Slipstream - June 2003

Road Ramblings
by Keith Olcha, Maverick Region President
Membership has its privileges. Not with
the American Express Card, but with
PCA, of course. Did everyone receive
their coupon for $100 discount off $200 or
more parts/accessories purchased from any
authorized dealer, in the mail last month? Every
PCA member on record as of March should
have gotten one. PCA/PCNA did the same
coupon deal last year and also gave you $1000 back if you bought
a Boxster S – so I did both! Now you might ask- is that coupon a
good deal? For me it is, because the dealer I happen to frequent
first applied the 15% PCA club discount to their parts prices, and
then subtracted the $100. Last time I was able to buy everything
except the oil to provide both a tune-up on my 911, and a 15,000
mile service on the Boxster. My labor, factory parts. It worked out
to about $230 in list price parts for $100 using the formula above.
They’ll honor the coupon on boutique items also. I haven’t used
the new coupon yet, but I‘ll hopefully be able to get some car-care
items as well as some parts.
June is the month with the most daylight. I guess the light
and the warmth just make it seem earlier and easier to stay out
later than in the shorter winter days. Good time for working on
the cars after dinner, no? 8:00pm is about right to start a car wash,
and then take the wiener dog for a walk just as its getting dark.
June is also the month for that most-hallowed event, the 24 hours
of Le Mans. Once each year 125 miles southwest of Paris, the
public and private roads near the Sarthe River are transformed
into the long race circuit where all the legends have raced. I guess
it wouldn’t surprise you if I mentioned that Porsche has the
most overall wins as well as the most in-class wins in the race’s
history. Coincidentally, that classic racing film Le Mans, starring
the also legendary Steve McQueen is finally available in widescreen
DVD with Dolby 5.1 sound. I’ve got the VCR version
(Amazon $9.99- deal), but I’m planning to buy the DVD soon.
I’ve heard it’s reasonably priced. Unlike the movie “Grand Prix”,
which isn’t a bad flick overall, Le Mans is narrower, but a real car
nut’s movie, perhaps the best racing film.
Speaking of car nut stuff- the cable people came to my house
yesterday- this is not an exaggeration, and told me I’m not
supposed to be getting channels 33-100 on Charter and disconnected
them. Now I’ve got Dish Network Satellite and Charter
Cable. The cable is for high-speed Internet (no DSL in my area)
and local channels etc. and Dish Network for movies and other
stuff. Speed Channel was channel 65 on Charter cable. I’ve had
this arrangement for two years, so now I’ll have to add the
package with Speed Channel to Dish Network, because I can not
even remember what life was like before Speedvision the Speed
Channel predecessor before Fox bought the network. Okay, so
I’m overdoing it, but I can’t imagine how people cooked before
microwave ovens and if you told me it was a choice between the
microwave and Speed Channel, well…
June is a power packed month of club activity- the Jefferson
Tour appears to be another Ted Glover winner. The part I like
about it is the whole afternoon and evening is free in Jefferson to
visit historic homes, shop for antiques and then have dinner at the
Stillwater Inn. The Father’s Day picnic on June 15th is a Maverick
tradition which also includes a low-pressure show and shine
concours. We’ve also got an autocross and time trial at Mineral
Wells, plus another Drivers Education at Motorsport Ranch. If
you’re in town and just want to come by- please do- they’ll be
about 200 people there as usual. It’s a good time for everyone
including spectators. Many of us are also going to the annual
national Porsche Parade. This year it is being held at the Saddle
Brook Resort near Tampa, Florida. Remember next year,
Maverick Region is hosting Parade with the Worthington Hotel
and Texas Motor Speedway being the main event venues. One
final comment for the month: What is it with these Trivia
Contests? What do you have to do to win? I don’t think I’ve ever
gotten more than 3 correct. From now on I’m just guessing like I
did on the SATs back in high-school. Till next month.
Photo by Matt Platts
Keith Olcha at the TMS Club Race.
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