Tag Archive for: porsche

You are here: / / porsche

Posts

Porsche Plus Blockchain?

[ by Sterling Vernon ] 

Cryptocurrency, blockchain, digital currency – other than the wild value swings that could theoretically fund auto purchases, why would Porsche be integrating blockchain into their products? I think it all comes down to trust. You trust all of the folks involved in car transactions, yes? Not usually. Used car salespeople have gained a pretty negative reputation. I’ve been swindled a few times, I’m not proud to say. How can blockchain help? 

At it’s core, blockchain is really just a way to document a chain of information such that you can’t modify any of that information after the fact. You can’t lose things. You can’t fake a record. And you can quickly get the entire history of whatever is being documented. This might be a record of a piece of currency passing through many hands via transactions. It might be a car part traveling from the original OEM manufacturer through distributors and suppliers before it gets installed on your new GT3. All of these parts, the cars themselves, and, yes, the currency we use to buy the car – all have a rich history that is usually nearly impossible to know. And even harder to trust. 

If you’ve ever bought or received a CarFax report, you know that it tries to create a sense of trust that you know a car’s history. You also know that it can be wildly inaccurate. They miss many things – the mileage records are often incorrect. They report only the incidents that have been reported through insurance, et cetera, et cetera. Now imagine your car had a magic book in the glove compartment in which everything about your car was recorded and stored. Every oil change. Every repair. Maybe even ever time you started it. And none of that info could be altered. Someone wanting to buy your car would have a perfect record of the use of your car on which to make an informed purchasing decision. It’s a huge change to how things are currently done.

It’s not perfectly clear how Porsche will be rolling out and using this new blockchain (or DLT – distributed ledger technology), but I think they would be crazy not to include the service history of the car in the record. It will be interesting how much driver-related history gets stored in there, too. Privacy has been dead and buried for a long time, folks. I’m sorry to say that it isn’t coming back anytime soon. We might as well get ready to embrace the new normal and try to share in the benefits. Porsche is clearly trying to do just that.

Don’t really get blockchain yet? Here’s a quick primer on bitcoin written by one of my favorite content writers (Dan and I used to work together at Sapient Corporation in Cambridge) 

/by
,

NER Autocross Season Finale

October 14, 2017 – story: Chris Ryan – photos: Richard Viard (unless otherwise noted)

SPONSORED BY

PORSCHE NORWELL

NER’s fifth and final Autocross event of the 2017 season was run on Saturday October 14th at Moore Airfield at Devens (results). The event was sponsored by Porsche Norwell to whom we extend our thanks for their support! Seventy-one drivers came out to enjoy what turned out to be a gorgeous fall day after a bit of a damp start to the morning. With heavy mist and light rain engulfing the field as we were setting up, it was looking bleak and the first run group did have to endure a wet track. Fortunately, things cleared up as the morning went on and as the track dried, the times for all the drivers started decreasing significantly. By the end of that first heat, the track was dry, the sun was out, and the rest of the day was much more enjoyable for everyone.

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_6889

At the start of the event, several season championships (final championship standings) were still on the line to be decided. But first, congratulations go out to Tom Tate, Nick Durham, Bill Aubin, Noah Eckhouse, Chris Ryan, Aaron Walker, Ed Moschella, Suzy Kelley, Scruffy, and Rob MacAlpine for clinching season wins in their respective classes prior to the day’s runs.

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_6873

Class 2S had a particularly interesting finish to the season with all three qualifying contenders having an opportunity to take the class as the day began with Adam Blauer, Georges Rouhart, and Neil Halbert all within 3 points of each other on the season. At the end of the morning heat, Georges was firmly in first place by about a second and he held that position into the afternoon. But on Run 7, Adam posted a 68.430 vs. Georges’ 68.558. All three drivers both posted their best times in Run 9, but with Adam ahead of Georges by .318 seconds and Neil meeting up with a cone, the race was Adam’s for the season. Congratulations, Adam!

