Car clubs began as a way for car lovers to share their enjoyment and enthusiasm for the automobile with like-minded people. One of the first car clubs to reach prominence was the Crosley Car Owners Club, a group for owners of cars built by the Crosley Corporation in Richmond, Indiana; established in 1939 and still in existence today.

Since the formation of the Crosley Car Owners Club, countless other car clubs have sprung up across the world. Some clubs are orientated around a specific type, make or model, with some even going as far as to be solely based on a single production run of a vehicle, while other groups can vary in focus from one to the other to suit the owner and enthusiasts. Some groups do not even require ownership of a car for people to join. Typically, car clubs are run as non-profit groups run by an elected committee, but other clubs, such as the Ferrari Owners Club, are so large that it is run as a paid business with salaried employees.

There are many advantages and benefits that car lovers can enjoy by joining a car club. Many groups offer publications dealing specifically with the car or make of their choice. These publications are of great interest to club members, with photographs, service and parts advice and the chance to correspond with other enthusiasts across the world. Through such correspondence, car clubs would organise "meets", offering a chance for the members to get together and discuss their vehicles. These meets are often open to non members who have an interest in the vehicles too.

The tradition of the car club changed dramatically with the advent of the internet. Many car clubs became exclusively web-based, offering instant messaging, file storage and photo sharing services. Physical publications sent out to members of clubs also became rare, with most groups preferring to publish information on their website due to the low cost involved and the ease of archiving material.

Despite the era of the traditional car club being generally considered to be over, the internet presence of such groups is still huge. Web based car clubs boast the advantage of being able to keep members right up to date on any specialist vehicles for sale, with information on said vehicles easily accessible. Many car enthusiasts also find the wealth of information and experience on technical and "modding" tips, as well as driving characteristics to be incredibly useful - a fact emphasised by new car enthusiasts joining web-based car clubs consistently over the past ten years.

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