Jeff Smith, Rob Gross, and myself have just returned from Germany.
While in the Stuttgart area we decided to stop at the factory.
Sherwood Lee has posted wonderfull pictures over the years of his visit to the factory. They are great, as they show the way it was done 30 years ago. By hand, with pride. This is when Porsche was Porsche. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday. Those are the cars that gather us on this website to share enthusiasm of real cars.
Today, things have changed. Some of the older buildings have been torn down and replaced with metal ones. (the town has made two of the original brick buildings historical sites, and can't be touched, thank God). Some of the parking lots where the cool stuff used to sit, (917's, RSR's and such), have had prefabbed mental ones erected in multi level fashion, to house some of the current inventory housed waiting for the trucks to haul them away. I have watched the whole scene there change since my first visit in the late 70's. All the men behind the cars we love have retired, or past away.
Earlier in the week while visiting with Alois Ruf in Pfaffenhausen, he advised us that Jurgan Barth has retired from Porsche! This is a end of a era! He spent 40 years with Porsche and was the only one left with the love of early 911 cars with spirit.
I mentioned to Smith that it was about 1:00 and the afternoon factory tour was to begin. I knew the woman who ran the schedual, and thought if the tour was not booked up by chance, that the 3 of us could slide in.
He replied, " I have no interest in seeing Subaru's assembled" ! I must admit, he's kinda right. The original factory tours took all day. Seeing everything. That included eating with the workers at the factory canteen at lunch time. Today, the tours take about 90 minutes tops, and there is a lot you don't see. Like the bodies being painted, or the unibodies being spot welded together.
Bottom line.......We are a cult of a certain kind. It's up to us to keep the flame alive. And the pilot to this flame is right on this board!!
The factory back in the 70's had a area where you could buy cool goodies. Sport exhaust, fuchs wheels, roof racks,hotter cams, piston and cylinder kits,, and that type of needed items. Today, you have wool sweaters, golf bags of leather, aluminun brief cases, ect.......
The cars have changed, and so have the customers.
It's all up to us to keep the original fire going. And I think we are doing a great job!
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