Member Profiles

PCA Gold Coast – Member Profiles

Mark Johnson, staff writer

We sincerely hope you are enjoying meeting your fellow members via this format. Die Porsche Kassette staff certainly is!

Featuring Jose J. “JJ” Colon-Lauer

Jose J. Colon-Lauer is known as “JJ”, which certainly seems logical and reasonable. He and his family are originally from Puerto Rico, and they currently live in Davie, FL. The family of 4 moved to the US in 2007 as part of a job transfer.

What about his Porsche, you may ask? The PCar in the household is a 1988 Carrera 3.2 Cabrio in Venetian Blue with 98,789 miles. JJ acquired the car in 2010. It has been “chipped”, AC deleted, lowered to Euro spec, with an added front DP valence, Momo steering wheel, and an upgraded shifter. As with many Porsche owners, JJ enjoys cruising the car, driving it to various shows, and bringing joy to kids (and adults) when they see such a beauty.

Beautiful it is, JJ Colon-Lauer’s 1988 Carrera 3.2 Cabrio bathing in an evening glow

Earlier, Jose had a line on another 3.2 Cab that was in Maryland. The year was 2007 and he made a gentleman’s agreement with the owner to fly up, buy the ‘87 and drive it home. The owner had a close friend who heard about the pending sale and indicated that he would purchase the car to keep it “in the family,” so to speak. The owner refunded the airfare to JJ and that opportunity ended.

Since a Porsche was not in the cards at that time he decided to lay off the search, hoping another 911 Cab would find him. Then, as luck and fate would have it, Mrs. Colon-Lauer was cruising eBay and found the ’88 3.2 Cabrio. The car was in South Florida, 5 miles away. After a brief email exchange, Jose met the owner at a local Publix. The very next day he drove it home. He has been a proud and happy owner now for 11 years.

Sr. Colon-Lauer’s affinity and appreciation for the 911 Porsche was kindled at a very early age. As with many young men he had an interest in cars. When 9 years old, the vehicle of choice was a Corvette. His father had both a Mercedes Benz 220 and a 6.3. Pops advised JJ that by the time he was able to purchase his own vehicle, cars would be quite different. Doing research through the magazines--Road & Track, for example—JJ’s mind and eyes were opened to a wonder of vehicles.

One day, riding with his dad, he heard a massively and distinctive loud roar! The growling vehicle that passed them quickly was orange, with black lettering on the side, and carried massive spoiler. It was nothing like a ‘Vette. It was otherworldly to JJ. Ultimately this unique vehicle was ID’d as a 911 Carrera that was owned by a local radio DJ. Young Colon-Lauer was quickly transformed from a Chevy Corvette guy to a Porsche 911 aficionado. The Porsche 911 aficionado himself, JJ.

His father and JJ had numerous conversations about cars (dad liked them every bit as much), so they looked around Puerto Rico together. Unfortunately, the supply and availability of the 911 in the island country was not large. Also, the roads and driving conditions that existed did not contribute to finding many high-quality Porsche vehicles. It wasn’t until JJ arrived in South Florida that the opportunity to acquire a mechanically sound 911 would appear. When the previous owner of the 3.2 had to sell in 2010 because of an unplanned divorce, JJ was the beneficiary of the 911. He has certainly made it his.

To his knowledge, JJ Colon-Lauer is the fourth owner of the car. Besides the upgrades noted above, he has been working relentlessly to bring up the quality and keep the Carrera Cab in outstanding condition. Seats, carpeting, paint, wheels, and multiple other features were serviced personally or with the assistance of several local shops—Rivero Auto in Kendall in particular. While the previous owner kept the vehicle maintained mechanically, cosmetically it needed work. JJ became

obsessed with Griot’s Garage car care products and performed the paint correction and protection personally. Many late nights were spent working on the 3.2 to bring it back to its current beauty.

As with many Porsche owners, it is a labor of love.

The Colon-Lauer family consists of Ms. Agnes (Bermudez) Colon. The Colons were married in 2001, so allow us the opportunity to wish them a Happy & Joyous 20th Anniversary. Agnes and JJ have two children: Mauricio (17), their son, and Alexa (16), their daughter. Mauricio is transitioning to flight school after a successful stint at West Broward HS, playing lacrosse (Team Captain last 2 years). Alexa is a junior at West Broward, also plays lacrosse and is National Honor Society member. They have 2 dogs, Samson an 8-year-old American bulldog, and Boriken a German Shepard mix. Both pups were adopted from the Broward Humane Society, with special kudos to Boriken, who was rescued from Puerto Rico after the 2019 earthquake. JJ is the Head of Risk and Control for a Securities & Investment firm.

A favorite Porsche? For JJ it is simply “AIR COOLED” – there is no substitute!

JJ has been a member of PCA since 2010 but there were a few short years of hiatus. He recently rejoined Gold Coast in 2020. His plan is attending a few of our regional shows and become involved with more events to the north (48 Hours, HDPE, Zonefest, etc.) as his schedule and time allowance improves. One interest is that he would like to start a 944 CUP Racing team with a 2-car operation. Sounds like speed is in his blood, and how much fun a 944 CUP car is at speed!!! Look for JJ and Agnes Colon-Lauer at a future Gold Coast event, say hi, and quiz him on the kids and the race team!

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