated and authorized location. It’s come as you are. It’s first-come, first-served; there’s no registration. There’s no space saving. There’s no judging, and there’s no awards. That’s your traditional meet. We have experience in that for a decade-plus,” he said.

He was referring to Tacos and Rides at Cafe Bella Coffee that happens every Friday except for Christmas and New Year’s. It is generally a spot for enthusiasts to “talk shop” or just hang out and is a regular event that happens “rain or shine”. “It’s kind of a modern twist on the old drive-in hangouts,” he said.

“Then you have traditional car shows. There’s some some key aspects about them. Some of them are open for attendees, free public walk-in. Others are gated, like the one that we’re ramping up to, New Mexico Motorfest,” he explained.

Car shows usually have requirements for a vehicle to win. There are also different classes of car. More importantly, especially for the larger events, cars remain parked once the show begins for safety purposes. Gonzales has experience in many types of shows and meets. Though it isn’t always easy to organize these events, Gonzales doesn’t see himself doing anything else.

“I love it. I have the aptitude for it. We have the tools, we have the right people. We’ve hopefully earned the respect of the motor enthusiast community by doing so,” he said.

The important thing he always stresses with any money made from a car show is that it go to some cause or charity. He has donated money as well as canned goods to nonprofits, including Rio Rancho’s St. Felix Pantry. Earlier this year, NM Motor Events was successful in donating more than 2,000 pounds of canned goods to the pantry, “which is a record-breaker for not just a car scene, but all kinds of entities. So, we’re looking forward to that again. We’re deeply involved with the annual Toys for Tots Show and Shine, and that will continue.”

Gonzales, who said he had been to many car events nationally, said Motorfest will be different from what he’s seen.

“I don’t think anybody has successfully pulled this off yet. This is new, and we’re leveraging technology, we’re leveraging over a decade of relationships, to put everything together in one spot. The most common question that I get when I’m out in the community from enthusiast is, ‘Hey, when’s your next classic car show?’ So, the entire time that I’ve existed in this environment, I have never put on a classic car show,” he said.

Motorfest will have classics, but Gonzales’ shows generally include all years, makes and models. The culture of modified vehicles will also be prevalent. One of the vendors, Albuquerque Auto Swap, regularly holds swap meets in which enthusiasts can trade parts. There are also unconventional genres of car that people might not consider like the off-road or rally cars.

Gonzales has invited anyone in the state to attend, but he also recognized his home community, Rio Rancho. The city is home to him, his business and his car club, so he welcomes the community with open arms. He added that people of all ages from “stroller age” to older folks will find commonality in the event.

The Motorfest event will feature local vendors, live performances and a DJ.

Registration and ticket information can be found at newmexicomotorevents.com.