Who's a member of the PCA?
 

Well I joined about a month ago and attended one monthly meeting in March. I feel like I am the youngest out of the bunch but everyone seems really nice. My lady friend that attended with me made the comment that "these are Porsche owners?" she seemed to be under the impression that the meeting was boring and the speakers where not energized. I have to kind of agree with her on some points. The meetings I guess are held sometimes at specialty shops which cater to Porsche. I wasn’t impressed with the shop, no demos on what they do and most of the parts seemed to be catered towards Cayennes or Escalades.

So is it a waste to join PCA or not? I feel I've had more fun meeting up with some of the board members.

You have to ask them if it was worthwhile for them to meet you! ;)

Each region is different. Do a search.

We have an active region that does a lot of track stuff (I attend). They also do some drive and dines and a black tire dinner (I didn't attend).

If they don't do something you'd like in you chapter, speak up and do it.

I joined up and the only contact I have had was getting Panorama.
I looked on the site for a while, but I have gotten way more out of Pelican than PCA so far. Maybe I have to put it more time trying to be involved, but I figured I would get emails or something about SOMETHING going on. Its only been 6 months though..

im not a member but i definatly dont see what all the buzz is about. the shop that they have the meetings at is right nexto my brothers shop and he knows the guy well. even so i dont think its worth the cash they are not active enough to make it worth wile. maby in a more porsche populated are but not by me. I call the PCA the Porsche Cult of America :) because whenever i talk to a member they try to get me to join by handing me flyers and crap :) I hope its worth it for you

The Northwest region is very active. I skip the social events, and go to the events that require a helmet. We have a great autocross facility, and use it regularly.

I think The Panorama , could be worth the memmbership fees.

The PCA club that I belong to, RSR, is very track and driving oriented. I have met some great friends from all walks of life. What is even cooler is the cars that we drive are not garage queens so mine fits right in. Not to say that they are junkers but we don't have shows as much as driving events with food usually mixed in. No cheese, either!!

I joined RMR-PCA in the spring of ’68 at age 25. I’m still a member today. I did feel somewhat “young” but there were plenty my age. There are some who have been members far longer than I.

The nice thing is our club covers everyone’s interests. We have tech sessions, swap meets, autoXs, DEs, Club Races and more. There are also rallyes, tours, wine & cheese, movies, parties and such. If you don’t like something, don’t go. If the club isn’t doing something you think it should, get involved and make it happen.

This is the nice thing about a membership club. The members make it happen, whatever it is.

Of course one club won’t necessarily do. I’m still an SCCA, POC, RMVR and such member. Considering NASA.

Best,
Grady

I disagree onthis. I find Panorama to be just a bunch of ads. I prefer more of a technical type magazine or newsletter.
Excellence is kind of going this way as well.


RSR= Rally Sport Region(RSP in PCA communications)

I've been a member since the early eighties. Your take on whether it's worthwhile depends on how active you are. Our region meets pretty often. I have breakfast with about twenty of the guys (and a few girls) every Saturday. Most of my close friends are PCA members. We do lot's of things that aren't even car related, in addition to the usual driving events, autocrosses, weekend tours, parties, etc.

I'm in a couple other car clubs and they suck by comparison.

JR

I'd be up for a non-Pano option. It takes me about 45 seconds to churn through and then I toss it. I'd rather get a weekly email with 2-3 good articles and one supplier special deal.

I am a PCA member so I can get into track events and the volunteer and support network that comes along with it. These events take a lot of time and effort and without those folks I couldn't enjoy my car as much as I do.

I'm not sure how they can improve though.

I've been a member for about a year. Enjoy the magazine, and have been to some monthly dinner meetings of the local section, as well as a couple of picnics. Have met some very nice people, and a top mechanic at a local dealer who has been very helpful with some issues on my SC.

The value of the meetings is you get to network with other owners of varied interests--racing, touring, etc. and different cars--not just 911s, though I've seen some very nice ones. You also get to ask questions about your car with some who know a lot more than you do about it.

I joined PCA mostly for track access. (Otherwise, I'd just be collecting more fast driving awards from the local constabulary.) Look at your local track's schedule. I'd bet that PCA and BMW CCA use the track most frequently. If I had no track aspirations, I don't know if I'd be a member.

