Archive - 2000-2001

Auspuff

October 7, 2001

Chuck- Since Rob still has nothing important to say, we are going to let Lorne Blackman have the podium, once again. I think you will find it an interesting and thought provoking read (republished with permission), well worth discussing here at PPBB:

By: Lorne Blackman

Background

I have been a member of PCA Potomac Region for three years, having joined on the arrival of my 1998 Boxster. For the first two of those years I was a passive member, paying my dues and avidly reading the publications but not involved beyond that. At the same time I was increasingly involved with local Boxster owners and in the growing internet-facilitated Boxster community.

In that community there has been a recurring question along the lines of "why bother with PCA?" I have participated in that discussion, recently writing a piece for the Potomac Region magazine that tried to pull together some of the strands of the conversation. In response to the article I was challenged to think about how PCA regions can better integrate new Boxster owner/members into their clubs; specific interests Boxster owners have that may differ from other owners and emerging internet-fueled trends; and, how to draw Boxster owners out to club events.

In thinking about this, let me define the challenge of "integrating new members" as being more than signing them up as club members. Integration needs to mean actively involving new members in the functions of the club, and ideally providing volunteer energy and effort to the club.

Inclusion / exclusion: the challenges of group membership

The challenge of integrating new members, including Boxster owners, into PCA regional groups is the same as integrating new members into any existing group. There are at least two sets of dynamics we all experience:

[1] When I join a new group I feel awkward and unsure of how I will be accepted. The question on my mind is "what does this group have to offer me?" and the emotional hurdle I need to overcome is whether the anticipated benefit will be enough to offset my discomfort. When I am joining a group of people who are fundamentally different than I am [air cooled engines? Front engine, rear drive?] then the hurdle is even higher because the question I am focused on is "what on earth would this group of people, with different interests, have to offer me?" The challenge is to find common ground that transcend points of difference.

[2] When someone new joins a group that I am a member of, my first reaction at an unconscious [or conscious] level is to feel imposed upon and to reject the new member. The new member disrupts the existing equilibrium, in terms of both substantive interests and interpersonal dynamics. In this case the hurdle that I have to overcome is to feel that the newcomer has something to contribute to the group.

The challenge of integrating new group members [either as the "joiner" or the "joined"] is to make the benefits of membership outweigh the costs. In the specific case of PCA and Boxster owners [or any new members] the first thing that is needed on the part of the club is a clear understanding of what the new members will bring to the club. On the part of potential new members a clear benefit of membership has to be present to make the effort worthwhile.

Do Boxster owners have unique interests?

I cannot speak for other Porsche owners, never having been one, but among Boxster owners there seems to be a cycle of interest. Because it is a new model, the majority of Boxster owners order a car built to specification and endure a long wait. (This is changing as cars appear on the used car market.) During the waiting period there is a lot of information gathering about the car. Much of that happens on the internet where Porsche Pete's Boxster Board (http://www.986board.com/board/986board.htm) is the most common jumping off point.

With the arrival of the car I imagine that Boxster owners' interests are similar to those of other Porsche owners: driving the car; care and maintenance; meeting other owners and sharing experiences; and eventually exploring the performance capability of the vehicle. However, I do believe there are some different characteristics in how these interests play out, at least among the Boxster owners I know.

Community formation

The first unique characteristic is around community formation. Because many new owners connected with others through the internet before the car arrived they were already a part of a community. They may have met face to face or virtually but there is a sense of knowing others and being accepted as someone with a common interest. The first challenge of group inclusion has been met very early on in the Boxster community. On the other hand, membership in PCA follows receipt of the car in most cases. That means that the new Boxster owner has one community that she or he is already a member of, and a new one that requires effort to integrate into. PCA is fighting an uphill trying to overcome the emotional bond that has already formed in the Boxster community.

