Voice of the Vancouver Island Region - Porsche Club of America
Volume 22 Issue 2 March 2019
In this issue Valentine’s Meals, 8th Gen 911, Selling on Bring A Trailer.com, Porsche Factory Visit, West Coast Drive and more!
Regulars 4 VIR Executive
5 Executive Comment
8 Club News
19 Coffee & Cars
32 Classifieds
33 Goodie Store
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Discounts, Forums & Useful Web Sites
Features North Island 9 Valentine Meal
Mid & South Island 11 Valentine Meal 8th Gen 911 14
Rally Corner 15
From Toronto 16
West Coast Drive 17
Selling on 21 Bring A Trailer.com
35 Around The Bend
Porsche Driver’s 23 Selection
37 Advertiser Index
Porsche Factory 24 Visit Part 2
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John McGurran President president@virpca.org
James Renfrew Vice President vicepresident@virpca.org
Michael Holan Secretary secretary@virpca.org
Paul Atterton Director—North Island northisland@virpca.org
Tim Evans Treasurer treasurer@virpca.org
Dan Bourlet Director—Mid Island midisland@virpca.org
Garth Webber Atkins Director—Membership membership@virpca.org
Didier Moinier Director—South Island southisland@virpca.org
Steve Fairbrother Director—Newsletter newsletter@virpca.org
Dean Aikenhead Director—Competition competition@virpca.org
Dave Nickel Webmaster Chair webmaster@virpca.org
Klaus Kreye Rally Chair rally@virpca.org PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
Tyson Johnson Competition & Driver Education Chair tyson@virpca.org
Wendy Woodley Goodie Storekeeper goodiestore@virpca.org Page 4
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trust most of you have managed to dig yourselves out of the unexpected snow we received last week. Here in Saanich, the melt is on with fairly large roadside accumulations slowly melting. As evidence that snow can be fun, please read Klaus Kreye’s column on his snow day at Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit.
findings and recommendations will be presented to you at the AGM. In last year’s member survey you told us what you would like to do. Now we need a process to convert those ideas to plans.
The question many members are now facing is: when to switch over from snow/winter to performance/ summer tires. Last year I switched in late March and The Board is in the process of event planning for ran into snow at higher ele2019. If there is a drive you would like to take, you vations in Washington and can be pretty sure others feel the same way. Email Utah. That was fun. me with your ideas and let’s try to increase the driving/touring options this year. Check the Around the Bend listing in this newsletter for things to do in the near future.
John McGurran
As I mentioned in my February 15 email to members President (hope you got yours), the Board will undertake a strategic planning exercise over the next few months. Our
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y wife and I really wanted to attend the Valentine meal organised at the Crown Isle in Courtenay by Wendy Woodley. Crown Isle was my first VIR event that I attended in my Cayenne S back in 2008 (I think?). However the weather had other ideas on that day and the snow fell.
It was probably for the best as we had booked two nights at the Crown Isle and we would have come back Sunday afternoon and been immersed in the second major snowfall of that weekend as well! So we shall re-book with the Crown Isle and visit Wendy in a few weeks hopefully.
From all the photos I have seen of the two Valentine The DriveBC webcams just showed the roads as wet events, they were enjoyed by all who attended. as we set off from Victoria, but by the time we were On a completely different note, I have just returned at the top of the Malahat, some of the road was icy, from the Blast-It event in Victoria today organised by there were a few cars in the ditches and it was slow Garth. We each took a small article to blast and owngoing as everyone took it very easy. We could have er Scott Tucker guided us through the process and pressed on maybe (I did after we all had lunch. It was a great event and I thorhave Pirelli Scorpion winter oughly recommend Scott’s business for your blasting. tires and AWD in our Macan), but another 3 hours There will be a full write-up in the next issue, so be (at least) of that was not sure to read that. However, there are some before worth it and that is ignoring and after photos on our group Facebook page now at any potential accidents of https://m.facebook.com/groups/150348012491522 course, so we turned around at Mill Bay. Steve Fairbrother Editor PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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Region Membership Summary at end of January 2019 ancouver Island Region has 560 members. We have 350 primary members and 210 affiliate or family members. PCA has 83,810 primary members, 46,097 affiliate members and 17 life members for a total of 129,924 members.
