Peter Zimmermann

I just got my July '08 issue of Pano, and was pleasantly surprised to find a very interesting article written by Jim Schrager. I think that it's a must read for the members of our forum...

Amber Gramps

How do we know this isn't spam?




Pano? is this slang for Porsche Panorama?

flatsixnut

I just emailed PCA. It appears my membership expired without me getting a notice.
Now I am wondering if its worth it to re-up.

Peter Zimmermann

Oops! Sorry about that - yes, Porsche Panorama. For you non-PCA members, it might be a good idea to borrow a copy. I've never checked the PCA website, maybe copies are available from the club for prospective future members...

justinsrx7

What's the article about Pete?

Jay H

I too read the article in Pano. I enjoyed it. It's been the first Pano in a long time that I've enjoyed. My membership is up and I'm not renewing...go figure that my last issue would be a good one for once.

Anyway, I really agree with the author of this article. He made some good points about what to expect to go wrong on a hobby car. I have a 3.2, but some of that stuff that fails was right on the money as to what I've experienced after 12 years of 911 ownership.

Peter Zimmermann

A little bit of history that leads to a discussion about the 911SC, their pricing, desirability, a few pointers regarding what to expect regarding repairs, but most of all, how they are still available at prices that many of us can actually afford. Mr. Schrager closes with the following paragraph: "And what a fabulous first Porsche it is, until the world catches on and discovers what wonderful cars these are. Then prices will start to rise and we'll be on the hunt for the next Porsche hobby car."

To echo Jay's comment, I, a 36-year member of PCA, have found, for a few years now, Pano to be seriously lacking in it's articles; far too much time has been devoted to a very privileged few who get to travel to foreign lands, sample new car delights, and fly home and write their stories - far too often. The magazine used to be about real people, and written for real people, but one gets the feeling that none of the current PCA board has ever hung out at an independent shop (or in a DIYers garage) and arrived home with dirty fingernails and smelling after transmission fluid drained from a 300,000 mile 356 C with door dings and road rash. The article by Mr. Schrager was not only refreshing, it was a total surprise, and I think that speaks volumes.

Daniel Dudley

Yup, best article in forever.

MDL

I agree. I would like to see more DIY stuff as well. Pano seems to cater to the owners of newer cars rather than the grass roots hobbyists, which is a shame. I have not found any publications that fill this nitch in the Porsche world. If I want to read about how to do something about my 69 Camaro I can go to any grocery store and find at least 5 or 6 mags with all kinds of articals. Not so for Porsche. If there is a publication out there I would love to learn about it.

I will say that Pano has by far the best photography work of any publication I have seen. Leonard Turner's work is incredible. I also think they have a good classified section. Hey...you can't beat free!

irobertson

Yes, just got the new issue as well and the SC hobby car is a really good article.
There is also one which is a first hand account of Ferdinand Porsche's running of the 1910 Prince Heinrich competition, in which he took first place. Very interesting look at motor racing 100 years ago.

Edgy01

There was a REALLY good article in the February issue... :-)

theiceman

yeah i thought that article was about me :-)

Woody

I would not re-up my PCA membership if it were not for keeping track of the local PCA club which is pretty active. Pano normally has little to nothing of interest but I do have to admit the Hobby Car article was the first read this time. I have to agree with what others have said; that it would be nice if they featured some real life cars and projects.

I recently read that the numbers of water cooled owners in the PCA have passed the air cooled owners as members. Maybe PCA is trying to cater to these owners of newer cars but I think they are missing the boat with Pano content.

Ed Hughes

I guess I don't understand your statement. Ultimately, the local region is what PCA is about. Sure, it is PC of AMERICA, but the local region is where most of us spend our time, and is really our club and what we identify with.

Peter Zimmermann

I totally agree, unfortunately my local experiences over the last something-teen years also hasn't been great. I belonged to Los Angeles Region from the git-go, and when it was made up of people who owned 356s, 2.7 liter 911s and 914s it was a rip-roaring club. On the other side of town there was a club called POC; they raced, PCA-LA partied, went to rallies, and had car shows at Santa Anita. No one had an identity crisis, no one cared if another guy's 356 had a door ding or an oil leak. Then, sometime between the aerospace collapse in 1990, and the intro of the 996 in early '99, PCA seemed to have lost its way. All of a sudden the parking lot outside the dinner meeting began to look different, as Twin Turbos took the place of B-Model Roadsters with faded paint and a top that didn't work, and (inside) red wine took the place of beer. Gucci replaced J.C. Penny, Dockers replaced Denims, Rolex replaced Timex. Perfection replaced mussed hair from a wild ride to the meeting with the top down. I went to a meeting and didn't know anybody there. I went to a concours show where a friend asked the owner of a spectacular Speedster (356 type) who had painted his car. A semi-sneer was accompanied by, "That's for me to know, and you to figure out..." as the owner turned on his heel and strode away. "Where did the love go," my friend wondered. Then I was told that PCA-LA, 650+ members strong, had dropped to about 80 active members. Board members didn't have "a" Porsche, they had a collection of them (and on its face there's nothing wrong with that).

Now I belong to GEM (Golden Empire Region), and perhaps we should give them a chance. They're not big, and they're not overly active, but they do try to put on a couple of slaloms a year. We did a rallye with them, and the party after was in the backyard of a member's house. It was fun. GEM doesn't have a newsletter, communication is by e-mail. I don't mind that either. I think that I'll watch for when the next rallye is...