THE PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Rod Hersberger

Dealers around the country celebrated Porsche’s 75th anniversary on June 10 in various ways. Rusnak Porsche Westlake had an open house that was well attended. Porsche Santa Barbara had a drive to Sandpiper Golf Club followed by lunch. This event was limited to 35 cars and 60 guests. You will find the story elsewhere in this issue.

The Petersen Automotive Museum is also celebrating Porsche’s birthday with an exhibit that began in April this year and ends in April 2024. To celebrate another Porsche milestone, the Petersen is hosting a Boxster drivein on July 9 to recognize this model’s 30-year anniversary. The Petersen hopes to make this the largest Boxster gathering ever. What started as an underpowered entry level Porsche has now evolved into some potent options at the higher end of the range. I will report on the event in the next issue.

Club member Rick Principe invited SBR to his annual cars and coffee/open house at the Finish Line in Westlake Village on May 7. We had good attendance. Rick used the event to recognize the 50th anniversary of the legendary 1973 Carrera 911 RS 2.7 with four original examples on display. We got to chat with the owners as well. These cars were very successful on the track. Editor Dennis Power has a more complete story elsewhere in this issue.

We have heard or read that Porsche is going to make all 718 models electric in the near future. The next thing we know Porsche introduces a 718 Spyder with a GT3 engine! It is unfortunate, to me at least, that Porsche has not used the hybrid technology developed for the 918/919 cars in its other sports cars. Still, there seem to be new offerings or variants coming out regularly.

Board of Directors Meetings

SBR’s Board of Directors meets on the second Wednesday of every odd-numbered month beginning at 6:30 p.m. At this time, the meetings are held online via Zoom. Member attendance and participation are encouraged. Contact SBR president Rod Hersberger (rodhersberger@gmail. com) to receive the Zoom link for each meeting. Board meeting minutes are posted on the SBR website as well: www.pcasb.org/#clubnews.

Oh, did you see the 357 “concept” car in the April issue of Panorama? In my view, the less said about this design the better. It seems a mashup of an Audi TT, a Chrysler Crossfire, and a Tonka toy truck. Porsche may want to put this near the bottom of the stack of bad ideas.

Your activities cochairs have something going every month. Check out the listing in the calendar on page 3 and in the flyers on pages 38 and 39. Some events fill up very quickly.

We are still encouraging members who have not led a trip to do so. It is a great way to be involved (see the box on the following page for more information). And, it’s worth noting, using only msreg.com now for sign-ups and making payments makes it easy and works well.

Call for 2024 Officers Nominations

The Nominating Committee is seeking nominees for officer candidates (President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer) to be elected this fall for twoyear terms beginning in 2024. If you are interested, or know someone who is, please email Secretary Tom Sutphen at twsutphen@gmail.com no later than September 10. Also, please let Tom know if you are interested in serving on any of our committees (Activities, Advertising, Archives, Motorsports, Concours, Dealer Relations, Distribution, Der Auspuff editorial team, Insurance, Membership, Public Relations, Safety, or Social Media.)