New Members and Transfers in January – Welcome! Member John Lospinuso Jim Weber Frank Jaerschky Migs De Castro Gary Enderud Larry Muir
Co-member Lynne Weber
Andrea Moss Barbara Erickson Roslyn Absolon Hui Juan Tang Stuart MacLeod Stephen Pyne
Location / Transfer From Cobble Hill Fanny Bay Comox Victoria Sidney Victoria Nanaimo Sidney Courtenay Victoria Pacific Northwest Canada West
Vehicle 2019 Cayman 1965 911 2011 Cayman S 2011 Cayenne S 2001 911 Carrara 1988 924 S
2012 Cayman R 2008 911 Carrera 4
Anniversaries in February – Congratulations! 15 Years:
Calvin Lee, Sarah Lee, Ronald Skinner, Paddy Thistle, Andrew Jackson, Nola Jackson
One Year:
Kevin Gowan, Lionel Dobson, Kevin Reath, Solomon Tang, Cory Pahl, Jacquelene Seigel, Michelle Waterfield
Garth Webber Atkins Membership Director
Get your new club lapel pin badge from Garth Webber Atkins for just $5 at upcoming VIR events PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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MotorsportReg.com member $50 Winner Here is Nicole Ardiel (with furry friend Wally and her 1989 944 Turbo S) receiving a $50 gift certificate she won from our random draw out of all the VIR club members who were registered at MotorsportReg.com (a.k.a. MSR) as of February 15th. Congratulations to Nicole!! There will be another $50 gift certificate draw around March 15th, so ensure you have created your free MSR account and set us as your club there. VIR uses MSR for their club events to help us organise, disseminate information to attendees and take payments etc. If you need any MSR help, email Steve at newsletter@virpca.org
We love freebies!
VIR PRIZE TIME ! For a short time, we shall draw a name, from all the VIR members enrolled in MotorsportReg.com, so the sooner you create an account and update your profile, the better your chance of winning! www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/ event/register.start.
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On February 9th, the Club held a luncheon at Crown Isle Resort celebrating both the Valentines Day and VIR’s 23rd birthday (on February 10th). Paul Atterton, the North Island Director, was on vacation, so Wendy Woodley, our Goodie Store keeper (formerly the North Island Director) looked after the event. It was a beautiful, sunny day with snow on the ground. Unfortunately, the snow prevented the attendance of Kathy & John McGurran (President) and Jenny & Steve Fairbrother (Newsletter Director), but in attendance were Henry Ellis and his sister visiting from Alberta, Trevor & Jackie Minta, Andrew & Treasure Kiesewetter (new members), and Peter Brennan, all from the Comox Valley. Wendy decorated the room with lots of Porsche posters that Paul received from Porsche Centre Victoria. Each person was given a paper heart with their name, for the draw of “Goodies” which included:- Black Rock bag & car washing essentials, Motor Gathering bag & Porsche glass water bottle, Porsche socks, key chain and pin, a bottle of wine, Mount Washington Alpine Resort toque, and a MWAR Summer Scenic Chairlift
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ride gift certificate for 4. Everyone enjoyed their lunch, including the delicious Black Forest VIR birthday cake! We may have been small in numbers, but everyone was happy. Wendy
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brought 4 boxes of past Panoramas, that were given by past member Dan Ryan. Everyone looked through the collection, with some members finding a particular issue of interest to them. Trevor was happy to find the issue from years when we used Crown Isle Resort as an event venue before Black Rock—there was an article & pictures in the “From the Regions Section”. Just before lunch was served, a man walked into the room with an armful of Porsches goodies. Apparently, a friend of his just sold his 1998 Black Boxster and was going to throw them out, but his friend had seen this event mentioned on our website, so he brought it to us. Peter “adopted” a Boxster manual, Trevor some spark plugs. Wendy has Black touch up paint & lacquer, that a VIR member can have for FREE.
then the purchaser will get a Tax Receipt. It was a great day and it was nice to meet some new members too!
Wendy Woodley Goodie Store goodiestore@virpca.org
She also has a 2010 Wayne R. Dempsey, “101 Projects (Thanks to Henry Ellis for the photos) for your Porsche Boxster”, in mint condition, retail value $39. She is open to offers, with the money to go to the SPCA. A cheque can be made out to the SPCA,
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James and Leanne Renfrew organised a Valentine’s Day lunch at the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club for Sunday February 10th. Lunch was ordered in advance via MSR to smooth the process and it looks like everyone enjoyed themselves! The ladies each received a red rose from the Club (Brad do you want to tell us something?) . Photos by Wyman Lee.
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992 model Flat-six turbo-charged engine Top speed 308 km/h (Carrera S) and 306 km/h (Carrera 4S) 20”/21” wheels at front/rear Wider body 45mm front and 44mm rear Flush, electrical pop-out door handles 10.9” PCM screen Porsche Wet Mode as standard Optional thermal Night Vision Assist
More information at :www.porsche.com/canada/en/ models/911/911-carrera-models/
Photos courtesy Porsche Canada
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The rally year started on a sad note for me… due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to miss the Thunderbird Rally in February, but such is life and there are more events planned for this year. I started the year with some laps on a very snowy Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit – that was a huge amount of fun and excellent practice in car control — both controlled and uncontrolled drifting – ha ha! But you have to start somewhere and push the limits to see where they are and how the car reacts. The 944 is very docile at the limit and fun to drift with oversteer. Going through the same corners repeatedly allowed experimentation of different throttle positions at same/similar speeds and clearly showed the different reactions to loss of traction … and see how long a controlled drift can be maintained … or recovered.
certainly provided adequate grip. It was a great opportunity to have ex-rally driver Bradley in the car to give some pointers and swap to enjoy a ride in the passenger seat.