Speed of Communication

A second characteristic builds from the first. Because so many Boxster owners are linked via the internet and email, this is the medium they use to organize activities. Group drives are a good example. For reasons I still do not understand there is something magical about a bunch of owners getting together for a country drive, convening at a designated spot with time for socializing, then driving a set route to an end spot, normally a point where [usually bad] food is available. These drives happen all over the country and are organized through internet discussion boards and email.

One of the key variables in making these events successful is speed of communication - plans made on short notice, wide distribution of those plans, changes made as dictated by changing conditions and so on. And almost immediately after an event photos are posted on websites and widely distributed, cementing the shared experience. The use of conventional print media such as monthly newsletters cannot work for this type of activity; the internet is the only possible solution.

"Will I break it?"

A third characteristic has to do with Boxster owners often being first-time Porsche owners and the anxieties of getting involved in high performance driving. As owners become more familiar with their cars they start to explore the performance capabilities. Hopefully this happens in a controlled environment such as Drivers Education or Autocross. Taking the plunge to participate in these events is intimidating. You are not sure about the process, don't know what needs to be done to prepare the vehicle, are not sure what damage will be done to your vehicle, and so on. Information is critical here.

A "new comers' guide" to Autocross or DE would be very helpful to overcome the worries of starting. Events like this year's Autocross school run by Chesapeake Region, or the High Performance Driving Clinics offered by both Potomac and Chesapeake are effective ways to introduce Boxster owners to these aspects of club membership.

"Will they let me play?"

A big constraint on participation in Drivers Education, to say nothing of Club Racing, continues to be uncertainty over rollover protection rules and the lack of a common standard between regions. There has been a lot of confusion in Boxster discussion groups about PCA safety rules as they pertain to the integrated roll bars, optional hardtop, and roll bar extensions. Without a common standard between PCA regions it is a gamble for Boxster owners to register for DE events in regions outside their own. Perhaps more importantly, though, is the sense that rules have been put in place to inhibit Boxster participation. This may be a pure misunderstanding, but until it is actively dealt with the uncertainty continues.

This uncertainty is being met by Boxster owners through their own organization. Owners from the same areas have started to organize their own high performance driving clinics, Drivers Education programs, and so on. Formal clubs have been established in some areas and they are taking the steps to organize many of the services offered by PCA, including negotiating power with race tracks and driving schools, liability insurance, and so on. In many cases this has happened because Boxster owners did not believe they would be allowed to participate in PCA events.

So - what's a region to do?

Given these issues, PCA regions can either sit passively by or they can take action. For those regions interested in capturing the participation of this large and growing group of new Porsche owners, following are some suggestions.

1. Make a deliberate decision to actively engage Boxster owners. As noted above, this involves disruption to the comfortable way of doing things in many clubs, but on the other hand it brings a large influx of new, high energy members in. Is the discomfort worth the gain?

2. Know your competition. By paying attention to the critical two or three discussion boards on the internet, clubs can have a much clearer idea of the issues that Boxster owners are dealing with. These range from concerns about PCNA, to technical modifications to their cars, to the ever present controversies over DE participation. My more active involvement in the Potomac Region came about as a result of the PCA Potomac Membership Chair contacting me in response to my comments on PPBB.

3. Name a Boxster Technical Expert in the local club. Creating a focal point for questions and concerns is an important step in mainstreaming the model and this individual is a natural choice to monitor and participate in the discussion boards.

4. Decide whether to compete or collaborate. The Boxster community has a life of its own. It may be more productive to find ways for local PCA clubs to collaborate with local Boxster interest groups than to compete. For example Boxster events organized by the local owners group in the Washington DC area are advertised on the Potomac Region website as well as on Porsche Pete's Boxster Board and local owners are invited to many PCA functions whether they are members or not.

5. Re-think PCA membership rules: "Porsche owners (you must own, co-own, or lease a Porsche to join) who are 18 years of age or older are invited to become members of the Porsche Club of America." As noted above, by the time the new Boxster owner is invited to join PCA they are likely already a member of an online community. In many cases they are already participating in and even actively involved in planning Boxster events. There is little incentive for them to join and to invest in PCA at that point. An alternative might be to invite membership at the point that the new car order is put in through a dealer, though even that is likely to be very late in the process of community joining.