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_6975

Class 4S also saw two drivers, both relative newcomers to our Club in a position to take the season championship. At the start of the day, Charlie Sayers held the lead over Gareth Peters by 6 points. Gareth needed to take first place to overcome Charlie, which he managed to do by posting a decisive 67.384 for his 9th run of the day besting Charlie by a little over 1.8 seconds. Congratulations go to both drivers for running a very competitive season and to Gareth on the win!

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_7239

Class 6S had Rachel Baker and Nigel Fenwick within 2 points of each other at the start of the day, and Nigel gave it a good run but, in the end, fell short of Rachel’s best time of 64.726 by just over a second … maybe next year? Congratulations, Rachel!

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_7344

And finally, with 3 points separating Jeremy Mazzariello and Rob Galejs, Class 7S was technically up for grabs although it would have taken quite an upset for Jeremy to lose, although stranger things have been known to happen …. Congratulations go out to Jeremy for securing the championship once again!

So ends another exciting NER Autocross Season at Devens. In our first season as AX Registrar and AX Chair, I think Jeff Johnson and I managed to keep things running without getting into too much trouble (thank you, Jeff!) and we certainly hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as we did!

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_7354

Following the event, we held our now annual end-of-season AX Party over at Billiards Café in Ayer where we enjoyed a buffet dinner, beverages, and announced the season winners. Season trophies will be awarded at NER’s annual banquet to be held once again at the Museum of Science in Boston. We hope to see all of you there as well as back at Devens for next year’s NER’s 2018 Autocross Series.

Photo by Anker Berg-Sonne

Photo: Anker Berg-Sonne

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_7346

As always – questions, comments, and suggestions can be sent to AX Chair, Chris Ryan, at [email protected] or AX Registrar, Jeff Johnson, at [email protected].   

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_7094

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_7150

2017-10-14_6743

2017-10-14_6730

2017-10-14_6769

2017-10-14_6773

ner-ax-2017-finale-and-party-2017-10-14_6837

ner-autocross-2017-finale-and-party-2017-montage-1

ner-autocross-2017-finale-and-party-2017-montage-2

ner-autocross-2017-finale-and-party-2017-montage-3

ner-autocross-2017-finale-and-party-2017-montage-4

 

 

/by
,

Southern Hospitality

NER had a big weekend this past Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was strong in Rhode Island. Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown hosted the SoBo (South of Boston) contingent of our club for a cars and coffee event. It was a bit misty and foggy but spirits were high and there was a strong turnout. The Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth hosted German Car Day all day as well. Many folks hit both events. Gunther and Maggie Buerman, owners of the Newport Car Museum, mentioned that they had a great crowd for their event with over 50 Porsches and a sizable number of Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and VWs on hand. Maggie was pleased to report that over 12,000 people have visited the museum since it opened earlier this year and that they are excited to host more events with our region in the coming year.

Many thanks once again to Roger Slocum for organizing all the great SoBo events this year. And thanks to the Newport Car Museum for the fun we’ve had there this season, too!

Photos by Josh Perrault 

Halloween boo -boo?

Josh Perrault and Greg Newbert

Steve Ramponi’s F77

Newport Car Museum

NCM’s newest addition

/by
,

Fall Finale At Palmer

The Northeast Region enjoyed spectacular weather for our end-of-season three-day event at Palmer Motorsports Park. We saw record attendance at this event with 170 cars (!!!) and over 180 drivers! That is absolutely incredible by any standard of measurement. And lest you think all those cars might cause congestion out on track – the organizers were right on top of it, making us all practice our “exercises” (point by to the left…point by over the roof to the right…repeat…) before hitting the track on Saturday morning. 

Speaking of teaching and practicing, we were lucky to once again have Lee Carpentier, pro driver and coach, to instruct many of the run groups during the course of the weekend. Lee’s sessions, with content tailored for each run group he addresses, helps us all improve in his very cheerful and humorous style. Lee also spent a lot of right-seat time with our instructors, helping to make sure we are all at our best.

