JANUARY 2013 In This Issue... Toys 4 Tots Paso Robles Wine Tour ...

Editors Notes: (Continued from Page 5)
I call it the “guys wish list” because there
are always some great cars on sale and
some interesting “stuff” to be had. It is
one section of the magazine I never miss
and I always look forward to reading.
Kept for many years by Bob Weber, we
really appreciated his work in this area.
I have even bought some things from
fellow members sourced out of the ads, a
fellow enthusiast usually, and usually that
hard to find item.
Vroom Vroom
Speaking of “guys stuff” there is a button
or switch in the newer Porsches that
my friend Jay Warren calls “the man
button”. This is the switch to open the
exhaust chamber and add some throat
to the sound quality emanating from the
internal combustions we’ve paid for. I
like that name because it really doesn’t
add any horsepower or alter handling: it
just makes noise. A delightful noise and I
think one of the true reasons that Porsche
remains the icon it does today.
The latest generation of Porsches
actually acoustically pipes the sound of
the exhaust on demand with the “man
button” into the interior of the car.
It’s been written up in some of the car
magazines as being a specific engineering
mandate to enhance the aural experience
of a Porsche.
Blanche Bickerson, the 2007 GT3
that I own, has a “man button” that I love
to push open. You can hear the timbre
of sound change from a higher pitch to
one having a little more “bottom” or
bass to it. Wonderful symphonic sensory
overload at 7,000 RPM. I am not sure my
new neighbors would so agree however.
So I try to be a little discreet when and
where I use it. But I do use it…
Not Again
Yes, again. I was rear ended in our Q7
on the 5 Freeway the Wednesday of
Thanksgiving eve, again. The first time
was three years ago on the 22 Freeway
on a rainy morning. This time it was the
afternoon and the fellow that hit me was
himself shoved into me by the impact of
the person who started the chain reaction
by running into him. It must have been
quite an impact as his contact with me
was violent and enough to do some
damage. It’s sobering to go through these
as they make you aware of the capacity of
these machines to do real injury. We get
jaded driving along every day and don’t
necessarily ponder the potential forces at
play when an object weighing two tons is
doing 50-70 miles an hour. Thankfully, I
was only doing about 5 miles per hour. I
have no idea what the person that started
the fender crushing was speeding at
but given the heavy traffic it would not
have been the normal unfettered freeway
velocities. Still the impact was jarring,
and had enough shock to make me think
about what an impact at say 60 miles per
hour might be like, after this I truly don’t
want to know.
There was damage to my hatch lid,
bumper, rear lights and I am sure plenty
of small unseen bits and pieces further
inside the overall mechanism. Enough
that the insurance estimate was nearly
$3,000. Because I was the “hittee” and
not the “hitter”, the body shop guy told
me “it won’t cost you a cent sir”. Ha!
Every one of us paying the insurance
bill is paying plenty of cents for these
incidents. I am sure that if this was
coming out of my own pocket I’d find
a way to cut that overall cost down.
But accidents are so normal that their
aftermath and cleanup is an industry in
its own right.
I am just so glad it wasn’t the GT3
that got nailed. Besides just being the
pet that it is, there are unseen costs even
after an accident. With “carfax” one can
now see if any car has been in the repair
shop. So if you are buying one, there are
two to choose from and one has been in
an accident, oh well, which would you
choose?
Wham, Zoom to the Moon
In 2013 anyway, for the moon is only one
of the destinations. Your Porsche Club of
America, Orange Coast Region of Zone
8 will have a full calendar of fun and
interesting events. Come on out, make
this the year you get involved and make
more use of that Stuttgart wonder in the
garage. Have fun. And I hope to get the
chance to meet you when you do come
out and join us!
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