“Decent” snow, that is packed, provides a real nice Maybe we can plan an event for next winter – any surface for this sort of driving. The Nitto winter tires takers? Preparations are already underway for the spring TSD rally… We will be hosting more Time Speed Distance (TSD) rallies this year, similar to the event last fall. Planned are two rallies: end May and end September: One nearer the South Island and one in the North Island. Routes, clues etc are being worked on by the same rally team. Please let know if you are interested in a rally school and what topics the school should cover. Once we have members with all that experience, I would hope that the club might get a team together for the Totem Rally in November? Food for thought?
Klaus Kreye Rally Chair (rally@virpca.org)
Register via Motorsportreg.com for the 2019 Spring TSD Rally http://msreg.com/2019-Spring-Rally PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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President John McGurran was in Toronto for the PCA Canadian regions’ Presidents’ meeting and sent us these photos from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Vu Nguyen (PCA) and Michael Delaney (Rennsport region)
718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport and 911 GT3 RS
8th generation 911 992.1
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Our new Mid Island Director Dan Bourlet, is planning a West Coast Drive for the weekend of May 31-June 2. The details are being refined but here are some highlights and of course, all these ideas are subject to change or cancellation over the next few weeks! To keep it manageable, there will be a limited number of attendees and all members pay for lodgings and meals etc themselves. The Saturday dinner will be paid via MSR though. Friday May 31 Start in Ladysmith
Take the back roads to Qualicum Lunch at Little Bavaria restaurant, Port Alberni Arrive at Ucluelet hotel, rooms discounted for Porsche Club Remainder of day at your leisure Saturday June 1st Drive to Tofino (TBA) Trail walk/hike around Tofino region, photo shoot or do your own thing Private, organised dinner in hotel, discounted rate (paid in advance via VIR) General trivia contest (TBA) Sunday June 2nd (Maybe) Brunch at a fine hotel in Tofino Drive home Keep a look out for a future registration announcement of the event in Porscher and John’s email blast.
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here is always a Cars & Coffee meeting near you at weekends! Pop in, meet old friends and make plenty of new ones. You never know, VIR may even pay for your coffee occasionally too! Below are some photos from recent meetings, please feel free to send in yours, especially from Mid Island and North Island!
North Island 2nd Saturdays, 10am—Noon, Crown Isle Plaza, 444 Lerwick Rd, Courtenay Mid Island Sundays 10am, NoXcuses Café, #1-464 Island Highway East, Parksville South Island Sundays 9am, Eagle Creek Village, 29 Helmcken Rd Thanks to Wyman Lee and Ann Aikenhead for the photos
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I think almost everyone has heard of the online car auction site, Bring a Trailer or BAT as it is more commonly known (www.bringatrailer.com). I have been a subscriber for years and faithfully read the daily newsletter with the latest auction listings, what auctions are closing that day, and what did or didn’t get sold and for how much the day before. All auctions are posted for seven days and you can set a reserve price, that is unless it is a set of wheels as I was wanting to sell. They don’t allow reserves on wheels.
day so they sat in the garage taking up space but the time came to move them out. They were not in the best of shape so I looked in to getting them refinished before selling them. I got a quote from Greens Automotive in Richmond for just under $1500 and they were experienced in refinishing Fuchs. After researching past sales of sets of Fuchs on BAT I was quite confident I could get at least $2000 USD so I would at least clear a $1,000 CDN. For once the exchange rate would work in my favour. So I went ahead and got I have had a set of 911 15 x 7 & 8 inch Fuchs wheels them done and they looked fantastic when I got them for a number of years, they came with my long gone back. 1986 Carrera. I thought I may make use of them some Then I went online and filled in the form and sub-
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mitted my pictures for the advert following what I had seen in prior ads for Fuchs wheels on BAT. They charge the seller $99.99 USD to submit an auction item. Within 24 hours I heard back from BAT and they committed to writing the ad and sending it to me to approve, once approved it would be posted on the auction site within a few days. In my case the wheels were posted within two days and it was now a case of waiting to see if there was any interest. Being a no reserve auction I was a little anxious about getting a good price. Like all auctions it started off slow. For those of you who are familiar with auctions on BAT it seems all the serious bidding happens in the last ten minutes. On day one, the opening bid was $1200, day two $1300, next two days no bids. Day five, one bid for $1400 and day six $1500 and then $1600. Still not near what I was expecting but the last day is the when all the action happens and sure enough it did. The auction was set to close at 2:50 that afternoon.
ders to respond, and one did for $2750 and I’m pretty happy but it’s not over yet, another bid for $2901. Then I watch the clock tick down and its over. The winning bid worked out to $3700 CDN. A fantastic result as far as I’m concerned. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/set-of-15-7-8-fuchs/ Once the auction ends then you quickly get an email from the successful bidder. Turns out the wheels are off to Carson City Nevada to a PCA member Mark who has a couple of 70’s 911’s that he is looking to use the wheels on. Once I sent him my bank info he wired me the funds directly to my bank and I shipped the wheels off. The buyer is responsible for all shipping costs and having got the wheels done at Greens they came all packed in boxes and ready to ship.
