OUCH: BOXSTER BUMP SHATTERS LOCAL GIRL

My baby has an owie. A nice woman in the (you guessed it) Gelson's parking lot, backed into me. Said woman was almost crying, with the distinct look of horror of "oh my god I hit a Porsche!". I ended up giving her a little hug. It's Christmas afterall. We traded insurance info of course, I'm not crazy!


Estimated cost of repair $489, or replacement $800ish. Thank god for Farmer's Insurance.

I'VE GOT THE BOXSTER BLUES...CAR HEALTH INSURANCE?

I've got the Boxster Blues...Car Health Insurance?

Why does a young person buy health insurance when they won't have the need for the inside of a doctors office until they're over 30? Probably because of that one in a million possibility that they might land in the hospital. No, this is not an advertisement for "hospitalization coverage"; it's a car saga.

If there was car health insurance, I'd buy it. At least my repair costs would be fixed. Yes, I bought my Boxster used, yes I bought an extended warranty, yes, I have car insurance (a lot of it).

But none of this offered me any protection for the costs of on-going repairs.

I'm only pondering this because my last car repair bill was three grand (they said I burned out my clutch and kept driving it until I melted all the surrounding components!). Sadly that is about right.

Then an ignition switch and a starter...

My latest is above five hundred--a faulty air mass sensor. Wanna bet that's a $50 part wholesale?

Some car manufacturers have suffered sales loss due to a bad rep for the sky high cost of repairs. They responded by offering an ALL costs of repairs built in to the car purchase price. I would vote for that. At least I wouldn't be trembling every time I turned the key.


Technorati Tags: car repair, car maintenance, air mass senor, clutch, boxster, porsche

ENTIA NON SUNT MULTIPLICANDA PRAETER NECESSITATEM: UP THE PORSCHE EVOLUTIONARY LADDER

Entia Non Sunt Multiplicanda Praeter Necessitatem*
Climbing Up the Porsche Evolutionary Ladder

Oh sure, I can say I bought this car because it's well engineered, or because I love the feel of the road, or because, for that matter, it has better mileage than my Mitsubishi Outlander did! Unfortunately, if we apply Occam's Razor (and we must), from the Latin above-translated: the simplest explanation is usually the right one), I bought this car to jump to the top of the prestige ladder!

Woe is me, how little did I know when I made that leap! It turns out that by all measures I am at the BOTTOM of the Porsche prestige ladder. Above the lowly Boxster are (in ascending order), the Boxster S, the Cayman, the 911 and (drum-roll please), the Carrera GT (coming in at approximately $440,000).

The Boxster, as it turns out, is alternately known as Porsche's entry level car, the car for the comman man, and even more aptly put: "the poor man's porsche".

I trade my tales from the road with a fellow Porsche owner on a weekly basis. This week I related an event that happened on the way home from work. As I sailed through traffic with scarcely an effort, I was suddenly overtaken by another car (technically all I saw was a blur) and before I could even react, the car cut me off and whipped around a corner. Not necessarily an uncommon event in LA, but this was on a virtualy empty street. I knew instantly, as I watched the blur take shape in front of me, this was a deliberate act. My adversary? A Carrera.

"Of course it was a Carrera", my friend laughed, "they eat Boxsters for sport". "It was yellow" I added, rolling my eyes. "Yellow?" my friend asked, "that's even worse!". Apparently there is an entire personality profile associated with those who own these cars, by model... and COLOR.

I had to swallow my pride for a moment as I came to terms with my place in the Porsche species. These bigger, faster, stronger fish might snap at me just for the fun of it, if for no other reason as to make sure I always knew I'd make a tasty lunch.

Poor Darwin might roll over in his grave, if forced to hear this application of his theory of natural selection.


*Translation: Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity (see Occams Razor)


Technorati Tags: Boxster, Carerra, Porsche, Cayman

GUZZLE THIS BOXSTER!

Guzzle This Boxster!

Okay, I admit it, I now officially have a favorite blogger. His name is Ken Goldstein (and if you say "Kenny G." you're not my friend anymore)! Except in the blogosphere, Ken and I don't know each other, but we both blog the nonprofit world, we both were born in the summer of '61, we both ran to northern california the first chance we could... But, I'm sad to say that's where the similarity ends...we don't drive the same car. LOL

Okay, ready for the segue?

My last post got me a bit of flak from my hybrid-driving-Brother-in-Law. So this blog's for him.

I sometimes read another Blog, called The 13th Story-and other Random Thoughts. I would enjoy his comments on my posts occasionally...and now, it turns out that the Ken, of Nonprofit Consultant Blog, and Ken of Random Thoughts are one and the same person. Turns out Ken is also a guitar player and here's a little tune I found on his site:

The Prius Song (jingle parody) (K.R. Goldstein)

I think Ken has missed his calling and could give Barry Manilow a run for his money in the jingle writing game!

