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The Automobile Club of Southern California is the
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
affiliate of the
American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...
(AAA) federation of
motor club Automobile associations, also referred to as motoring clubs, motoring associations, motor clubs, are organizations, either for-profit or non-profit, which motorists (drivers and vehicle owners) can join to enjoy benefits provided by the club relat ...
s. The Auto Club was founded on December 13, 1900, in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
as one of the nation's first motor clubs dedicated to improving roads, proposing traffic laws, and improvement of overall driving conditions. Today, it is the single largest member of the AAA federation, with almost 8 million members in its home territory of Southern California, more than 16 million members across all subsidiaries in 21 states, and an annual budget in excess of $2 billion.


History


Early years

The Auto Club was an early advocate for the construction of the
Ridge Route The Ridge Route, officially the Castaic–Tejon Route, was a two-lane highway between Los Angeles County and Kern County, California. Opened in 1915 and paved with concrete between 1917 and 1921, the road was the first paved highway directly ...
, the first highway through the
Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwest ...
and
San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...
, which directly linked Los Angeles to
Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
and the Central Valley. The completion of the Ridge Route greatly facilitated automobile travel through this significant mountain barrier. Starting around 1910, the Auto Club sent teams of
cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
s to survey the state's roads for the production of maps and to create a uniform signing system. The Auto Club posted thousands of porcelain-on-steel
traffic sign Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduce ...
s throughout the state and continued to do so until the State of California took over the task in the mid-1950s. The signs were produced by a local company that manufactured porcelain-on-steel bathtubs. A few of these signs remain in service today, though they are extremely rare. In 1923, the Auto Club's main office on the corner of
Figueroa Street Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in Los Angeles County, California, spanning from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington north to Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs just south of Marengo Driv ...
and Adams Boulevard in
downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
was completed. Designed by architects Sumner P. Hunt and Silas R. Burns, and built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the building now serves as the
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
branch office. The club's headquarters are still in Los Angeles but its administrative offices are in
Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of t ...
. From 1934 through 1941, the building's courtyard served as the site of the Auto Club's annual "Outing Show," which promoted motor vacations and camping. These events were halted after the start of the war and were never revived. During the course of the war, the Auto Club played a leadership role in scrap rubber and metal drives and printed numerous posters for the war effort, including the "Give Them a Lift" campaign, which encouraged motorists to give rides to hitchhiking servicemen. The Auto Club has also experienced its share of scandals. In 1970, the Auto Club incurred the wrath of Los Angeles city councilman
Marvin Braude Marvin Braude (11 August 1920 – 7 December 2005) was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 32 years, between 1965 and 1997—the third-longest-serving council member in the history of the city. He was “a champion of bike paths,” advoc ...
when it opposed an initiative that would have authorized diversion of state fuel tax revenues away from road construction to reducing smog and expanding mass transit. Braude ran for the Auto Club's board the next year and lost, then promptly sued the Auto Club over alleged unfairness in its election procedures that enabled the incumbent board to make itself self-perpetuating. His lawsuit dragged on for over 15 years and involved three trials and three appeals, all of which Braude ultimately won. In the end, the Auto Club was forced to revise its election procedures to give board outsiders a better chance of actually winning seats, and it was ordered to pay Braude's attorney's fees. Furthermore, the ''Braude'' case revealed that the Auto Club had been exploiting several loopholes in California corporate law, which caused the state Legislature to enact a comprehensive revision of the California Nonprofit Corporation Law in 1978.


Recent years

Today, the Automobile Club of Southern California's affiliated insurance company, the Interinsurance Exchange of the Auto Club, is one of California's largest insurers. It provides coverage for automobiles, homes, recreational vehicles, motorcycles and watercraft. It also provides umbrella (liability) insurance. It is organized as a
reciprocal inter-insurance exchange A reciprocal inter-insurance exchange or simply a reciprocal is an unincorporated association in which subscribers exchange insurance policies to pool and spread risk. For consumers, reciprocal exchanges often offer similar policies to those offere ...
rather than as a conventional insurance company. The Auto Club is the largest member of the AAA federation. The Auto Club is still a membership organization, and provides as a member benefit maps, travel planning, emergency roadside service, and DMV services. Members also receive ''Westways,'' a magazine devoted to travel and automotive subjects. Branch offices stretch from
Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...
, near the international border with
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, to the small town of
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, in California's eastern Sierra mountains.


AAA expansion program

In 1996, the Auto Club began an expansion program that involved the purchase of or affiliation with several other AAA motor clubs across the country by acquiring AAA Hawaii, AAA New Mexico, and AAA Texas. It went on to affiliate with
AAA Northern New England AAA Northern New England (AAANE) is the affiliate of the American Automobile Association which serves the U.S. states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. It is based in Portland, Maine. History AAA Vermont was the Vermont arm of the American ...
(serving New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine) in 2003 and AAA Missouri (serving Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and portions of Illinois and Indiana) in 2006. AAA Alabama was acquired in 2007. The Auto Club later affiliated with AAA East Central (serving portions of Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia); it affiliated with AAA Tidewater in 2012.


Other affiliated programs

From Central California northward, the
California State Automobile Association California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, now called AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah, provides services to ACSC members who travel north. AAA Northern California and ACSC are both members of the AAA federation of motor clubs. While membership is not interchangeable among AAA clubs, each club provides certain services to all AAA members on a reciprocal basis, notably roadside assistance. In recent years, the Auto Club has returned to its roots with involvement in auto racing, sponsoring the annual
Auto Club 400 The Pala Casino 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It is the second race of the Cup Series season (after the Daytona 500) and has been since 2022 as well ...
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
race in Fontana and
NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...
Auto Club Finals in Pomona. The tracks where both events are held (
Auto Club Speedway Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
and
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona The Pomona Raceway (known as In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip for commercial reasons, previously Auto Club Raceway at Pomona), is a racing facility located in Pomona, California that features a quarter-mile dragstrip. Since its opening in 1961, th ...
, respectively), along with a drag strip in Bakersfield (Auto Club Famoso Raceway), all have naming rights held by the Auto Club. The Auto Club sponsors
Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
driver
Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
's No. 22 Ford at the
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Cup Series race in Fontana. The Auto Club also sponsors the
NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...
funny car Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appea ...
team
John Force Racing John Force Racing is an NHRA drag racing team. In over 30 years of competition, John Force Racing has won one Top Fuel and 20 Funny Car championships. The current line-up of drivers includes Top Fuel drivers Brittany Force, Austin Prock and Funn ...
and its driver
Robert Hight Robert Hight (born August 20, 1969) is an NHRA drag racer and president of John Force Racing, and driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. He is a three-time NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car ch ...
. When the
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
ran at
Auto Club Speedway Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
in Fontana,
Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona wit ...
ran an Auto Club livery from 2012 to 2015. Castroneves is also a
Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
driver.


See also

* * John W. Baumgartner, Los Angeles City Council member, 1933–35, opposed Auto Club signs on city streets


References


External links


Official Automobile Club of Southern California website
{{Authority control
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
Automobile associations in the United States History of California History of Los Angeles Southern California Transportation in California Map companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles Non-profit organizations based in California Organizations established in 1900 1900 establishments in California 20th century in Los Angeles *