If you have any Fuchs wheels hanging around that you are not using, you might want to give BAT a try. This turned out to be a good experience for me and I still look forward to those daily BAT At 8:38 in the morning the next bid came in at $1700, newsletters. 8:45 $1899, 9:30 $2000, then it went quiet, well at least I had hit my minimum I was hoping to get. But hold on it’s not over yet, 12:25 $2100, 2:07 $2350, Tim Evans 2:50 $2650, now the auction is in overtime. When someone bids at the last second the clock resets for Treasurer another two minutes to give a chance to other bid-
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In Porsche Centre Victoria’s showroom, VIR members can see the Porsche Driver’s Selection of accessories, clothing, sporting goods, toys etc that are for sale there. Also you can pick up a catalogue showing all the items and you can purchase via the Parts desk downstairs - maybe with a VIR Club discount (ask Ricky)!
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Many thanks to Bill Corrigan (OPR) for sharing his arti- sche in Leipzig’. It consists of an informal reception cle with us, here is the concluding part. and orientation to the Customer Center, track time, on and off road, a factory tour, and a 4-course lunch on the third floor the Customer Center with panoramThe last installment of my trip to most things Porsche ic views of cars zooming around the track. in Germany detailed Stuttgart/Zuffenhausen. My second Porsche destination was their production and The ‘Discover Porsche in Leipzig’ package requires a customer-centric facilities at Leipzig in Germany’s reservation. The English offerings are even rarer than eastern state of Saxony. A three-and-a-half-hour train in Stuttgart so plan your trip around the available ride from Stuttgart got me to Leipzig. If you plan a Eu- dates. The schedule is available on-line about six ropean delivery for your new Porsche (called ‘factory months in advance. At the time you make the resercollection’ on the web’s build site), choose Leipzig no vation you must select your track vehicle. For the offroad experience you can wait until you get there to matter the model purchased. Leipzig’s Porsche facilities are more varied than Stuttgart, and Leipzig has choose the Macan or Cayenne. Just about every Poramazing history and sights. Rick Steves ‘Germany sche model is at the experience center for use on the 2018’ doesn’t even have a section on Stuttgart … that track, so request what you want, they’ll have it. I remay say something. Go to Stuttgart for the museum, quested a Panamera E-Hybrid since that’s my latest, but then hop the train to Leipzig to pick up your car. and I was right, I’ll never drive mine like we drove that one. The cost varies with the vehicle chosen. You can do your own Leipzig reCheck the web-site for pricing. Porsearch but suffice it to say, my days sche has a very useful app with inwere full, and the people of Leipzig formation on the packages, facilities were wonderfully welcoming and and events. It includes lots of photos friendly hosts. The city center was and Google Streets-like views of vibrant and pedestrian friendly with each floor of the Customer Center. very good and reasonably priced Called, “Porsche Leipzig”, it’s easy to hotels just a five-minute walk from search for on the app store. Here’s the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (train staanother good place to look at an tion), one of the largest in Europe. overview of the Leipzig offerings, The Euro also goes further in the www.porsche-leipzig.com/en/ eastern German states that the service/downloads/ western ones. Getting to the Plant You may not be familiar with LeipDiscover Porsche In Leipzig
zig, but after the reunification of Germany in 1989 it became an important center of Porsche manufacturing. Two of my Porsche’s were built there so it was a required stop on my European wanderings. Since I’ll never track my cars, Leipzig was a perfect place to track the same model belonging to someone else. I chose the most immersive experience offered among many at Porsche Leipzig called, ‘Discover PorPORSCHER — MARCH 2019
In keeping with my public transportation theme, I used regional rail and bus to the facility from my city center hotel. Porsche has some public transportation suggestions on their website, but it was easy to figure out with a couple of iPhone apps. Those of you yet to experience Germany, or Europe in general, will be amazed at what I call their “public transportation in depth.” In most large Ger(Continued on page 26)
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many cities that includes all the following; buses, trams, subway (U-Bahn), regional rail (S-Bahn) and intercity rail (IC or ICE, ‘E’ for express, and that’s up to 185 MPH). You can take a tram and bus to the Porsche plant, but I took the faster S-Bahn (S-3) to Wahren and then bus 91 to the Porsche north gate (Tor 1, GVZ Nord/Porschestrasse). I finished up with a 13minute walk to the Porsche Customer Center, the Diamond, or the ‘UFO’ as the locals call it. The train/bus one-way cost to the plant was 2.90 Euro versus 45 Euro for a taxi. To get through the security gate about 2/3 of the way to the Customer Center your name Behind the Wheel must be on their visitor list. Right at 9:00AM a white Panamera E-Hybrid climbed Some interesting facts about the undeveloped por- the long ramp from the ground floor and parked in tion of the property. Porsche professes a social com- front of the lounge. My instructor met me there and mitment to the environment and has quite a bit of provided a brief overview of our driving events; track grassland adjacent to the off-road course. They popu- and off-road. If needed, they provide a more detailed lated it with 25 wild horses, 75 Aurochs (cattle) and introduction to the vehicle you choose. three million honey bees in 50 colonies. Porsche even We entered the track just below the Customer Censells the honey in the factory goodie store when avail- ter. The instructor started with a launch control able, at Porsche prices. Like