Slipstream - August 2009

Porsches are meant to be driven
By Hiram Saunders
However, we must all agree they are beautiful.
I am proud of my 1995 Guards Red 911 (aka
993) cabriolet because it is an uncommon
color combination. I have long desired to do some
additional cleaning to
make it show better.
When we saw that Parade
was in Colorado and our
schedule was clear we
immediately entered the
Parade Concours. This
was our first significant
Concours ever.
Mea culpa to all
those who I have told I
would never Q-tip a car.
I used a whole box! I
worked about 100 hours
before Parade but less than 40 hours were spent doing
things specifically required for preparation/touring class
competition. This class judges the exterior, wheels,
interior, engine, and trunk spaces. It does not judge
under the car, or use lights or mirrors. Then we drove to
Keystone. We used the all freeway route to minimize tar/
construction/etc. Then I spent another 10 hours doing recleaning
and waxing.
At this point I understood what people have meant
when they said you will feel good just because of what
you have done for your car. It looked fantastic to me.
I received many admiring comments. I had cleaned,
and added preservative coatings to many previously
untouched surfaces.
I knew I had made a
difference. With the
other 4 competitors in
my class we admired
each others’ cars
and kept working
until judging was
completed.
The realization of First in Class!
When I finally
figured out the score sheets I realized I had won First in
Class. My basic score was 3.4 points, out of 300, behind
the best car and I got 5.2 points for driving 930 miles to
Parade. Because I drove further than anyone else, I won.
The scoring system rewards well maintained and prepared
cars to intentionally encourage the entry of driven cars.
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Photos by Hiram Saunders, Linda Bambina
I also want to say – it is really the people. There are
few places where your competitors would congratulate
you for winning when they had cars that initially
scored better. I also received significant help from
Alan Bambina in terms
of some cleaning and
lots of advice and from
the Shoffits for carrying
some supplies and
loaning me their jack and
stands. It was a fantastic
experience and I am
hesitant to say I will not
do it again because it was
very rewarding and was
good for the car. If you
wish to consider doing a
Parade Concours please
let me know so I can share more details with you.
So drive your car to Parade and Concours it – you can
be a winner.