Thoughts about the PCA (Porsche Club of America)

[Gator Bite]

Hello Early 911S Community,

I'd like to ask you a question that would help me understand something, but first an introduction is probably in order.

My name is Mike Souza. I am the PCA Cayman Register advocate. As the Cayman Register advocate I run a register group and website similar to this one for Cayman owner (great job on this place by the way). I have always been interested in the early 911s and have a few friends who own them. They've mentioned to me that early 911 owners don't find a lot of value in the PCA, and in some case straight up don't care for the club. That's just the opposite of what we see with the newer car owners. It seems like if you own a newer car, you just join the PCA because there is so much value there. I guess I'm curious if my friend's claims are true, and if so, I would love to better understand why.

Fire away... I'd love to know if you're a PCA member, if so why. If not why....

Thanks in advance for any replies and for your honesty.

[72targa]

I joined PCA in 1985 and still belong. I joined mostly to be involved in my local regions (Redwood & Golden Gate), especially in autocross. Then, I went and got married and had kids and my P-Car involvement went way down (I've put next to no miles on my car for the past 20+ years). Now that my youngest is about to go to college, I may start to play car again! At least I still have the car!!

[M_deJong]

PCA member since 1995. Our region has a good mix of old cars and new cars and enthusiasts for both. To me it forms the core group which has more specialist branches. The activities I engage in, autocross, Sunday drives, and show attract a mix of old an new. Well, Sunday drives are mostly new cars.

Likewise I think PCA National does a pretty good job of maintaining interest in both old and new, especially with the tech info. Understandably the "news" is far more oriented to new cars. It seems to be objective however. The only negative I would voice is that there is rarely any negative news about the product... such as boxter/cayman engine failures. Its like some things are taboo or closet skeletons that aren't openly discussed.

For comparison, I was a long time BMW Motorcycle Owners Assoc member, as an owner of mostly older BMW's. That club went so far over to the new is best / old is out-dated / company can do no wrong rah-rah side that it seemed to be an advertising arm of the Corporation, not a club. I quit and joined the Airheads club.

[lkadams]

I'm a PCA member because it's the only gig in town around here. No Rgruppe, no POC, no racing, no nothing. I don't tend to go to many events, as they are mostly focused on a crowd that is older than I am, and don't have 3 young kids in tow like I do. I do enjoy the chances I get to attend.

[beh911]

What an interesting question and background you lay out. I hope you get some great feedback on this.

I have been a member of PCA since '95, in two different regions. But as the cars have changed, the primary buying audience has changed as well IMO. Unfortunately (for PCA), my interest hasn't changed--it's in the early cars. Let's say '89 and back to be broad, early 70s and back to be specific. I am also on the younger end, being 25 when I joined and now I am in my early 40s.

Right now, I am primarily a member for getting Panorama, which is starting to be less interesting to me as well so it's unclear if I will continue to renew PCA. I guess I do it out of habit. As for technical know how, the very best at PCA (Ed Mayo) is a regular contributor on this site so no check mark for PCA there.

I have always enjoyed the older cars. And while there is a steady supply of older cars in Atlanta (Peachstate region, one of the oldest and largest), I don't find 'active' enthusiasts in it for the older cars. I also feel this region is 'aging' and perhaps the club as a whole is too. Think Cadillac as a brand.

This is not an indictment of my region or PCA in general. It's just an opinion that PCA's core awareness, affiliation, and target is not necessarily aligned with a number of the registries and enthusiast groups out there. I think each region is going to be different, so your mileage may vary.

[Homemade 911]

I joined PCA in '80 (I think...) primarily to learn all I could about Porsches and the people surrounding the Marque. I have no disappointments in that regard. The PCA does a great job doing what they do, which is bring Porsche owners together. I've only been to one Parade (San Diego '90s) since I personally have a real hard time dedicating an entire week of vacation time to one event, and that's not the event's fault. The PCA is a great way/forum/environment for the "New" members to learn every thing there is to know about the Marque. It's also great for the "old" members to network and sustain the momentum and enthusiasm. I'm not convinced there's any sort of "real" bias towards newer Porsches, beyond the inevitable short-term slant towards the latest and greatest... The PCA is for every Porsche owner, driving any Porsche...

At 50,000+ members strong...that's a real car club.

[Fritter]

I'm a member. I enjoy going to the concours shows, I hope to do some autocrosses next year and also attend one or two of the track days.

The club does have a focus on "older" people (I'm 41), but that's kinda the nature of Porsches I think. In other words, it's not going to be a bunch of 25 year olds due to the price of entry.

It's a general club with a LOT of different interests and people to please, and now with Porsche's many models, it makes it that much more difficult for people to find "common" ground. Personally, I like the Panamera and the Cayenne, but not enough to want to talk about them in a club setting.

I think there are separate early 911 groups because of the "common" ground thing....most of the early 911 people are similar, meaning, work on their own cars to some extent, they know the history, etc. So it's easier to "jump right in" and start participating.