6. Make welcoming (all, not just Boxster owner) new members a priority and take action. Identify and greet new members at meetings. (Potomac Region meetings include identification of new members, but could be strengthened by a designated person approaching each new member afterwards and talking with them.) Develop and distribute welcome kits for new members from the club with a newcomer's guide to events such as AutoX, DE, concours, and so on; those things that are familiar to old timers are intimidating to new comers. The key point is to take action to be welcoming. It is the kiss of death to ignore the newcomer, to leave them isolated and unsure of how to fit in. In many cases this will push them back out the door just as fast as they come in.

7. Plan events of specific interest to Boxster owners. The March 2001 Potomac Region meeting "Boxsters Uncovered" had a tremendous turnout, drawing many owners to their first ever PCA meeting despite longtime membership. It was an opportunity for owners to learn the club's position on roll bars and Drivers Ed, to meet club executives, and to get a feel for how they might benefit from more active involvement.

8. Facilitate participation in performance driving events. The Chesapeake Region autocross school and the Potomac and Chesapeake High Performance Driving Clinics give new owners good introductions to the more challenging and rewarding aspects of driving their cars. Through these introductory activities, open to all new members, future participation in DE and AutoX will increase.

9. Clarify the rules for safety equipment, explain why the rules are in place and how they differ between DE and Club Racing. At the March Potomac Region meeting focused on Boxsters the region's Chief Technical inspector clarified what the roll bar rule was, why it was in place, and under what circumstances it applied. This helped owners understand why the rule was in place and what they needed to do to meet the standards. The club then followed up by organizing discounted purchases for roll bar extensions through a club sponsor. What is now needed is widespread communication of the situation through the monthly newsletter.

Closing thoughts

Four years ago my wife insisted that we buy a Porsche Boxster. Her strategy was to involve me in something that would shift me out of my work-focused life. The strategy worked, brilliantly, but what was unanticipated was the world of Boxster owners and associated friendships that would emerge.

As I become more involved in the broader Porsche world I am delighted by the communities of like-minded individuals I find myself in. As they say, it's not just the cars, it's the people. My hope is that, with some deliberate effort on the part of PCA regions, some of my favorite groups of people can come closer together. The potential loss of energy, enthusiasm and companionship of the community of Boxster owners in PCA is too sad to imagine.

September 18, 2001

In Memoriam:

Photo by: Scott (Hoos911)

"A Porsche Buddy"

By: Darice

About three years ago, I put a post on Porsche Pete's Boxster Board, looking to get some Boston-area Boxsters (and other Porsches) together for a fall ride. Through that, my husband and I met an enthusiastic Porschephile from Acton, MA by the name of Phil Rosenzweig. Over the years, we became friendly with him and his wife. Whenever we did a PCA NER event, we would always look for them so we could drive together and then meet up for lunch or dinner or drinks. You know what it's like, you meet a group of people and certain of them become your buddies.

A few months ago, we were with them at the NER Ramble at Topnotch up in Stowe, VT. On Sunday morning, we left Stowe to head home. Shortly after we started out, we saw our friends, pulled over on the side of the road in their silver 996, waiting for us. When Phil saw our Boxster come into view, he waved us over and we decided to drive home together. It was a great way to extend the fun feeling the weekend had created.

We stopped in Woodstock for lunch and a little bit of shopping and then continued home. Last week, I was stranded in LA, trying to get home, but thankful I had come out on Monday, not Tuesday. On Friday night, sittting in my hotel room, I saw the list of passengers on AA 11. Phil Rosenzweig, Acton, MA was on that flight. Our lives have been diminished. He was a great guy and we're thankful we met him. Maybe we would have met him eventually, but it all started with this board.

Thanks, Chuck.