As yet another special educational experience, Dr. Andy Kaufman, a PCA member from Syracuse (but a Boston guy to us since he went to MIT), a forensic psychiatrist, and coach to many performance athletes and business leaders, gave memorable and fascinating sessions about how to prime one’s brain for high performance driving by focusing on the mental side of performance using cognitive science. He focused on the two main stumbling blocks many of us face while high-performance-driving: focus and confidence. His qualifications and teaching experience (SUNY Syracuse) allow for a much deeper dive into the workings of the mind than might be typically covered by most coaches. Dr. Kaufman is mentored by Dr. Jacques Dallaire, author of some fascinating books about mental performance and coach to folks like Helio Castroneves and Patrick Dempsey from his office at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dr. Kaufman led a session for the White run group on Friday and one for our advanced drivers and instructors on Saturday. He taught them “the three R’s” for maintaining focus and reducing possible anxiety. What are those three R’s? Luckily we’ll all be able to learn more about them next season as our head of DE, John Dunkle, has asked Dr. Kaufman to team up with Lee Carpentier next year to begin to develop some NER-specific programming. We’re blazing a trail in this area and yext year is going to be even better. Our DE team is really putting the “E” (education) back in “DE”. And the kicker – Andy lost third gear in his GT4 during the first session on Friday but stayed with us and did a great job. We hope his car is back out there soon.

If all that weren’t enough already, we had a live auction on Saturday after the track went cold and raised over $1,000 for Homes for our Troops by auctioning Porsche swag donated by Norbert Martel. The one item John Dunkle, auctioneer, wanted for himself – a 1/18 scale 2.7 RS – went for some serious money. We had a lot of laughs that evening.

Many thanks to all the people who came out for the event and huge thanks to the team that pulled it together and to South Shore Autoworks, the event sponsor. It really was a grand finale!

For anyone who wants to check out the track and see some great cars, don’t miss the big Porsche-only show, swap-meet, exhibition at Palmer on October 8th. You’ll even have a chance to drive the track (at parade speeds) to get a feel for how amazing it is. Come join us for what looks to be another great event!

 

John D. runs the auction in first-class style. But is a bit upset when the item he wanted was bid up a bit high. Great for our charity, Homes for our Troops – not so good for John!

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

Bill S. has formed his own run group.

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

Huge thanks to our event sponsor, Justin Becker and his South Shore Autoworks!

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

Surely they are discussing the finer points of the line around Palmer’s track.

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

914-6! And it’s fast!

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

/by
,

Added Spice

Porsche unveiled the 2018 version of the Cayenne SUV. While this may not be as exciting to the sports car crowd as the 911 Targa GTS might be, it is the car, along with the Macan, that allows Porsche to keep building the lower-volume cars we drool over. And, as a three-time Cayenne owner, I’ll have to admit that it’s a vehicle you can’t help but appreciate. For what it can do, you’d be very hard pressed to find a more capable all-around vehicle out there. The newest version is 164 pounds lighter than the already-lightened prior generation. These are heavy beasts, make no mistake, but the body is now fully aluminum and the chassis combines aluminum and steel.

The new motors are something we’re getting used to seeing from Porsche. The base Cayenne has always had a bit of a gutless V6 in there. Now both the base and the S models have V6’s but with different displacements and turbo capabilities. The base car is a 3.0L car that puts out a respectable 340 horsepower. For reference, my first Cayenne S with a 4.5L V8 put out 325bhp. The S model only has 2.9L but has twin turbos and puts out 440 horsepower. One early driving review seemed to indicate that the base engine was throatier and more satisfying if a bit winded at times. But they preferred it to the more powerful S. We’ll see if that’s the consensus until the uber-Turbo-Hybrid-SE-wunderbar version is announced.

This newest version continues the interesting Cayenne quirk of offering sophisticated off-road capability to folks (myself included) who barely ever use a fraction of that capability. Porsche Traction Management (PTM) is now standard on all models. An interesting new option is rear-wheel-steering. We’ve seen this applied to the 911 range recently to provide more agility as the wheelbase increases and by all accounts, it seems to succeed admirably. I’m not a big fan of diluting the sports-car ethos with gadgetry but in a Cayenne it seems wholly appropriate. Agility in your 4000+ pound SUV is never a bad thing!

