Blas Garcia Moros loves to drive high-end cars. He loves it so much that one was just not enough — not even a Ferrari 360 Spider. So the former Microsoft executive created Collexium, a private car-share club that will launch from a Fort Lauderdale warehouse by the end of August. Club members can get behind the wheel of Lamborghinis, Aston Martins and other sleek cars that Moros says have an average price tag of $200,000.
“There’s nothing like this in South Florida,” Moros claims. Within two years, he says, Collexium will have a dozen clubs around the nation.
Auto-share clubs are a relatively new idea in the United States, with a handful spread among major cities. The market for them is still untested: It’s hard to know whether the thrill of driving several fancy cars will outweigh the desire to actually own one. But South Florida is one of the best places for such a club, given the weather, demographics and car-obsessed culture, Moros says.
It may not be long before Collexium has some competition. The owners of Classic Car Club Manhattan expect to open a club in Miami later this year.
The Manhattan club is affiliated with the Classic Car Club London, which AutoWeek calls the pioneer in auto-sharing clubs. While Classic Car Club Manhattan’s fleet is now muscle cars and other classics, it plans to add high-performance vehicles like the Collexium’s.
Unlike its rival though, Collexium’s membership is by invitation only. Charter members for its first club include John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox who formerly owned the Florida Marlins, and Manny Medina, Terremark Worldwide chairman and chief executive.
“It’s like being a kid in a candy store,” Medina says. “I can take the Lamborghini one weekend, and if I’m feeling really funky, the Lotus.”
The cost isn’t cheap. But the people the club is targeting — generally those who already drive such cars — can afford it.
Besides a $15,000 initiation fee, members pay a $15,000 annual fee that buys them about 30 days worth of driving, depending on the vehicle and time of year. Members can purchase “points” for additional driving privileges.