The April Touring Event on April 30^th was a great day. We had seven cars on our drive to Good’s Furniture in Kewanee, Illinois. The weather couldn’t have been better. It was good convertible weather for those that had them. We journeyed over to Kewanee, going through some lovely small towns. We arrived with time to shop before lunch. After a great lunch we continued to shop, some making purchases. It definitely takes more time than we had to really look at everything in the store.

On the return trip we drove to Bishop Hill, Illinois. This is a unique little town that is re-defining themselves and it is becoming a tourist stop. There were interesting shops to browse through, and if we had time I am sure the museums would have be equally interesting.

It was a fun time and a beautiful day to exercise the Porsches.

Our first Auto Cross of the year at Marshalltown, on Saturday, May 6^th, was a good beginning to the season.

We had 10 drivers and their best times are listed below:

Claire Baldwin 1.23.95

John Dyson 1.25.02

Jason Walter 1.27.60

Wayne Witten 1.28.42

Lois Olson 1.28.83

James Mulherin 1.29.86

Darrel Frett 1.30.06

Gary Milavetz 1.32.81

Doug Burger 1.32.97

Maralee Dyson 1.35.61

We would like to thank Chris Mulherin for his help with the flags, and Bob Dideriksen and Stasia Mulherin for running the stop watches.

It was also great to see new members Winston and Sue Barcellos with their new Millennium 911. Maybe next time they will do some timed runs with it.

Everyone has a chance to better their times, and those who couldn’t make it in May, come to Marshalltown on June 24^th. The format is the same. Practice time will start at 10:00am with timed runs at 1:00pm. Lunch will be on your own and the fee for each driver on the track is $25.00.

Directions: Exit 186 (Industrial Park, S 18^th Ave.), go north to Anson St. (2.3 miles), turn right and the facility is on the left at the end of the street. You can not see the track from the street but you will see the sign and the garages.

If you are not sure you want to drive just come up and watch. You can help with various duties that need to be done, such as running the timing watches, flag the drivers, check in drivers, etc. This is a club event and we always welcome participants and helpers.

We would like to say "Welcome" to some new members.

Steven and Candy Bradley of Cascade, who drive a 1976, red 912. Patrick and Lindy Killean of Marion. They have a white 1982 911 SC Targa.

Also, we have a transfer in from the Arizona Region. Carla Nash now lives in Waterloo and drives a 1973 911T. Welcome to our region.

We are glad to have you all and hope to see you soon at a club function.

One of the best things about being an active member of a local chapter of the PCA is that you get to meet a lot of interesting people. And, contrary to the popular stereotype of Porsche owners as unemployed rich people, we are a diverse lot. We have members who are mechanics, accountants, tradesmen, Lawyers, florists, doctors, students, retirees, and Housewives. We have teenage members, young adult members, middle-age members and members in their 80's. We have Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and Agnostics. Just about any way you choose to slice it, the membership is diverse. However, this doesn't mean that people who own Porsches can't be categorized in other ways. I find that I can pigeonhole individuals based on some other measures. It's fun to do this, since it strips each person of his individuality and allows me to simplify my world.

Basically, I classify owners based on how they use their cars and to a lesser extent on what kind of Porsche they drive (or want to drive- since some of our members don't have cars). Herewith, my list, in no particular order – with special emphasis on my personal biases and stereotypes.

THE WORRIER

The WORRIER is the Porsche owner (usually a new owner) who frets constantly about every detail regarding his baby. Most of us are WORRIERS to some degree when we get our first Porsche. WORRIERS will approach everyone in the Club about which weight and brand of oil they should use in their car. They'll get on the inter-net and research endlessly trying to find the best leather conditioner, aromatherapy wax, herbal car wash, tire pressure gauge, etc. They'll change their oil every 500 miles and replace the air in their tires because it might be stale. They'll short-shift their car at 2500 RPM just to make sure it doesn't get over-revved (even though the previous owner may have regularly banged it up against redline). The WORRIER won't corner his car hard because that would place undue strain on the delicate chassis. These guys are usually cured when they discover that their anal behavior has actually done more damage than good to their car; "Well, sir, you car runs like crap because the valves and combustion chambers are totally carboned up -you should run this thing hard through the gears every once in awhile to clean it out." Or: "I'm sorry sir, but your paint was damaged by leaving the bra on your car while it was raining.'' If the WORRIER isn't cured quickly he may evolve into the undesirable "QUEEN."

