Doug Ryder LPR President

Back when I was in high school and Porsche had already cemented its legendary winning record in racing, the 60's were in full roar, sports cars, and Porsche 911s in particular, were all business. Interiors were Spartan even by German standards with nondescript designs and materials, a radio maybe, and the only important interior element was the iconic dashboard with the giant tach in the center and surrounding gauges for everything else. And "No!" - there were no cup holders!

Problems were to be expected; after all, the performance was worth it. Porsches were high-strung, and you had to keep them wound up so the plugs didn't foul--and be prepared for a breakdown every once and a while. At least Porsche had the advantage of Bosch electrical components, whereas the poor U.K. guys had to deal with the infamous Lucas electrical systems!

But times have changed. Quality and luxury and are expected. J.D. Power and Assoc. recently reported the results from its annual "Initial Quality Study" for the 2012 model cars. And just who do you think won this year's coveted top honors? You're right, the Porsche 991! J.D. Power senior analyst Dave Sargent stated, "It's probably the best vehicle we've ever seen in the entire study. It's that good." He's not sure what Porsche has done to avoid early complaints for build quality and functionality, but it's impressive. This year Porsche takes the top honors away from perennial winner, Lexus, which remains the over-all No. 1 ranked, followed by Jaguar and Porsche.

It's clear that automakers of high-end cars are in fierce competition for consumer dollars and are willing to go to great lengths to create a unique identity. Those lucky enough to be able to afford a new 991 have choices. Porsche offers exhilarating performance, luxurious interiors and even more esoteric offerings to sweeten the pot.

Lexus has long offered super high-end sound systems in their cars designed and built by Mark Levenson. You may not know the name, but true audiophiles will vouch for the magnificent sound reproduction they are capable of. Porsche has now teamed up with another such audio company. It's called Burmester and they go head-to-head with the Mark Levensons of the world. The new 991 can be optioned with the Burmester Mobile Audio System for only a small upcharge of $5,500. For that you will get 12 speakers and power units capable of supplying 821 watts of pure sound - enough to wash out any road noise, even in a cabriolet with the top down!

Quality and luxury are considered two essential elements necessary to capture new customers. Yes, times have changed. Maybe I'm just getting old, but they sound good to me!

~ Doug   
 

Tom Provasi Membership Director

As you get this month's Post, many of us will be getting ready to head off to Salt Lake City to attend the Porsche Parade. I'm sure next month's newsletter will be full of articles and photos of the great times at Parade. I'm looking forward to driving Miller Motorsports Park, 30 minutes west of Salt Lake. The road course is 4.5 miles long and has 24 turns. It is the longest track in North America.

New members from PCA:  5   

Transfers in:  0      

Transfers out:  0     

Memberships that expired May 2012:  8     

Total renewals May 2012:  19   

Total = 521 (Primary = 298 , Affiliates = 223)

 Sometimes it takes a little slap to get me to appreciate all that I have and how lucky I am. After all, if I own a Porsche, that puts me in the "lucky" category of the economic class. That little slap came in the form of a charity event put on by the Bennetts at their house on June 23. As our LPR VP Emilie explained, the beneficiary of our charity event was the Morgan Autism Center, which is not to be confused with the Bob and Karen Morgan travel fund. When Emilie was describing this school for youth and adults with special needs and how some people struggle through life, I realized I seem to be on the gravy train. The center's mission is to "help children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities maximize their potential in a dignified, positive and loving environment." LPR member Brad Boardman is Director of Education at Morgan Autism Center, a job he approaches with enthusiasm, compassion and complete dedication.

This year, LPR is doing a series of charity events throughout the year, instead of our usual one big event. Jen arrived at the Bennetts early to help prepare the venue and assist in any way she could. I on the other hand, ended up arriving late. The sign on the door said, "ENTER", and the jocularity behind it said the same, so I did. As I arrived in the kitchen, by this time the party was in full swing. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to see me. I think they were worried the event stenographer wasn't going to show up and Deb was going to have to choose someone else. Were they happy or just relieved?

Bob Morgan & Debbie Bennett

Deb, the guru of organization, had it all planned out. Appetizers were on the dining table, the dinner smorgasbord was set up in their outside alcove and dining tables were set up outdoors in and around their pergola. How did they get all that to fit in their backyard? Amazing!

The Bennetts supplied all the food and drink so that the money we normally collect at the door for such an event went right to Morgan Autism Center. How generous is that!? Our main course was a selection of three types of pasta: penne with sausage and peas, eggplant lasagna, and linguine with shrimp. Deb and Kevin have a reputation for creating exquisite pasta dishes and they certainly lived up to their reputation. The meal was supplemented with salad, and garlic bread topped it off. I was obviously not the only one who thought the dinner was fabulous because I was just one of many who went back for seconds. Rumor has it Alex, the Bennett's grandson, finished off all the bread and lasagna.

The scheme for raising money was to auction off large boxes with unknown contents. Tony V., the Emcee for the evening, did his best at getting the club to rally around and start bidding (like how I get those car words into a non-car event?). Was it a silent auction? Not on your life! LPR silent? As if!

Emcee, Tony V. with help from Alex B.

