p c a responce to boxster ?
 

I was considering joining the P.C A. and was wondering if anyone could share their expierience. I was really wondering how the boxster is recieved in the pca circles. I was told yesterday by a member that about half are air cooled snobs , the others are cool, here in the south. (florida) any thoughts ? I was also wanting to attend a coffee and cars but I was thinking that my black 02 box S with speed humps could be somewhat out of place amongst older p cars of greater value. I am thinking who cares but i really dont need conflict or to feel weird or get strange looks. The car looks and preforms great for a 10 year old car with 110,000 miles. Thanks....great forum by the way!

Can only talk about P'CAR in my neck of the woods (Northern CA)
Great group of people, many Boxsters and nobody disses you.

My experience I solely based on people I either met at AutoX or DE.
I stay away from the wine and cheese crowd though.

Be your own person and go to the functions with your car. The only person worrying about how your received is you. If you get any attitude from folks, then it is them who has a problem and they are people who you don't need to be around.

You need to look at yourself as the only person who has to be happy with your car. Remember, you only give people the right to give you grief.

The Florida Crown region has all types of Porsches, from 356s to 991s. Many of the active members have Boxsters, including the club treasurer and activity chair. As long as you're an enthusiast, come on by.

I haven't had anyone thumb their nose at me due to my Boxster, even from owners in 997 or Panamera Turbos.

At the local Cars & Coffee event on Saturday, we had: 914, 928, 930, 944, 964, 986, 987, 991, 993, 996, 997. We all tend to get along no matter if you're into the drive & dines, HPDEs, or track days.

Go, smile, introduce yourself, show appreciation for other's cool cars and enjoy your time there. Boxsters do just fine in Cali and FLA PCA. My car is a plain brown wrapper compared to many of the cars that show up but we all get along just fine.

PCA-GPX Vice President
PCA Zone 8 DE/TT Chairman (SoCal, AZ, NV)

If it will make you feel better, just let me know when you are going, And I will join you with my black 01 S (speedster humps included).
Worst case we can tamper with our AOS, a d smoke them as we run away. :D

From my experience in the Philadelphia region, some others also own Boxsters, but most are watercooled 911's. Everyone complimented my Boxster, even the 911 guys.

That may have been way back when.
Now a days most of us just share our love and admiration for all of the Doctor's fine machines.
I've been a member of the BOD of Gold Coast Region (South Florida) for some years and I drive a '98 Boxster.
I attend most of our social and sporting events and I've always been very welcomed in all circles.
Go out and enjoy the Club's many activities. You'll discover many new friends.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

I'm not sure anybody cares that much.

Don't worry what people think of you, they don't do it for very long . . .

Some of my best Porshe friends own GT-3's and I would never hold it against them or look down on them just because they look like dentists who hugely overpaid for a car with the engine in the wrong place. :D

Ok, on a more serious note, Boxster's fit right in just fine into the PCA scene. Don't give it a second thought.

Just remember that like most clubs, you get out of it what you put into it. I'd say jump in and get involved in a part of the club that you're interested in. Its easy to make some new friends who share the same passion.

Why would PCA members look down on your 2002 S? It has more power and better handling than nearly all the air-cooled Carreras ever built, and those are by far the most coveted by the purist. Not bad for your first Porsche selection! But hey if you're lucky one day you'll get to own a slower Porsche that leaves you a new mystery fluid on your driveway each morning. Afterall sports cars aren't really about driving fast and water-tight engineering. :)


PCA members often receive like 10% discounts at their local Porsche dealer for service or parts. And Autocrossing with the local PCA chapter is the single best bang for the buck motorsports activity. Basically they'll provide you with the same basic performance driving instruciton for $50 of autocrossing that you'll get paying $2,000 at some driving school where most of the lessons won't fully sink in after just one day behind the wheel.


p.s.
I spend a lot of time down in Florida and I totally get where you're coming from with this question. Especially in South Florida, the price of your Porsche seems to be some sort of status symbol in many circles down there. It's not enough to just have a Porsche, you have to have the expensive GT3 or Turbo with the sunroof and premium edition Starbuck cup holder (LOL). But hey lucky for FL they will always have Sebring. The Porsche guys down there who actually drive their cars are nutters!

thanks to all who who responded
 

it is so true as the wife says nobody cares about you they are all starring in there own movie

I just joined PCA but have been too busy to go to a gathering so far, and have not found an event I wanted join in on yet. I did attend a local C&C and was worried like you but all I can say is I felt right at home and was welcomed same as anyone else. It was actually a really really nice group of people. From what I have been able to tell, anyone who is actually into "cars" actually realizes the boxster is great driving vehicle. Personal aesthetics aside, the main people I hear make fun of the Boxster are non Porsche owners who don't really know much about it. I have yet to hear an actual Porsche auto enthusiast say anything negative.

In my mind a true gearhead is a gearhead, regardless of the type or cost of the car.

I joined PCA about 10 years ago. I have not yet been to a PCA function because of the distance from me to where the events all take place. (I live closer to Havana Cuba then Miami Fl.) I enjoy the monthly magazine and I do get 10% off parts and labor at the Naples Fl Porsche dealer.

most PCA people won't mind a Boxster as they'll think it's almost a 911.

the 924-944-928 guys are the ones they look down on...

I think if you randomly pulled a part off a 986 odds are the part is more likely to start with 996 than 986. LOL. I mean it's basically a 1999-2001 Carrera roadster edition with the engine in the correct spot. Any other brand wouldn't have bothered to come up with a different name or a different engine. They would have simply dropped in the base engine for the coupe and offered the S engine as the M roadster version or something. They certainly would not have gone to the trouble of engineering a completely new engine that was intentionally less powerful at a time when the company was an hour away for filing for bankruptcy. The danger was that if the mid-engine Carrea roadster turned out to be quickest Carrera (GT's and Turbos aside) right out of the box then it would have been embarassing after all that rear engine tinkering and tweaking.

Most people who look down on the Boxster are not aware that 996 Carrera and Boxster were designed simultaneoulsy as one car from the seats forward. However, since prospective buyers were putting down deposits on the Boxster some 4 years before the first model rolled off the assembly line Porsche had no choice but to unveil the finished Boxster 2 years (3 in Europe) before the new 996 Carrera that replaced the 993. They needed the cash ASAP. This really got under the skin of the Carrera worshipers. "I'm getting the old thing that guys who spent less already have?!!" Porsche had to tell them sorry, we weren't selling enough of those 993's that you love so much. The bean counters wouldn't even give the 911 worshipers a new headlight design, they got the same as the Boxster. The compromise was to offer them a slightly different front bumper.

perfect lap responce
 

I see said the blind man....I knew the likeness, not the story

I know, right? Perfectlap is full of interesting info, isn't he?

PCA folks are great, they totally are down to earth and recruit you even if you have a Boxster. Great group of folks - esp in the bay