There is more cargo space – which is good as my ski equipment isn’t getting smaller – and revised suspension parts too. The tiptronic transmission is still a torque-converter but it’s all new and faster. And the interior has that new style with a big 12.3″ screen in the center and buttons electronically integrated under a glass surface for a seamless look.

2018-cayenne-interior

Porsche is also offering something really new – Porsche Surface Coated Brakes (PSCB). What is it? Apparently they have coated the rotors with tungsten carbide – you know, like on drill bits. They claim it increases friction, reduces pad wear, and reduces dust. Where has this coating been all my life? Tungsten carbide is twice as strong as steel and has good high-temperature stability, hence the use in drill bits, so I guess I can see the potential. And this should be something that might also filter through to our track cars!

All in all, it’s a version that definitely seems to be pulling many of Porsche’s various desirable bits into a car that should sell very well. Who knows, I might even have to see if it’s time to avail myself of these updates.

/by

Wheel to Wheel

Porsche has just announced a carbon fiber wheel option (for the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series). Very few production cars currently have carbon fiber wheels – just the Mustang GT 350R and Koenigseggs, that I can think of. They are certainly a bit expensive. Carbon Revolution, maker of the 350R’s wheels, offered early carbon fiber wheels for about as much as a loaded Corolla per wheel. It’s also interesting that Forgeline recently announced a carbon wheel barrel with forged aluminum spokes. That’s a hybrid approach that hasn’t been seen before now.  

Now, it appears Porsche, in true Porsche-fashion, reinvented the manufacturing process in order to bring these to market – an impressive feat in and of itself. They built a huge wheel to weave carbon fiber into…wheels. One can rarely, if ever, claim that Porsche takes short cuts when putting out new products. 

What does this mean for the rest of us? If Porsche follows their normal playbook, the use of this manufacturing capability will only increase and more models will offer this option. These could be on your future car someday. Your suspension and brakes will thank you.

/by
,

Renegades and Record Breakers

If you had to pick a place to park your Porsche and have some coffee, why shouldn’t it be a place inspired by Sonny Bono that also had a hand in breaking two Guinness records – one for the largest surfboard and one for having the most riders on a surfboard? The monster board, partially created in Westerly RI, now resides at the International Surfing Museum near Huntington Beach. But you can visit this unique coffee shop with your fellow Porsche fans this weekend at our Cars and Coffee event. We’ll meet up at Lalajava in Northborough, MA from 8am to 10am on Saturday morning.

Get all the details →

lala-java-cars-coffee northborough ma

/by
, , , ,

Virginia is for Outlaws

  • by Gary Cooper                        

Greetings NER members! We are in the middle of a great summer and the heart of the driving season. I recently returned from a short trip to Virginia and thought you might enjoy this account of the weekend’s activities.

The invitation to go to Virginia came via my friendship with Bruce Russell, the Membership Chair for the Shenandoah Region of Zone 2 PCA. I last saw Bruce when we were returning from the Blue Ridge Boxster Summit, (read about that adventure here if you missed it). Bruce had just purchased a beautiful 997.2 Carrera S and we made plans for a weekend of driving fun.

But, before I could leave, I needed to get the bumper of my Boxster fixed. Yours truly was behind the wheel for a very low impact (while inching forward in heavy traffic) tap into another vehicle, causing some minor damage to the front bumper. Some call it operator error – I call it stupidity. In any event, based on the many good things I’d heard about them in the Nor’easter, I made an appointment with Mike’s Auto Body of Malden. While the insurance appraiser said the damage could be repaired, I suspected – and Mike agreed – a new bumper cover would be needed. I asked if they could complete the job before I was scheduled to leave for Virginia. Well, they worked with the insurer and were able to expedite the job just in time. When I picked the car up I was impressed with the quality of the perfect paint match, but even more so by the attention to such details as reinstalling my homemade front grill meshes (helps to keep road debris out of the rads), and by making sure the emergency frunk cable release was just where I had relocated it on the original bumper. I cannot recommend Mike’s highly enough! And I was ready to head to Virginia.

