Mustang Club Brings Community to Gemba Automotive in Surprise, AZ
Nearly 30 Ford Mustangs gathered for an unforgettable celebration of cars, community, and connection
The Day the Mustangs Took Over Our Shop
Written by Nicole Ellan James
Reviewed by Justin Ayala, Gemba Automotive ASE Master Certified Technician
On February 21 the sound of rumbling V-8's filled the air as nearly 30 Ford Mustangs from various generations took over the Gemba Automotive shop in Surprise, Arizona. Hoods went up almost immediately. Small groups formed around engine bays while owners compared modifications, swapped stories, and pointed out details only other Mustang people would ever notice. The Wild West Mustang Club was built around exactly what you'd expect: driving, talking cars, helping each other out, and finding excuses to get Mustangs together.
With the Phoenix sun shining down on the variety of mustangs with metallic paints and glittering chrome, the event at Gemba allowed members to gather and point out details only other Mustang enthusiast would notice, like custom exhaust set-ups and engine dress-up kits. Small groups formed to swap stories about their cars, current restoration projects, to upcoming road trips. Others examined the performance upgrades between the generations of Mustangs while members reminisced over favorite Mustang memories.
"Most of the members of the club are located in the Sun City West and the Surprise area," said Justin Ayala, a member of the club who is also the Area Manager for Gemba Automotive and a life-long Ford Mustang enthusiast. "We were able to provide the club with a big parking lot and a gathering place for members to meet up, a lot of them are my customers as well."
For Ayala, this wasn't just a manager hosting an event, it was someone bringing two parts of his life together. Ayala has been passionate about Mustangs since he was a child and said he has owned over 30 Mustangs throughout his life. He has experience working at Ford as an SVT (Special Vehicle Team) Tech, and has road raced and drag raced everything from Cobras to Ford Lightnings. As the current owner of a 1995 Ford Mustang GT, Ayala was able to create a space where relationships can exist outside of the normal shop transactions and allowed him to create a natural extension of how Gemba Automotive already operates by staying connected to its customers after the repair is completed and the vehicle leaves the bay.
"It was a community event and an introduction for club members to get to know who we are, and a great way for us to get to know them," he said. According to Ayala, many members of the Wild West Mustang Club are snowbirds and have vehicles that may sit in the garage during the summer months, waiting for their owners to return, which means they get prepped for the summer slumber and for a season of Arizona's beautiful winter driving. Before many owners leave for the season, they stop by to make sure the cars are ready to sit through months of extreme heat.
Gemba Automotive keeps the connection alive by becoming a year-round touchpoint for these owners. Ayala added that the shop performs everything from checking tire pressure to making sure there are no major leaks and that everything is in good working order.
Ayala and his team at Gemba Automotive have years of experience and a vast knowledge base. "It doesn't have to be a Mustang or a new car, we can work on older vehicles," he said, adding that he hopes to host a more regular club meetup when things cool down in the fall.
That sense of community doesn't end when the cars leave the lot. The Wild West Mustang Club is comprised of approximately 60 vehicles that span from the first-generation Mustang to the latest model. For many members like Ayala, it's not just about the vehicles, but it's about the shared connections built around them. These events give people a reason to come back, check in, and feel like they belong to something while they are in town. Whether it's weekend cruises, Cars and Coffee meetups, or holiday toy drives, the club gives owners a reason to keep showing up, not just for the cars, but for the people behind them.