This article may rub some of our readers the wrong way, but let’s face it – most 924/924S/944/951 etc. people are a little different from your “typical Porsche Club of America” people. And while true, it is a damn shame.
In the past seven or eight months, I have attended a lot of shows – Porsche and otherwise – with our 87 924S, Sparky. The events have spanned the spectrum from general car shows to Porsche Night at the ACE Cafe to the Festivals of Speed in Orlando. Sparky is far from a “show car,” but presents nicely as a well-preserved almost-stock 32-year-old 924S. What is interesting is the range of comments and conversations that occur – for example…
- “I had one of these in college. Best sports car I have ever owned.”
- “I learned how to work on cars on one of these. Great car.”
- “Had three of these over the years – wish I had never sold them.”
- “I have had a lot of sports cars in my life, but these were always my favorite.”
- “I forgot how cool these are – I should find one for a daily driver.”
And one of my favorites: “My grandmother had a 928, my mother had a 944 Turbo, and as soon as I get out of college, I will find a nice 924S.
I have been a member of the Porsche Club of America since 1998, although I bought my first Porsche (’78 924) over a decade earlier. I thought the same thing as many others with 924’s and 944’s – they won’t accept me in the club because I don’t own a 911. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I did my first HPDE in that 924, bringing every one of its 95 horsepower to the track. Yea, I was slow, but I had a blast – and more importantly, everyone was really nice, accepting and welcoming!
To be honest, the Porsche Club of America is filled with (mostly older) people with high-dollar Porsches – 911’s, Boxsters, Caymans, and now Porsche SUV’s. We had a grand opening of Porsche of South Orlando a couple of weekends ago, and the parking lot had literally millions of dollars worth of new and classic Porsches, all belonging to people who came to the event! There was one 944 and one 924S there…Sparky and a friend.
So here is my point – our cars are currently increasing in value because folks are realizing what great cars they are. And many of the folks in the Porsche Club started out with a 944 variant “back in the day,” and welcome our cars into their events.
As far as demographics, the PCA crowd does tend to have a bit of gray hair. They also tend to be professionals who have been successful in their lives. While there are some younger people in our local Florida Citrus Region of PCA in Orlando, our 944 demographic tends to be 1) younger, 2) able to work on their own cars and 3) interested in being successful in their lives. If this is YOU, getting involved in PCA could be a good idea, and here is why.
I joined the Florida Citrus Region of PCA when I was in my forties. Over the past twenty-plus years, I have served the club in many ways, including designing and keeping up the website and publishing the monthly newsletter. I have become a PCA HPDE Instructor, and now teach other instructors. I have been the Safety Chair for our region for fifteen years. When asked, I do live presentations on various topics.
Looking back, my current success in life has in part been driven by my association with the wonderful people associated with the Porsche Club of America. These folks have built businesses, become leaders in their own fields and are standouts in their communities. I have learned from them, applied these lessons to my own life, and after a career of government service, I am now building my own business – 924S944.com LLC.
So what does this mean to you and me?
We own and drive Porsches, and these cars have a place in the PCA community. More importantly, we have a place in the Porsche community. Those who have taken the step forward and joined in the fun and fellowship with our region in their 944’s have not regretted it. (Our little region has over a thousand members and over six hundred cars.)
Here is some of what we do in the Florida Citrus Region:
- High Performance Driver Education: We go to Roebling Road Raceway in Savannah, GA twice a year, in February and October. We also go to Sebring in May. Other regions have HPDE events all around the southeast.
- Autocross: We hold monthly Autocross events in Tavares (with the exception of the brutally hot summer months. The region has an Autocross Championship that is just right for the 944.
- Club Racing: Come to one of our PCA Club Racing events and hang out in the paddock. The SP1, SP2 and SP3 classes – all 944 and variants – are the most popular classes in all PCA Club Racing events.
- Charity Rally: These events meet up at a shop or other location where participants are given a set of instructions and challenging questions to answer from clues along the route. Usually a couple hours of driving and fun, then meeting for lunch somewhere at the end. Money collected goes to charities that we help, including veterans organizations and other local children’s charities.
- Drive and Dine: We meet up somewhere and drive to a location for lunch or dinner, usually including an impromptu car show of Porsches at the restaurant.
- Date Your Porsche: Similar to the Drive and Dine, we meet up at a location for an evening of fun. Sometimes dinner, an Orlando tourist location, sometimes go-karting – but the idea is to have a “date night” with your car and that special someone.
- Monthly Meetings: Our region meets at Porsche of North Orlando in Maitland on the first Monday of the month. After the half-hour meeting, we go somewhere close by for dinner and conversation.
The motto of the Porsche Club is It’s not just about the cars, it’s about the people. So join today and get involved – it only costs $46 a year. Take a look at this 8-minute video for more information from PCA.
See you at our next PCA Event!