Yep, it's a waste of time. Unless you like autocrosses, scenic tours, learning to drive your car on a racetrack, racing your car in a club race, concours events, tech sessions, etc. :confused:

Maybe your club is different. Mine’s pretty cool.

In Florida the private groups are taking over the track days. It's getting very difficult for the PCA regions to get track time. Sebering for instance is booked almost 300 days a year.

One of the main reasons to join PCA was to get track time. Now that's not a factor.

Panorama is very very tiring. They write about how wonderful each new Porsche is so they can keep getting the free trips around the world. Even CNBC runs a disclosure line. I don't think Panorama has ever told us who paid for the trip. Like we couldn't guess though.

Richard

Its like any club you are a member of--its what you make of it. If you want to do the social events, attend those. You want to drive on the track, go to the DE's. If you dont like the events they have planned, volunteer to be on the board of officers and work on planning events you'd like to attend. The Great Plains Region I'm in is fantastic with a large group of fun people that I hang out with socially and at the track events. Good luck!

I think that Grady has summed up how everyone should approach PCA. The club is what the members make it. Just like society as a whole, there are all kinds of people.

Mark

Yep, been a PCA member since the 80s:p

Mine is mostly rally, whine and chesse, concour....I have to travel for any AX or DE......the functions are mostly geriatrics....

I think it is a good deal.

1. Great magazine.
2. Pretty good local magazine for the Orange Coast Group with contacts for various things.
3. Great drivers clinic once a year (for you and a spouse).
4. Monthly gatherings are good if you are older.
5. Swap meets.
6. Info on bigger gatherings with other clubs
etc

The people in my region are wonderful. Good people that love Porsche's and love life. They are a fun group, but on average a little older than myself (I'm 42, most of them are over 60). Most of them seem to have known each other for dog's years so I sometimes feel like an outsider; but no fault of theirs.

Younger members seem to attend the special events like I do. One example is the Meguair's Seminar.

If you are in a bad region, try to attend events from an adjacent region. I think some of the Los Angeles group come down for to the Orange County events because it is more active.

SmileWavy

Not enough interesting activity in my area... that I have discovered. I do get a great parking spot at the Rolex 24, though.

I joined but alas have not been able to attend anything yet. I can say though, based on their website ( I am in Midsouth region) that I wish more events occured, maybe less formal... just get together, talk Porsches, and drive!

Just my opinion...

I've been a PCA member for 3 years. I have never been to a meeting. I like the Panorama-even the ads.:) I have been to a couple of social/tech functions. I found the members to be a bit stand-offish and I felt maybe it was a case of snobbery. My 77 didn't fit in with the longhoods, nor did it fit in with the new high dollar cars. Despite that I decided to attend my 1st DE.

That changed everything. People came over and introduced themselves. My 77 received tons of nice compliments. I met great people willing to give me advice. Most importantly, I had a GREAT time driving my car as the good Dr. intended.

My point- make the club your own. Extract what it is that you are looking for. It will be there.

And finally, Welcome!SmileWavy

I innocently joined with enthusiasm when I bought my 944 about 4 or 5 years ago. I literally NEVER saw a single article in Panorama nor a single mention of the 924/944/968. I may have seen a 928 article....maybe one. I let my membership lapse after one year and have never regretted it.

They should change the name of the club to P911CNA.:rolleyes:

most everyone seems to be having negative input about your local pca chapter. stand up and take ownership....the club is yours to do what ever you want. try to get more people involved with your ideas. we have over 70 members in our small chapter...only 10 or so want to attend and do events. the others are just funding our club as the pca funds our club for its members.if they dont want to come so be it. we do what we want with it and just have fun between the members that want to participate. its a shame that most of the members dont want to belong or show up to meetings as its a cheap way to meet individuals that share your same interest. the key to having a fun club is participation in activities that everyone enjoys. i stood up in our club as well as a few other members to spark new life into it...as said before...its your club, do what you want...

You say that like it's a bad thing Dan.;)

You've got the right car now-time to join again.:)

Orange Coast region (Orange County, CA) is very active. Every month we have "Breakfast Club" on the first Saturday where we meet and talk in the parking lot and then go in for announcements about what is going on and coming up. We almost always have over 80 cars and have been pushing 100 in the summer months...
Oh, and we have some breakfast too!

On the third Saturday we have Donuts with Ken which is just an excuse to meet in a parking lot and talk. A lot of our other activities meet here and then head off to where ever.