Darice

May 24, 2001

Chuck- Since Rob has nothing important to say, we are going to let Lorne Blackman have the podium. I think you will find it an interesting and thought provoking read (republished with permission), well worth discussing here at PPBB:

"The Boxster Community: Growing at the speed of the Internet"

By: Lorne Blackman
PCA Potomac Region Member
Washington, DC, USA

The introduction of the Porsche Boxster occurred at the same time as the explosion of the internet, creating an opportunity for Boxster owners to find like-minded people in a way never-before possible for a newly introduced Porsche model. While enabling the rapid development of a vibrant community of Boxster owners, this phenomenon is creating new challenges for PCA at the national and local level as the club grapples with how to integrate a new breed of Porsche owner. The jury is still out on how those challenges will unfold.

Boxster production began with the 1997 model year after its extraordinarily successful introduction as a concept car at the Detroit Auto Show in January 1993. The success of the concept car resulted in immediate orders for the car, well before actual production began. The impact on early buyers was long waits to get their eagerly anticipated new Porsche. For early buyers [like this one] actually taking possession of a MY97 or MY98 car required sitting on a waiting list for months before finally specifying car details, followed by what felt like a painfully slow build, shipment and delivery process. Waits of one year and even longer, from start to finish, were common.

What do you do in the face of eager anticipation but no outlet for your developing passion? Those of us who were less patient went looking for information to fuel the fires, only to learn that many sales representatives at Porsche dealerships simply did not have much knowledge of, or experience with the new Boxster. So many of us started to explore the internet and in the process found other owners, waiters, and "wannabes". That connection was facilitated by personal web pages of early owners and enthusiasts, and by discussion boards where real people could share real experiences and information.

The most active of these discussion boards has to be "Porsche Pete's Boxster Board", created by Chuck Hammersmith of North Carolina in mid-1997. ( http://www.986board.com/board/986board.htm During a single 24 hour period in late March 2001 there were over 52,000 distinct visits to PPBB). Porsche Pete's became the meeting place, the information exchange, the shop manual, the market place for new ideas and associated products, and the place we turned for emotional support in our dark hours of doubt. In effect, it became the hub of a virtual community.

With formation of this community, two things happened. First, the speed of information sharing accelerated on a global basis. The best example is that of the "outside temperature indicator" on the Boxster. This is a feature that is activated as a part of the onboard computer option. An owner and regular on PPBB in The Netherlands learned, through his service technician, that entering a set of codes into the diagnostic computer would activate the temperature display even though the onboard computer was not installed. That information was posted on PPBB, and someone in Australia picked it up, tried it and posted positive results.

Within days owners all over the USA and in other countries were asking service technicians to go through the same process. Before long this was a feature activated as a normal part of the new car prep process by some, though not all, dealers. (For MY01 cars a change in the instrument panel has, so far, eliminated that possibility, but somewhere hackers are working on a solution, I am sure!) Other hacks followed, and there is now a well documented library of simple modifications owners can make to change the functionality of various features of their cars.

The second thing that happened was people started to meet face to face. The first known gathering of enthusiasts, facilitated through PPBB, was the "Boxster Rebellion" here in the national capital region in April 1998, organized by Dave Derr and hosted by Heishman's Porsche. The Boxster Rebellion morphed into the "Blue Ridge Boxster Summit" (www.brbs.org). Planning is now underway for BRBS III with over 90 Boxsters and 160 people scheduled to descend on Blowing Rock, North Carolina in early June. In the western USA on the same day as the Boxster Rebellion another gathering happened, called "The Boxsters Have Landed". It too has continued, with TBHL IV planned for Las Vegas in early May (www.tbhl.org), an even bigger and more elaborate event than BRBS.

