August 2008 Topless at the Beach... The White Gloves Concours

In statistics, any group of data has at
least one large exclusion for which
there is no explanation. These are called
various things, often an “anomaly.” but
I find that word has too many negative
connotations. I like “sport;” quite
often used for the same definition a
data point that skews way, way off the
normal stream and which almost defies
description. And that dear reader defines
the 2008 Orange Coast Region (OCR)
White Glove Concours...way off the
charts and a sport if ever there was one.
What Wine Goes Best with that
Carnauba Wax Anyway?
It all started with our Friday night soiree
in a private tent where we had wine,
food, and music. I knew we were in for
quite a weekend when we pulled up to
the Huntington Beach Hilton Resort
that was the site of this year’s event.
Left to Right: Larry won the driving test, a team of judges and theme shirts.
Behind the Mic at the
Orange Coast
Region Concours
Story by Garey Cooper
Photos by Michael Dennis, Chris DeRose
Rick Eckelman, Ken Fredrickson, Kenny Goldberg
Ron Ketelhut, Judy Lech, Chris MacDonald
David McCue, Phyllis Meng, David Piper
Theo Russell, Judy Savic and Dan Wilson
An attendant pointed us to a reserved
parking area for only the Porsche Club!
Now, that’s pretty classy. It was very
nice to find out that many couples had
decided to make a weekend of it and
had reserved rooms at the Hilton; very
romantic. Knowing that the Saturday
would start with an early hour, I stayed
only as long as the wine lasted, only to
be a good guest you must understand. In
the end I decided it took a good strong
Red to overcome the powerful aromatics
of car polish.
Many guests tried their skills at the
driving simulator Shoreline Motoring
brought...
getting ready for Sunday’s Zone 8
Autocross at El Toro Fields. Others
loosened up on the dance floor. Most
seemed to be having a very good time.
Tim Tauber of Newport Auto Center
with Buzzy.
Saturday Showtime!
Once again “oh dark thirty” came a
little too soon for yours truly but this
Shoreline brought the simulator
time it was comforting to know that
Chez Cooper is only just up the beach
highway from the Hilton. So with only
the slightest twinge of “morning after
the night before” I took off for the
Concours. The nascent hangover was
quickly pushed back by a moderately
priced Starbucks iced Frocha-Mocha-
Locha and before you could say, “highly
waxed 2001 996 Twin Turbo” or “Bob’s
your Uncle” (you choose which one), I
was at the Concours itself.
Buzzy giving directions
The parking volunteers got me
quickly to my spot and I noticed that the
cars were being parked in the various
categories to correspond with their
entered classes. It came as no surprise
that Cabriolets were featured. (We used
to call these “convertibles” before we
learned that you didn’t pronounce the
“S” in Concours.) This was because of
two things: one is that that Cabs go great
with California sunshine and the beach.
The second is that the maestro for this
years event, Buzzy Klevens owns a 911
Turbo Cabriolet, go figure.
As emcee I had to do a lot of important
stuff like making sure the microphone
was connected without electrocuting
myself and ensuring that I had enough
SPF 2000 on my baby face. While my
particular “punum” is important to me
it pales besides the responsibility of
lining up 150+ cars and setting all of
the sponsor tents amongst other little
items on Buzzy’s “to-do” list. The OCR
volunteers handled all this with great
facility and it is just such a shame that
we can’t name every single one of them.
But it is notable that by sometime around
8:30 am the entire show was unhitched
and all of the wagons were circled for
our annual White Gloves Concours.
Buzzy had put together quite a
program and we commenced with a
flag presentation by our local Boy Scout
Troop with singing background by the
group “Girls Night Out.” I helped with
my usual malapropism by calling them:
“Ladies Night Out.” They indignantly
told me they were no ladies whatsoever
and we got the identity right in the end.
Stylizing the national anthem is always
a risky enterprise but these “Ladies”
really got it right in my opinion and,
along with the Scouts, set the stage for
the activity to follow.
Also a part of the day was an appearance
of the USC Marching Band again as
arranged by Field Marshal Buzzy, an
alumnus of this institute. It really was
a “bandlette” as we didn’t have the full
compliment, but they made up for it
with real brio and my personal favorite
“Tusk” was on their agenda. I even saw
some UCLA Alumni smile so the show
was certainly appreciated.
Swimming with Sharks
Being at the beach, sharks in and out of
the water are all around you. Especially
at a Concours. No one should kid
himself or herself about the competition
in Concours and the people who know
how to do it right are just as tough as
you find them in any other sport. There
is more to cleaning a car for competition
than just a hose and a towel. My advice
for anyone considering getting into this
Judges at work
is to find someone who has done well
and get advice. For instance, expect
the judges to unwind your seatbelt and
check the hidden portion in the reel for
dirt…and that is just the beginning.
My own car was judged by a group
of gimlet-eyed desperadoes who would
have been right at home on any wanted
poster in town., I say this because as
usually happens, I went down in flames.
These folks could spot grime on a wheel
cover at 30 feet, and they were much
closer than that to my car. Next year if
there is a “30 feet” category I will enter
that.
OCR Sponsors Love You
Buzzy had lined up 20 sponsors for
this years event and many of them had
booths at the Concours. If you ever truly
want to find a Porsche deal, come to
one of our Concours and buy, buy, buy.
I got a Polo shirt from Newport Beach
Porsche for a lot less than retail and
there were many other bargains around.
Located right in front of the announcers
booth was the USC booth and they were
selling everything from ties and shirts to
underwear. All of course branded with
the USC logo.
The Orange Coast Region Goodie
Store was also there in front of us and
David Miranda with his crew did a land
office business throughout the day. David
has done a good job of selecting things
to make us look better than we normally
do and there is always something nice to
get from him. I’m still waiting for him to
find a fashion that will help a receding
hairline.
All the judging and scoring were
8 AUGUST 2008 9
Girls Night Out
The USC band
Lunch break
continued on page 18