Parting thought: think Ken R. G - contains a hidden social message: Ke NRG (energy get it?)



Technorati Tags: Boxster, Gas Price, Nonprofit, Porsche, Prius

CRUMMY PORSCHE?

Crummy Porsche? My Boxster Adventure Continues

My car and I aren't speaking. Ever since i figured out that my repair costs are just over $4oo a month it just hasn't been the same. I didn't realize my feelings had changed until I heard myself using the adjective "crummy porsche" to my Dad today. Even though we were on the phone I could hear him rolling his eyes. "You've changed Pam", he sighed.

Less than 15 years ago I was living in a yellow school bus (sitting on blocks). I was driving a '69 Ford Maverick. I always backed into my parking spaces because it was 50/50 that the car wouldn't be starting of its own volition. I know my family thought I could do better, but they also enjoyed the vicarious experience of having a crazy daughter in california. Don't get me wrong, I liked being a color-character too.

So what's my conclusion? My Maverick only started when it wanted to, and also ran me major bucks at the mechanics, and my boxster only starts when it wants to and rules my bank account.

I guess things haven't really changed so much.

Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche, Ford Maverick

8-6-7-5-3-0-9: FREEDOM IN FORM? PORSCHIKU CONTEST CONTINUES

8-6-7-6-3-0-9: Freedom in Form - The Porschiku Contest Continues

This from Jon in CA: Hmm, didn't someone explain that a Haiku is 5/7/5?

cold start seat warmer 5 syllables
black ice smooth road 4 syllables
arctic silver control 6 syllables

As a Haiku website informs us:

"Although many times a 5-7-5 pattern is prescribed as a ‘firm’ rule in rudimentary definitions of haiku this is not supported by research, translation, or history, even in Japanese haiku."

Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche, Haiku

PORSCHE HAIKE (AND TYLER TOO)

Porsche Haiku (and Tyler Too)

So Chris from NH points out that I didn't originate the concept of Boxster Haiku. Here are few from threads on Pete's Boxster Board, one back in 99, another in '01, and yet another in '03.

Strange cloud
Floating over the road
Boxster dream
Grant from Bonny Doon, CA

Beauty Performance
I love my porsche boxster
There's no substitute
Rob C from Orlando, AS

Too much time on hands
Waste time on PPBB
Should go drive instead
Keith L in AZ

Strange white exhaust
Floating over driveway
Just started flat-6
Ken in Shreveport, LA

Top down turn on rails
Reving engine Porsche style
Boxster permagrin
RKD in OKC

Happy Dentist knows
Despite bad weather and cops
He still owns a Porsche
12/12/01 – Stan from Dallas Texas


Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche, Haiku

PORSCHE HAIKU (PORSCHIKU?)

OK, the Porsche Haiku contest is officially launched. Here are the first two entries (by Chris in NH):

muscles taut
reveal pearly whites
permagrin

how quick the needle
falls at high revolutions
need more go-go juice


Now I just have to think of a prize....



Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche, Haiku

BOXSTER HAIKU

Boxster Haiku


ignition turning
zoom from zero to sixty
brake dust settling

cold start seat warmer
black ice smooth road
arctic silver control

cracked plastic soft top
thunderstorm rain drops falling
5th gear drive faster

new clay wax gleaming
ripe mulberries plop on hood
predictable entropy


Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche, Haiku

A PICTURE OF HAPPINESS: A GIRL AND HER BOXSTER

A Picture of Happiness: A girl and her Boxster
Fifty miles for breakfast? No problem!

I bought THE in June. She is an "arctic silver" porsche boxster with a black top, and we are in love. Born in 2002, able to leap from a stand-still to 68 mph in under 5 seconds, she has traveled 46,000 miles just to be...with me.

UNDERNEATH THE GREAT OAK TREE

Underneath the Great Oak Tree

Moved in to my new pad a few weeks ago and now have to park my new baby outdoors, underneath a conglomeration of lush shade trees. Intertwined are, as follows: a lime tree, a mulberry bush, a pine tree and two others of indeterminate origin. With their combined force my car’s coat of paint never stood a chance. Each morning I would pick off the berries and the pine needles and brush off the fine pollen powder and drive off to work. But after two expensive car detailings, purchasing a car cover was of utmost importance.

The car cover was a small investment and I was quite proud of myself. That was…until…I took a look at my newly waxed car and saw tiny spots of pine tar dotting the hood. A cloth cover, to my dismay, offered little protection, as the tar just soaked right through in precise fabric dot patterns. Given the kind of car cover that would really do the trick costs 10 times the price of my Autozone version, I have coped by making sure there is an air space between cover and car and by spot cleaning the tar both morning and night. Thusly I have preserved my latest gorgeous wax and sparkling car surface for the time being.

This enterprise keeps me laughing, because (nature being as persistent as it is) between the time I take off the cover and drive away, or the time I park the car and put on the cover, dozens of little red berries, mulberries and pine needles plop down onto the hood. It is a race against the clock as I pluck them off and get the cover on. This battle would remain regardless of what type of cover I own. Please note that I say “pluck” because to “brush” would only smear these tenacious berries efficiently across the surface, leaving a substance resembling rasberry jam.