us, east central Germany demonstration then drove one lap to show me the experienced a dry summer this year, and they already sections set up for us that day, turn entry and exit had to feed some of the winter hay as the grass just cues, then pulled back into the pit area and we wasn’t keeping up. switched seats. If you’ve looked at the track on One of the driving instructors heading to work was nice enough to offer to walk with me from security to the Customer Center. From there I signed in and was directed to the first-floor lounge area. Remember, floor zero is the ground floor in Europe. The program was scheduled to start at 9:00AM, and I arrived early at 8:30AM. Coincidentally, the lounge desk was manned by an American ex-pat (citizen now living full time abroad). He came to Germany 10 years ago to play semi-pro football and got injured. American football is big in Europe … news to me. He liked Germany so much he decided to learn the language, marry his American sweetheart who already worked in Germany, and stay. In the lounge were pastries, a couple of amazing espresso machines, and lots of brochures on everything Porsche. Here I met other folks who either signed up for the driving programs or who had opted for factory collection of their vehicles. Coincidentally, two of the four couples collecting vehicles (a Panamera and GT3) were from the Seattle area and members of PNWR, another was from elsewhere in the US and the final from France. PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
Google Maps, then you’ll see the driving experience can be modified in many ways just by closing or opening intersections. The track is also used for new model testing, and of course a test lap for each car off the line. They use a separate section, but more about that later. When we came in to switch drivers we parked just across the lane from a highly ‘disguised’ Taycan
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(pronounced TYcan). The door was open, but the inside was disguised as well, rugs lying all over the dash. I was told they were using the highly banked portions of the track to test sensors related to body roll and lateral Gs to fine tune the stability control system.
are open topped and glass walled. Of course, the complex had a few Porsches displayed on pedestals just inside the entrance. The ceiling was about 30’ high and the glass outer walls really brightened the interior. We entered the vehicle assembly line through a large, vehicle-size door from the AdminisAfter an hour on the track we switched to a Cayenne trative Center. for another hour on the off-road course. As I said, you This is a much more open and spacious plant than can choose either the Macan or Cayenne, but while Stuttgart thanks to the acreage they had to work with the road clearance between the two is within nine and the modernity of the facility. There are more procentimeters the ability to ford deep water is signifi- tected walk areas for us tourists and fewer of the rocantly higher in the Cayennes due to how low the en- botic transport devices to compete with than in gine is mounted in the Macan chassis. The deep- Stuttgart. With all that clear floor space there was water traverse is off limits to the Macan. room for mini street sweepers that regularly swept by cleaning the open spaces. Factory Tour After the off-road experience those of us taking the factory tour assembled again in the customer lounge to meet our factory guide. Our first stop was just downstairs where lockers are provided to leave all cell phones and cameras, a mandatory step. Across the street was the Administrative Center. The lot in front was crowded with E-Hybrid vehicles backed up to charging stations. The tour started with a walkthrough of the Administrative Center where all offices PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
Some overall facts about the Leipzig factory. All Cayennes are now produced in Bratislava, Slovakia. Currently Leipzig produces all versions of the Macan and Panamera. That’s kind of ironic since the first line in Leipzig was made for the Cayenne. We were told Leipzig turns out about 500 vehicles per day with a capacity to produce 550. As you might expect, the clear majority are Macans, but we weren’t told what the percentage is. The line runs three shifts a day with Page 28
the last weekly shift on Friday. Weekends are for maintenance as needed. All vehicles leaving the production line are driven around a portion of the track that has different road surfaces; cobblestones, rough asphalt and some higher frequency undulations. If they pass that test they are parked for wrapping and shipment. The main port of overseas transshipment is Emden. Check it out on Google Earth and you’ll see thousands of cars parked about the port awaiting shipment.
since the original Cayenne line was opened and is in the midst of number five.
Although this is a single level production plant, several times we walked under Macans and Panameras passing by overhead on their way to another part of the line. All Macans being produced during my visit were 2019s destined for China. China is now 35% of Porsche’s market. The US is 28% and Germany 12%. That 12% is remarkable given the population of the US is four times that of Germany.
It was immediately apparent that the line has many more robots than Zuffenhausen. The line uses the same team concept as in Stuttgart. When hired, workers are placed where an opening exists, not where they might prefer, and begin an apprenticeship lasting 3.5 years. When a new employee is hired for the line he/she is given a week of training before their first exposure to production. On the line they work with a senior team member until they have the processes and timing down. Then their work is checked frequently until the team lead is satisfied. Each station is given a specified period to complete their tasks. The longer the task the longer the station length, but the average is 2.5 minutes per station. A car takes about 48 hours to complete production. That includes fabrication and body painting.