This year we have 11 Autocrosses. 2 are at the Streets of Willow and the other 9 are going to be more then a mile in length at a closed airbase in OC. We already had our annual "Training Wheels" driver instruction course in February.

We have at least one wine tour every year. Most years we have a wine tour to the Santa Barbara area and another down to Temecula. We also have a few over night tours each year. We have been to Hearst Castle, Sedona, Julian (San Diego county), Palm Springs, Ventura, etc... This year I know we will have an overnight trip to Solvang.

We have had one rally so far this year. I think the next one will be in April. There will be a few more before the year is up.

This Saturday is the "New Members Picnic and Irish Stew Cookoff" complete with green beer. In July we have a bar-b-que for our chosen charity, the Cystic Fibrosis ward at CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County). We presented them with $10,000 that we had raised throughout the year from "50/50" raffles and donations tied to certain events.

At the end of summer we have our garage tour which is a progressive dinner that usually visits 4 garages for the various courses of the meal. For Oktoberfest we have an overnight trip up to Big Bear. In December is our Christmas party which is pretty loud and a lot of fun.

Our big car show of the year is on June 3rd. We have it in conjunction with the Huntington Beach Concours. We have had over 130 cars on display the last few years. This year the featured cars are the Turbos and with the enthusiasm from establishment this year of the Turbo Registry I expect more then 140 Porsches. The non Porsche part of the Concours has at least 300 vehicles of all types on display.

We have had dinners with different technical speakers and a variety of tech meetings on all sorts of subjects.

If you can't find something that you want to do here then you are stuck to your couch.

Oh... And we are never featured in the "From the Regions" section in the Panarama.

Wayne, there are definitely plenty of SOCIAL events (and autocross) with OCR but we need real bona-fide track days!

I just got my PCA renewal in the mail...
 

I have been a member off and on over the last 15 yrs. I decided to save the $42. and not renew. I get much more out of Pelican.

Our region, CAR, is said to be the fastest growing region in the US. Maybe that's because people in the poor south can finally afford 911s that have reached their full depreciation.

After looking through a few when my membership was new, all my panos magazines now go straight to the bin, unopened.

PCA does offer cheaper track time than NASA - and that is the biggest reason to have the membership, IMO.

I've been a member of PCA (SE MI region) since I bought my car in 6/2002, but I've never been to any meetings, just drives and parties. Lots of nice people and they are very willing to help in any way they can. All ages, gender, ethnic groups are represented and the folks don't look down their nose at me because I drive an old 911.

I am, I think it's a valuable resource, and the magazine is very good.

Our PNW region is great. There is something for everybody and they do keep pretty busy. There really are two sets of members, the tour/concourse/dinner/wine&cheese set, and the DE/autocross set. Nice people in both, just different ways to enjoy their cars.

I signed up in '67. Renewed every year since. People come. people go. Cars change. The makup of regions change. Not all evolution is good. That's life, I guess. PCA is still the big horse to ride if you wish to belong to a Porsche Club. All that said, my recent renewal notice went in the shredder...I've decided to no longer be a Porsche owner, so why belong to the club?

I'm coming up on one year of membership in Rally Sport. Obviously there is more in the summer, but it is a lot of fun. Well worth joining.

I am for about ten or twelve years now. PCA Potomac. We have a fantastic local club that offers a lot. I participate largely in DE events. We have six to eight a year and other local clubs have them too.

It's my primary hobby- at least the wallet says so.

I disagree on the magazine. Some issues can be good but (IMO) it generally doesn't hold a candle to Roundel or others. Roundel articles range from FIKSE wheel manufacturing or the US Army recapturing the Nurburgring area during WW2 to direct and honest (and sometimes unflattering) assessments of BMW cars.

Panaroma is largely corporate propoganda and the few interesting articles either recite the glory days of the 550 or the 917 or in some cases contain excellent tips on how to drive.

I joined after buying my 911 and I have been attending Autocrosses when I can. Compared to non-pca Autocrosses they are much more fun. We typically get 8 runs in (compared to 4 for local scca) and the atmosphere is really relaxed.

I have not used them for a track day yet but their prices are better than the local clubs for a day so I want to give that a try too. It just sucks going back to novice and being checked out again with a new club.

Jim, the Crown Region (Jax area) has a DE next month, come up & play!!

What track? Reobling or Daytona?

I joined last spring. I'm yet to attend any event other than a dinner.