These and similar big events are only part of the emerging community, the annual conventions of a sort. The real strength of the Boxster community is in local interest groups. Finding each other through the internet, communicating by email and on discussion boards, Boxster owners meet on a continuous basis for everything from track events and drivers education programs to country drive/dines. They are sharing technical information as tweeks and modifications start to appear on cars, and they are enjoying social connections and activities. These local Boxster groups have a range of organization and structure, with some setting up formal organizations and web pages in place. A common thread is the role of the internet; that is how we met, and how we continue to communicate. In the local Potomac area the current list of Boxster owners stands at over 60 names and growing, only some of whom are PCA members. (For more information contact Lorne Blackman at lorne.blackman@verizon.net).

Questions asked in these local and online communities include "how do we fit in PCA?" and, "what can we get from PCA that we cannot get through self-organization?" Boxster owners reported less-than-enthusiastic welcomes in the early days of their contact with local PCA chapters, despite the close association between the Boxster (986) and the new 996 with a high proportion of shared parts. Ongoing confusion over different rules in different regions governing Boxster participation in track events contribute to that sense. But many PCA chapters have reached out explicitly to encourage Boxster owners to get involved in their clubs, including PCA Potomac. The March 30th membership meeting, "Boxsters Uncovered" is an outstanding example of the efforts being made in Potomac and naming Geoff Thompson as the Potomac Model Expert for the Boxster is another important step. Other regions are in the act as well. The Chesapeake Region hosted a Boxster Q & A meeting at the Valley Motors Porsche dealership in Timonium, Maryland earlier this year which attracted over 30 Boxster owners. In addition, Riesentoter region, which is based in the Philadelphia area, has scheduled a Boxster Tech Meeting

Nevertheless, concerns linger about interest at the national level of PCA, where anecdotal evidence suggests some doubt whether a national registry is even appropriate for the "mass produced" Boxster. But the reality is that Boxster owners are forming into clubs, and it is happening at lightening speed. This group of Porsche owners have used new technology to find each other and to organize themselves. As local clubs and interest groups take form, a national registry cannot be far off. The question in this owner's mind is whether that happens under the umbrella of PCA, or separately.

Boxster owners who are concerned about the future of PCA, and the place their model holds in the club, should contact their zone reps and encourage the establishment of a national registry, before it happens independently.

July 9, 2000

Chuck- 3 years... geez! Where has the time gone?

In May of 99, many of you may remember that I truly did not think I would see 2 years here, let alone 3. What happened since then has been a testament to the obvious future longevity of the Board. A guy in Houston stepped up to the plate and acted with a devotion and commitment that still amazes me. I can't thank enough, even yet, the efforts that Rob Granger has made to keep us going. None of this, today, would have been possible, even with Rob, without the commitment of Randy Kamperman and his "behind-the-scenes" hardware cache and general devotion to keeping this Board running. A guy in Germany, my friend Chris Kramer, instituted a Deputy system, among many other helps, to relieve the burden of keeping this Board a safe and friendly place to visit... with that came Betty Choate (lost in Europe somewhere), Walt Bilofsky (always the questioning eye), Greg Reddick (where's the FAQ?), and John Schaefer (where is he?). A small core that has managed to keep my insanity under control, at least.

To all the Founding Personal Sponsors, and the Corporate Sponsors that are helping the Board continue it's day to day functions... as usual, my sincere appreciation. I cant imagine any finer group of support than what we have had.

2 of 3 TBHL's, 2 of 2 BRBS's, 1 of 1 Rebellion's, nearly 240,000 posts (nearly as many emails :), and countless friends I have had the pleasure of conversing with electronically or sometimes even better, meeting in person (er, even better yet, driving with!). I still cant quite comprehend what this place has given me back in life experiences that will be remembered forever. To all of you that have taken the time to realize what we have here, and utilize it for all our good, I commend you. To those that dont realize it, I dont.

My life and existence has been enriched from the worldwide comaraderie that is generated from this simple, little place in cyberspace... one can't ask for any more than that.

Enjoy,

Chuck

March 18, 2000

Chuck- Yike's, It's been quite a long time since I've written a site update here. I apologize (not really :) ... and now some words from our saviour, Rob Granger:

Rob- Rob?, uh Rob?

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