The Social Club That Gives Back: How Fast Lane Drive is Making An Impact

To a young Parisian car-enthusiast starting a new life in California, nothing beats cruising down Highway 1 in a shiny convertible. That’s exactly what Clement Connor rented when he landed at LAX in 2008, 10 years before he started Fast Lane Drive. 

Unsurprisingly, a lot has changed for Clement. Since his first days in California, he started San Diego’s premiere luxury car club, Fast Lane Drive, which has expanded to two new cities this year with over one-hundred members nationwide. Like Clement, Fast Lane also has humble beginnings. What was once a small group of friends who shared a passion for fast cars and weekend drives is now the most exclusive networking and social group on the West Coast. Just this year, Clement opened two new chapters of Fast Lane Drive: one in Scottsdale, Arizona and another in Los Angeles, California. Though San Diego will always be the flagship location of Fast Lane Drive (having met its membership cap of 100 in 2021), Clement hopes that the two new chapters will become equally successful and have their own respective impacts on their local communities. 

Though Fast Lane Drive has grown considerably over the last five years, it still maintains a strong commitment to supporting local, national, and even global philanthropic objectives. Fast Lane’s Board of Directors has always adamantly upheld a strict application process, in order to ensure that all the group remains cohesive. Though a handful of factors go into their decision-making process, it’s important to them that members are interested in philanthropy. 

“When we started Fast Lane, we knew we had something special,” says Clement. “We had a community of people who had the means to make an impact.” As a group, Fast Lane Drive has donated over $300,000 and countless hours to local charities. Its members would agree that the best way to enjoy the luxury lifestyle is to improve the lives of others wherever and whenever possible. 

“San Diego has given me so much,” says Clement, when asked about his move to San Diego in 2007. “I am so grateful for the life I have created for myself over the past 15 years. I love this city and I wanted to find a way to give back to a place that has made my life today possible.” 

Over the past 5 years, Fast Lane Drive has contributed to dozens of local and national charities through volunteer services, cash donations, and raising awareness. The club incorporates a good mix of philanthropic traditions and new donation opportunities to expand its reach as wide as possible. Every December, Fast Lane organizes a toy drive for the Ronald McDonald House Charity. 2021 was a new club record with a whopping 500+ toys dropped off at the donation center by a drive through lineup of Lamborghinis, Ferraris, McLarens, and more. But Fast Lane members aren’t just great at picking out toys, they are also eager to reach into their own pockets and donate to local entities. As a group, they’ve raised over $5k for the SDPD and $10k for Rady Children’s Hospital. Just last month, Clement raised $50,000 for San Diego Coastkeeper with the generous donations of his fellow members. 

Clement Connor and his co-founders make a conscious effort to incorporate Fast Lane’s commitment to philanthropy into every event. They once turned a member’s personal connection to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society into a Poker Night Gala and raised over $25,000. In 2020, Fast Lane teamed up with Voices for Children at the request of one of its members and took a group of foster kids on a drive through San Diego. Most of Fast Lane’s philanthropic focus is based on the connections of its members, which makes the entire philanthropic purpose all the more personal. 

Now that Fast Lane Drive just opened its third chapter in Los Angeles, its philanthropic reach will go that much further. To learn more about the club, Clement, and membership opportunities in LA, San Diego, and Scottsdale, visit www.fastlanedrive.com.