[MountainRoads]

I considered joining the local PNWR chapter way back in '77, but never got around to it. Met a few members at the time and they seemed "good folk", but I was concerned the crowd might be a bit snobbish for a then-barely 20 yo, blue collar guy with a "lowly" 914-6.

Finally joined in 2009 when I got reinvolved in the hobby. Mostly for the Pano and Spiel (the local club publication), but also hoping to take advantage of some of the gatherings. Unfortunately, lack of available time has greatly hampered my ability to participate.

- MR

[Bummler]

PCA member since '82...

Your friends point about early cars and PCA is for the most part true but being a part of the club today still has great value IMO. When I joined there were still a lot of relevant materials being published for early cars especially the "Up-Fixen" series. I've remained a member because of Panorama and the regional events that I attend.

Its worth the $40 a year or whatever.

[Gator Bite]

Wow... Lots of great responses, and very quickly too... It looks like the poll voting is contrary to the statements I heard.

I joined in 1990, at the age of 21 and as a 944 Turbo owner. To say I was the young kid in the group would have been a major understatement. I had expected the club to be snobbish, but I found that my region (Connecticut Valley Region) was not. Sure, there were some of those 'that's not a real Porsche' folks, but most of them were just hard core car freaks like me.

Now some specific responses:

I joined PCA in 1985 and still belong. I joined mostly to be involved in my local regions (Redwood & Golden Gate), especially in autocross. Then, I went and got married and had kids and my P-Car involvement went way down (I've put next to no miles on my car for the past 20+ years). Now that my youngest is about to go to college, I may start to play car again! At least I still have the car!!

Good for you. One of my biggest regrets was selling my 944 Turbo. I should have kept it, and at this point I bet you're glad you kept yours.

PCA member since 1995. Our region has a good mix of old cars and new cars and enthusiasts for both. To me it forms the core group which has more specialist branches. The activities I engage in, autocross, Sunday drives, and show attract a mix of old an new. Well, Sunday drives are mostly new cars.

Likewise I think PCA National does a pretty good job of maintaining interest in both old and new, especially with the tech info. Understandably the "news" is far more oriented to new cars. It seems to be objective however. The only negative I would voice is that there is rarely any negative news about the product... such as boxter/cayman engine failures. Its like some things are taboo or closet skeletons that aren't openly discussed.

For comparison, I was a long time BMW Motorcycle Owners Assoc member, as an owner of mostly older BMW's. That club went so far over to the new is best / old is out-dated / company can do no wrong rah-rah side that it seemed to be an advertising arm of the Corporation, not a club. I quit and joined the Airheads club.

A good point. The PCA is independent of Porsche, but there is some emphasis on keeping them happy at times. I guess it's up to us (the members) to keep it real.

You bring up a good point about the Boxster and Cayman engines. As the Cayman Register Advocate, I can speak personally to both of these. I think we are really honest and objective about these engine failures, but when you compare our stance to that of the other "the sky is falling" web forums, we may seem subjective. There appear to be two issues with the Boxster/Cayman engines. First there is the IMS bearing failures, a problem that seems to plague the M96 Boxster engines a lot more than the M97 Cayman engines. Second, there is a problem in the M97.21 engines that many internet communities have labeled as an 'oiling issue' in which these engines will spin a rod bearing if tracked hard. Honestly, I don't think it's an oiling issue. I think it's an issue caused by the use of heavy pistons, weak rods and high over revs.

What an interesting question and background you lay out. I hope you get some great feedback on this.

I have been a member of PCA since '95, in two different regions. But as the cars have changed, the primary buying audience has changed as well IMO. Unfortunately (for PCA), my interest hasn't changed--it's in the early cars. Let's say '89 and back to be broad, early 70s and back to be specific. I am also on the younger end, being 25 when I joined and now I am in my early 40s.

Right now, I am primarily a member for getting Panorama, which is starting to be less interesting to me as well so it's unclear if I will continue to renew PCA. I guess I do it out of habit. As for technical know how, the very best at PCA (Ed Mayo) is a regular contributor on this site so no check mark for PCA there.

I have always enjoyed the older cars. And while there is a steady supply of older cars in Atlanta (Peachstate region, one of the oldest and largest), I don't find 'active' enthusiasts in it for the older cars. I also feel this region is 'aging' and perhaps the club as a whole is too. Think Cadillac as a brand.

This is not an indictment of my region or PCA in general. It's just an opinion that PCA's core awareness, affiliation, and target is not necessarily aligned with a number of the registries and enthusiast groups out there. I think each region is going to be different, so your mileage may vary.

Great reply... Every sentence... I'd like to say, hang in there for a year or two more. Panorama is undergoing a major overhaul that is expected to begin in 2012 and go through 2013. The finished product will be a lot more current and modern than what you see today, including online digital media, etc....

I agree on the 'aging' observation and I do worry what the Panamera and Cayenne may bring to the owner demographic. I had the opportunity to share dinner with a Porsche designer from Weissach this past July, and if what he told me comes to be I think we will see the median age of Porsche owners dropping soon.