I think some people took the bidding game really seriously because a few ladies arrived in disguise. Being a close-knit group, we saw through their disguises quickly. There was Sue S. hiding behind her Kardashian wanna-be shades and Kris incognito with her Versace sunglasses purchased, no doubt, at Kmart.  

The first box up for bid was a large round hatbox. It was 12" high and 12" in diameter, and according to Tony, weighed at least 100 pounds and was filled with treasures from the gods. Bidding was ferocious! It started with a bid from Jen at $20 and quickly catapulted to $40 then $55 by Suzette! Lucky me. I was the winning bid at $60. Woo hoo! Everyone was so curious about the contents, I had the bright idea of charging people to peek inside! I was offering a two-second peek for $5. The money I raised would go back to the night's proceeds. Amazingly enough I actually had four takers on the offer: Ken, Jacqueline, Kris, and Jane (Kris V's mother). I offered a brother/sister discount to Debbie and Kevin's GKs, Emily and Alex Bennett (both could peek for $7 but the cheap skates didn't go for it). I even offered a "family plan" deal to the Bennetts -- 4 for $15. But they didn't go for that either. Instead Alex and Emily found it cheaper to steal peeks whenever they could.

Stealing a Peek

The next auction item was a bit of a twist. Kevin decided to auction a $20 bill. Now at first this may seem bizarre but the rules gave the idea an interesting twist. The winning bid would, of course, get the $20 dollar bill, but the kicker was the person who was second highest also had to pay and would get nothing. So, you might think a bid of $15 would be a good deal for a $20 bill. But if you were out bid by someone who bid $16 you would need to pay $15 and get nothing. As it turned out the winning bid was $18 from Jane and the loser was Dick Wallace who had to pay $17 and got nothing except a whole lot of sympathy and laughs in his direction!  

Next up for auction was a smaller, oval hatbox, maybe 8" high and 12" long. Tony swore that this package did, honestly, come directly from the heavens, and even though smaller than the previous package, was no less valuable. Again the bidding was at a frantic pace until finally won by Big John with a winning bid of $45. I was told to report that Big John bought it for his lovely bride, Angie.

Ken bought the next box with a winning bid of $45! But Ken and June, being the super generous folks they are, gave the box back for re-auctioning. This time it was sold for $25. Amazingly, the same box was sold twice!

The final box to come out was the same size as the first box, the box I won. Once again Tony started the bidding at a low $20 and it quickly got up to $45 and was won by Kathy Musser. Without revealing to me what was in her box, she approached me with the best offer I had of the whole evening, "I'll let you look in mine, if you let me look in yours".

After the auctions out came the desserts! Oh my! I'm thinking of making a motion at the next board meeting to change our handle from "the good times region" to "the good food region"!! There was "Terrible Sue", or as some like to call it "Tiramisu"; there was "make your own" strawberry short cake with Italian almond cake and a Terrible Sue Torte. To top off the dessert, and to help wash it down, Debbie served up a home brew called Limoncello. The likes of which is reportedly a mix of vodka, lemon juice and sugar. It sure tasted great and nicely warmed my inside.  

Quotes of note from the evening: 1. Debbie to Tom Provasi, "I didn't think I wanted a big faucet, but now that I'm used to it I really like big ones" 2. Kris to Tony, " you know, the man with the sausage" the reference to what she was talking about I never did know but, out of context, it sure got my attention!  

Again we want to thank Debbie and Kevin for opening up their house (and risking their beautifully remodeled kitchen to the likes of us) and supplying all the food and beverages. I also want to thank Emile and Sue for organizing the event and especially for donating the boxes and their contents.

Tally for the evening was 37 people attended and we raised $1400. Nicely done folks!

   

Sept 14 - 16
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

The Cherry's Jubilee 2012 Driving Event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will be held on Friday Sept 14th through Sunday the 16th. That's right! Three full days of track driving. Put the date on your calendar and get ready for a great event. This is a PCA sponsored event, but all makes are welcome.  

Registration will open on Sunday morning, July 1st at 12:01 AM. We look forward to seeing you at the event.

Please visit our new website to read about the experience and luxury of attending our events. Details about the upcoming September Laguna date are available here:  CDS Upcoming Events 

Openings tend to fill up rather quickly, so we will send out another announcement before registration opens to ensure you don't miss it.If you have friends that are not on our mailing list and you think they might be interested, then have them sign up at  CoastalDriving.org 

Make hotel/motel reservations now, while demand is low. Accommodation prices are sure to increase as the date gets closer, due to Cherry's Jubilee activities. Put it on your calendar today! 

~ Matthew Phillips * CDS Registrar and Webmaster  

 http://www.coastaldriving.org/ 

Unclassified ads are available at no charge to PCA members. For inclusion in the next issue of the Prieta Post, ad copy and photos must be submitted to prietapost@gmail.com no later than the 25th of the month. Ads must be resubmitted each month to be included and will run on a space available basis for a maximum of 3 months. Non-member fee is $10.00 per month per ad and is due in advance. Checks should be made out to LPR/PCA and sent to Loma Prieta Region PCA, PO Box 0705, Santa Clara, CA 95052.