pca-ner-virginia-is-for-outlaws-3

Bruce lives in the Richmond suburbs, so I left very early on Friday morning. Before I left, I purchased a few small items as I way of thanking Bruce and his wife for yet again putting me up in their beautiful home – as they did when I returned from the Werks Reunion in Florida earlier this year. Some assorted German foodstuffs from Karl’s in Peabody and a few little accessories for the new Carrera seemed appropriate. I think he was pleased.

Karl's Sausage Kitchen and European Market Peabody

Bruce let me know what he had planned for the weekend. On Saturday morning we’d meet up with some fellow Shenandoah members and go on a 55-mile PCA driving tour – ending up at the site of Region’s 22nd Anniversary picnic at Keswick Vineyards outside of Charlottesville. We had a small, but enthusiastic group of 11 cars.

pca-ner-virginia-is-for-outlaws-5

Note: Speaking of driving tours, be sure to check out the NER Events site for the First Annual Charlie and Martha Dow Fall Tour on September 10th. This is sure to be a fun tour of beautiful Cape Ann and the Essex coastal plain.

The picnic was a great time for me to meet many of Bruce’s friends in the region. Shenandoah is a small region of less than 300 primary members, so it was very impressive that about 85 people came out for a purely social event.

Shenandoah Region PCA event 22nd anniversary picnic Keswick Vineyards Charlottesville

Shenandoah Region PCA event 22nd anniversary picnic Keswick Vineyards Charlottesville Hank Weil

Shenandoah Region PCA event 22nd anniversary picnic Keswick Vineyards Charlottesville

Thanks to the region and it’s president, Hank Weil (pictured above speaking to the group) for warmly welcoming me!

After the picnic, Bruce had planned a fun route for him and I to visit his family’s rustic cabin in the mountains. We traveled up and over the Blue Ridge, across the Shenandoah Valley, and up again into the Alleghenies. If you’ve never been to this region, you should plan a visit – it is gorgeous. I attempted to keep up with Bruce in his good-as-new Carrera S and it’s 425 ponies.

PCA NER porsche rustic cabin in Virginia

It was dark by the time we got home that night, and we went to bed with our bellies full of some delicious Virginia comfort food had along the way. We turned in early as the next day would have a “zero dark thirty” start.

Bruce and about 10 other regional members have an informal “outlaw” fun-run group. Think more spirited, but safe, driving without the PCA forms, waivers and reports. Their main rule is there are no rules, and you can bring whatever vehicle you like. They planned an early Sunday morning (fewer cars on the road) around the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge northwest of Charlottesville. This day, Bruce opted for the more nimble ride – his Guards Red 1984 3.2 Carrera Targa. We met around 7:00am and drove a while before breakfast at a Tastee Freeze. You read that right, but don’t snicker – it was delicious Virginia baked ham, eggs and biscuits [ed: there was no mention of Jack or Diane, sadly]. Then it was off on some incredible, fun backroads in Madison County. The scenery was just as good as the roads. I love being around people who share my passion for driving.

pca ner shenandoah virginia outlaw group porsche

pca ner shenandoah virginia outlaw group porsche

The Outlaw group from left: Gary Graff, his Dad – Dan, Gary Hunter, Bates McLain, Bruce, and Bates’ son Colin.

Then it was back to Bruce’s house where our rides received a nice bath, and we relaxed, ate and talked the rest of the day.

pca-ner-virginia-is-for-outlaws-6

I had a long, rainy ride home on Monday, but that couldn’t dampen my memories of a great weekend spent with great people and great cars. Again, thanks to Bruce, the Shenandoah Region and lastly – my wife Ellen, who is very understanding and supportive of my fun, but sometimes distant, trips.

/by