The Leipzig plant has undergone four expansions
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One interesting use of computers in a manual, computer assisted manufacturing process was evident where the Macan’s panoramic sunroof was installed. Being so large it is installed with the aid of a hydraulic overhead lifting aid, and before the windshield is mounted. The assembly is inserted through the windshield opening and pushed up into the roof opening. Two workers, one on each side, sit in the car and install four bolts each. A sensor records the installation of each bolt, its presence and final torque. If the vehicle reaches the end of the station without all eight being installed to the correct torque the whole line stops and the issue highlighted on a screen. Once corrected, the line restarts. This is just one example of how computers aid quality control at the point of manufacture rather than through failure analysis later. There were many similar examples pointed out during the tour. Another robot that stood out was the one that installed the windshield and rear window. Remember, this is a mixed line with all versions of the Panamera and Macan being built at the same time. The glass panels in the Panamera are arguably the largest Porsche installs. The glass is delivered in vehicle order to the line. It’s quite disconcerting to see this robot handling the glass with the speed and accuracy that it does. One arm holds and turns the glass, quickly and in three dimensions, while another applies glue to the inside edge. In concert with that process another arm scans the window frame of the vehicle moving through the station with a blue laser to demine its precise position on the line. Blue because that color contrasts well with every vehicle color. That position information guides the robot with the glass as it whips it down toward the body. It stops just when you think it can’t and presses the glass into position and holds it tightly in place for about 15 seconds, then releases and prepares the next piece of glass.
where the seats are later installed, making it easy to lay them out and string the bundles to the appropriate location in and through the body sections. One technique Porsche employs at Leipzig and Stuttgart to deal with the myriad of customization choices we have was the delivery of ‘trollies’ to the beginning of certain stations containing that station’s small parts unique to the vehicle moving past. Each trolley had a bar code that married it to the bar code on a specific vehicle body. The trollies were attached to a part of the assembly line that the vehicle or subassembly (engine, chassis, etc.) was on. As it passed through the station workers retrieved and installed parts from the trolley. At the end of the station the empty trolley was disconnected and retrieved by the logistics group to be outfitted for another vehicle. As mentioned before, Stuttgart has only four hours of parts on hand. Leipzig has the luxury of space and has four days of parts on hand, but still requires many of its suppliers to maintain stock within 100km of the plant. Connected to the assembly building is a huge parts and logistics warehouse that had aisles looking like the interior of a Costco, parts layered on shelves 20-25 feet up. This building is where all parts are received and where the vehicle specific trollies are outfitted for in-time delivery to the line. Of the 5,000 employees in Stuttgart, 4,000 are Porsche and 1,000 are sub-contractors, most of whom work for the logistics company.
Two new Macan colors were on the line, Miami Blue and Mamba Green Metallic. At that time these two colors are only available on the base 2019 Macan. A popular interior color combination for China is Black/ Garnet Red and is even an option on partial leather seats. According to our guide, red represents good luck in China. The updated 2019 Macan is being produced at this time but the production is all destined for China. US production will start soon. One reason The wiring harness station is supplied in large duffel Porsche offers so many 4-door vehicle/engine variabags with two strap colors, one representing the tions at 2.9 liters is that Chinese purchase taxes rise Macan and the other for the Panamera. From what I significantly for engines at 3.0 liters and above. saw, other than differing model to model (the Panamera harness was visibly bulkier), they do not The final assembly point we stopped at was the stadiffer within the model range based on options se- tion where the body and chassis are married. The lected by the customer. After being retrieved from a bodies were on an elevated conveyor and the chassis continuously replenished supply, the bags were on a ground-level conveyor. Here the two assemblies placed with a front to back orientation between (Continued on page 31) PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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are slowly merged, and robotic arms moved in to bolt them together. Just a little further along a worker got into the car, fired it up and drove it to a final stop. This was the quality inspection area. Obvious on the paint of some of the vehicles were small white marks we were told are grease pen marks. The marks were exterior imperfections found in body panel tolerances or paint. Once corrected, appropriate coaching or retraining is provided to the responsible teams. Europe is Energy Conscious My driving instructor and factory guide noted when discussing Porsche’s future electric plans, that there is much less resistance to electric vehicles in Europe than in the US. Over the five weeks I was wandering I noted many electric models from Skoda, Renault, Mercedes, Peugeot, and others that obviously are not imported into the US. Very large wind turbine and solar panel farms dotted the landscape throughout Germany, Slovenia, France, Croatia, and others. Everywhere I went in Europe there was evidence of energy and resource conservation. Many of the hotels had motion sensors in the hallways that kept things at an emergency lighting level until you came out of your room, or the elevator/stairwell. In Germany fines can exceed 800 Euro for not recycling or recycling incorrectly … they’re serious. The Customer Center
the track, the Taycan on slow test passes through the high banked section and new Porsches fresh off the production line taking a short test drive before heading off to waiting buyers. I mentioned in the first installment that the Customer Center has a small but very intriguing collection of Porsche automotive history on the fourth level. You can check it out before your day’s activities or after lunch. One display I did not remember from the Stuttgart museum was a Carrera GT “rolling chassis”. This is a complete chassis minus the body, revealing the amazing integration of suspension, engine and carbon fiber structural members. Also part of the collection is a police-configured 356, a retired 919 LMP1H racer and a Cayenne-based fire brigade vehicle used at the Porsche Development Center in Weissach. There are about 30 historical vehicles and representatives of most of the current models. If you have any questions about the Leipzig experience center, the factory tours in Stuttgart or Leipzig, or what I wrote about in these articles, please let me know. Oh yes, I finally learned how to pronounce Porsche. We all know it is two syllables, but to sound like a native you must swallow the ‘or’ while simultaneously clearing your throat. Demonstrations on request!