TECHNOS

Everyone knows who the TECHNO is, he's the guy that can quote by memory the entire text of Karl Ludvigsen's massive Porsche -Excellence Was Expected. TECHNOS are useful as Club pets because at many events you don't have internet access to the Library of Congress. They can answer most of your Porsche-related questions right off the top of their head. If you want to have some fun, ask a TECHNO a question that he can't answer -- he'll be up for three days straight trying to figure it out so he can preserve his honor. They can drive any kind of Porsche, it doesn't really matter, they see themselves more as experts on Porsche lore rather than active participants in the Porsche driving experience.

STATUS CONSCIOUS

Peter Schutz, former president of Porsche, once said; "for some people, a Porsche is nothing more than a fur coat, it's something you wear, not something you drive". Peter was describing the STATUS owner. It is extremely unlikely that you will ever meet one of these owners at a Club event. Why? Because they don't know that the Club exists, and they wouldn't join it if they did. These are the people that create the unfavorable Porsche-owner stereotype. They overdress, wear too much gold, park in handicapped zones, have bad traffic manners, and look down their noses at everyone. If you happen to meet one of them in say, a parking lot, and you are not driving your Porsche the conversation could go something like this:

You: "Nice 993, how do you like it?"

STATUS owner: "Actually it's not a '93, it's a '97 'Porsh' Carrera. I like it okay, but you have to shift it a lot and my wife's Lexus rides much better. I might trade it for a Boxer, they ride smoother and you can get an automatic in them. I know a guy at the dealership"

This guy knows absolutely nothing about Porsches except what they cost. The Porsche Gods created STATUS owners so the rest of us could get good used cars. When the status effect of the car wears off and they discover that Porsches "ride like sports cars", STATUS owners sell them and move on to Lincoln SUV's~ or stretch Hummers. Meanwhile, we all suffer.

Editors Note: This saga will continue in the next issue. Look for TUE GARAGE QUEENS, WILD-ASS GEARHEADS and more.

Cars Receive Editors' and Readers' Choice Awards at New York International Auto Show

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, April 24, 2000 --- The 3.2-liter, 250-horsepower Porsche Boxster S and the 300-horsepower Porsche 911 Carrera were recognized as the Best Luxury Sports Cars for 2000 by Automobile Magazine. The monthly automotive enthusiast publication selected the two high performance Porsche sports cars to receive its annual Editors' Choice and Readers' Choice All-Star Awards, respectively.

Jean Jennings, editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine, presented the awards to Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) President and CEO Frederick J. Schwab during a special ceremony at the New York International Auto Show, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is being held April 22-30, 2000, at the Javits Center.

"We're proud the editors selected the Boxster S to receive this award. This means a lot to Porsche," Schwab said. "Since more than 600,000 people read Automobile Magazine every month, it's also great that so many of those readers chose the 911 to receive the Readers' Choice Award this year. Both cars are highly capable and potent contenders in their respective classes and wonderful examples of top-quality German automotive engineering."

The Automobile Magazine Editors' Choice All-Star Awards recognize vehicles in 13 separate categories each year as; best-in-class performers. To select the winners, the magazine's editors drove 40 cars on country roads and racetracks for four days and voted for their top choices. Readers participate by voting for their favorites from among more than 200 vehicle models to determine the Readers' Choice All-Star recipients. This year's winners will be published in the May 2000 issue of Automobile Magazine.

PCNA, based in Atlanta, Ga., is the exclusive importer of Porsche cars for the United States. A wholly owned subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG, PCNA employs approximately 220 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, marketing and training for its 205 dealers in North America. They, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service.

Copy Courtesy of Porsche Cars North America