The finale of the Porsche Experience in Leipzig was a four course lunch on the third level of the UFO/ Bill Corrigan Diamond/Customer Center. A wonderful gourmet ex- Olympic Peninsula Region perience made even more memorable as we all had a bird’s-eye view of Porsche enthusiasts tearing around VIR thanks Bill for his article.
MEMBERSHIP INFO
PCA Test Drive Do you know someone with Porsche ownership intentions or aspirations? Tell them about the PCA Test Drive program. For US $40 they get 6 months access to PANORAMA and defined access to browse the online PCA Mart to find their Porsche. Contact membership@virpca.org for details PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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FOR SALE — 2013 991.1 CARRERA 4 62,000 kms CPO and extended warranty until 2020/2022 PDK, Sport Chrono, Bose, Sunroof, low km summer and winter tires on rims $87,500 Alan: alanfromvictoria@gmail.com
WANTED Dry garage storage space for sports car over winter months, ideally in Victoria area.
Contact John McGurran president@virpca.org
FOR SALE—PORSCHE PARTS
911 SC Dash cover. Attaches over a cracked, stained original pad. $95 New Blue Flannel Indoor Car Cover $ 40. Used
Trunk logo $30
Contact Steve Cropper 250 752 1510 or 403 615 9582
If you are buying or selling something Porsche related, members can advertise for free here. Send your classified info to newsletter@virpca.org PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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The Club has some apparel and other goodies for sale 1 VIR Jacket, black, ladies, large (see below)
$60
1 VIR T-shirt, white, men’s, medium
$25
1 VIR cap, black
$20
1 Black-Rock sport-shirt, black, men’s, 2X
$20
1 Black-Rock sport-shirt, black, ladies, large (below)
$20
1 Tour-de-Rock 2017 T-shirt, black, men’s, small
$15
1 VIR Licence Plate Frame
$5
1 Collapsible wash bucket kit
$20
Contact Wendy at goodiestore@virpca.org for further details
PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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I
f you have received a discount from anywhere that you believe would be applicable to others in the club, please let me know via email to newsletter@virpca.org and I’ll add to this list.. Please mention that you saw their advert in PORSCHER if you visit/talk to these sponsors Where
Discount
Lordco
Up to 30%
Porsche Center Victoria
15%
Parts & labour
RIBA Detailing Perfection
25%
PCA members receive 25% off published prices. 4 standard packages or “a la carte”. Call for new address.
Garage Kings
TBA
Call Steve Hall for discount deals
Green’s Automotive
10%
Discount on wheels repairs / finishes
SHC Auto
Good
Call for discounts on wheels, tires, ceramic coating, wraps & tints
Stellar Finish Auto Detailing
$100 / 15%
Werks Canada
10%
Werks provide us with 10% discount, via the link on the left or use PCAVANCOUVERISLAND19 code
Wingren Nufloors
25%
Discount off all area rugs for club members
B
Description Car parts etc. Mention Porsche Club of America (show your PCA membership card).
$100 off a Ceramic Coating and 15% off detailing services for members - Current PCA ID required
elow are some Porsche related sites that club members may find useful. If you know of any others please forward them to the Editor.
Best forum for 986 owners, run by Pelican Parts 986forum.com/forums/ PCA Boxster register, another great resource for Boxster owners boxsterregister.org/ See the PCA site for other models www.pca.org/special-interest-groups Macan Forum, everything related to Macans www.macanforum.com General car auction site https://bringatrailer.com
Here are some USED parts web sites:https://www.partsheaven.com http://www.nineapart.com
http://rennlist.com/forums/ http://malahatautoparts.com/parts-search
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/ PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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Ongoing Cars and Coffee Times nd
North Island 2 Sat. of month, 10am—Noon, Crown Isle Plaza, 444 Lerwick Rd, Courtenay Mid Island Sundays 10am, NoXcuses Café, #1-464 Island Hwy E, Parksville South Island Sundays 9am, Starbucks, Eagle Creek Village, 29 Helmcken Rd, Victoria
Board Meeting Sunday March 3
The meeting will be held at the Ramada Hotel, 140 Trans Canada Hwy, Duncan, V9L 3P7. The meeting starts at noon, arrive early if you want to eat (at your expense) before the meeting starts.
Contact Michael
On-Ramp 2019 — Session #1 Thursday March 21 6:30pm
Tyson designed a 3-part ‘On-Ramp to 2019’ geared to members who may be newcomers to performance driving or those who would like to put the sport back into their sports car. Further details & registration at msreg.com/2019-OnRamp1
Sunday March 24
VIH Tour — Postponed
Contact Tyson
Didier will reschedule this event for a future date.
Spring Fling Drive Sunday April 28
Sunday May 5
Join us for a morning fun drive. Imogen will announce the route closer to the date! Details and registration at msreg.com/2019-Fling
On-Ramp 2019 — Session #2 Classroom HPDE and rally school with Klaus and Tyson. Further details & registration TBA
Contact Imogen
Contact Tyson & Klaus
VIR 2nd TSD Rally Sunday May 26
Have a fun time driving slower than the speed limit and maybe in the wrong direction! Some prizes too! Details and registration at msreg.com/2019-Spring-Rally
Contact Klaus
West Coast Drive Friday May 31— June 2
Drive to Vancouver Island’s west coast, stay 2 nights in an oceanside hotel, dine with other VIR members etc. Details in this issue and to be confirmed later. Registration will be via MSR, so watch this space and your email.
PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
Contact Dan
Page 35
RotorMaxx Tour
Sunday June 16 Sunday June 16
Details TBA by Didier.
Contact Didier
Fathers’ Day Car Show Contact NOT a PCA organized event. Show-N-Shine and Poker run See their web at Qualicum Beach. https://seasidecruizers.com/ HPDE Track Day
Friday June 21
Sunday June 23
FULL day at VIMC including lunch, multiple 20 minute sessions, limited to 28 cars/drivers—$450. Option to rent VIMC cars. Further details & registration at msreg.com/VIMCTrackDay2019
Zone 6 Grand Tour—VIR Leg Victoria to Nanaimo. Details of how VIR members can partake will be provided soon.
OPR Tour #2
July July 21-28
Details TBA by James
PCA Porsche Parade Boca Raton, Florida. Join some VIR members at Parade this year. Details at https://porscheparade.org/
Contact Dean
Contact John Contact James Contact PCA Web
August 25
GAIN Motor Gathering NOT a PCA organized event. Details at motorgathering.com
Contact Organisers
Sept 15
New Member Social
Contact Garth
Sept 22 or 29
Probably at the Cowichan Valley golf club. Details TBA by Garth
VIR 3rd TSD Rally Our 3rd TSD rally, details are still being worked out. Details and registration at MSR when ready
Sept 4-7 Oct 13
PCA Treffen Vermont Details at https://treffen.pca.org
Contact Klaus Contact PCA
AGM - Proposed Details TBA
Check www.virpca.org/virevents for latest event details PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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Advertiser Index Please show your support for these companies by giving them the opportunity to serve you. Also mention that you saw their advert in Porscher so they know their dollars are well spent. The display of adverts does not constitute an endorsement of the company by VIR or PCA 000 Magazine
Porsche Centre Victoria
MAC Renovations
WeatherTech Canada
Villamar
Jason Good Custom Cabinets
Commercial advertisement space is available. The following current rates are applicable:-
Porscher is the official publication of the Porsche Club of America, Vancouver Island Region and is published approximately monthly.
$210 Outside back page $200 Inside front cover $190 Inside back cover $150 Full page $ 90 Half page $ 50 Quarter page $ 30 Business card
EDITORIAL: Statements appearing in PORSCHER are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Porsche Club of America, the Vancouver Island Region, its Executives or the Editor. All articles and photographs are copyright the author or contributor (unless otherwise noted). Permission for reprints or reproduction of the contents must be granted by the Editor and the author or contributor.
Please contact the Editor for more information
COVER: Snow on George Bedigan’s car during Cars & Coffee
Copyright © 2019 by Porsche Club of America, Vancouver Island Region. All rights reserved. www.virpca.org
Click here for our Facebook Group page
www.virpca.org
SUBMISSIONS: Members are invited and encouraged to submit articles and photos that would be of interest to the club. Photos in JPG or PNG formats. Please send submissions via email to the Newsletter Director at: Newsletter@virpca.org NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: The deadline for the next issue is the 23rd of the month. CREDITS :- Wyman Lee, Bill Corrigan, Henry Ellis, Ann Aikenhead, Klaus Kreye, John McGurran, Tim Evans, Steve Fairbrother. If we have omitted anyone, our apologies, please advise us and we shall credit you next month.
PORSCHER — MARCH 2019
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