All of this led me to pen the following (and hopefully first in a series) of Boxster Haiku:

new clay wax gleaming
ripe mulberries plop on hood
predictable entropy


Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche, Haiku

THREE AND A HALF WHEELS

Yes my car still has four wheels, but I am honored to report that Porsche Pete's Boxster Board gives our site 3 1/2 wheels (out of 4). That is higher than my college GPA! ;-)




Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche,

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

Thinking about industry and service today. I heard a history of shopping once which discussed the conflicts that arose when shopping became available to the middle class. Luxuries had traditionally only been available to the upper classes and this new thing (a middle class with money) tended to level the playing field, which created a conflict. If just anyone could purchase luxuries how could the upper crust distinguish itself? To quote the preeminent vocalist Cyndi Lauper, “Money Changes Everything”.

I grew up with so many ideas of what to expect when I was older. One of them was “the customer is king”. A lifetime of shopping experience proved just the opposite. In a world of multi-nationals, the customer is sh-t. That was—until—I called the Downtown LA Porsche dealer. Hello Miss Ashlund, your service representative today will be…Valentin. Finally, the way the world was always supposed to be, all because they imagine…I have money! The jokes on them, but I’m not talkin’.

I think from now on, I will only shop at Gelson’s and Nordstrom’s because the people who work there have learned the ancient art of graciousness. I believe it will also make me a better person. Also, quite possibly, I will need to take fewer vacations. Why not live in a kinder gentler place?

Speaking of good customer service, I was heartened to read Jim Collins' book giving testimony to that practice in: Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. The book devotes an entire chapter to Nordstrom's (and it's employees... "nordies").

One more thought on service (or the lack thereof) …today I called my apartment manager to ask him to fix a broken cabinet and get the closets put back on their tracks. Ben bopped over five minutes after I called, got out the hammer and nails, fixed up the cabinet in a jiffy. Then I nodded toward the closet doors and he said it... “Gotta go have a massage”. The words hung in the air. At first I thought I misheard, but he gave me an affable smile, shrugged and then—he left! OK, OK, maybe everything isn’t better in LA!.

PSYCHOSOMATIC CAR?

At one time or another everyone has experienced a psychosomatic illness. When I talk to my sister and hear her coughing and sniffling, I often begin to feel (or imagine) the onset of my own cold. After listening to one of many broadcasts on Avian Flu I was sure I felt a bird-bourne illness coming on.

So, I wasn't feeling anything at all when, on my drive home, my phone rang and my friend on the other end of the line told me that her CAR was sick. The little "check-engine" warning light was on. She read the car manual which basically said "if the gas cap isn't loose then you better bring your car in pronto". She was a bit panicked as any Angelino would be when threatened with car-lessness.

As I listened to her tale of woe I glanced down at my own cars dashboard and there it was: the "check-engine" light was on. It seems that my car and I have the same susceptibility to influence

DON'T WANNA BE AN AMERICAN IDIOT (PROTESTING PORSCHE: THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY????)

Don't Wanna Be An American Idiot OR Protesting Porsche:
That's What's Wrong with this Country????

Thanks to Rainy Day Magazine for carrying our story, I was led to a brewing debate over the virtues of protesting on Pete's Boxster Board.

It turns out Dave R's protest stirred up quite the heated conversation on Pete's Boxster board. Funny how a little bit of peaceful civil disobedience can stir up so much emotion.

A character named Corey had the following pearls of wisdom to contribute:

"So basically she said she was protesting just to protest. and that is what's wrong with this country...Reminds me of an episode of the Penn and Teller show "Bullshit" on Showtime, where they got people at a protest to sign a paper for the banning of Di-Hydro Oxiginate, calling it the most corrosive substance on the earth and if you were immersed in it you'd die. After a few hundred signatures with no questions, they decided to spill the beans and tell people thanks for banning water...

BTW, how many of us would look at the "protesters" and say what idiots they are if they weren't protesting a boxster window, that many consider a wear item. Just get a new window sewn in it's only a few hundred bucks on a 50k car."

Want to protest something? Call Derek Uerling at Downtown LA Motors: 888-686-7696 or Geri Lumsden, Manager of Customer Commitment, Porsche Cars North America: 770-290-3551 (or email Geri at glumsden@porschecars.com)



Technorati Tags: Porsche, Boxster, Pete's Boxster Board, Rainy Day Magazine, Protest, Downtown LA Motors

THEY CAN'T GET NO...SATISFACTION (FROM DOWNTOWN LA PORSCHE)

They Can't Get No Satisfaction (from Downtown LA Porsche)

Last month I opened the mail, and there it was...the golden ticket. I felt like Charlie in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", but instead of going to see Gene Wilder's factory of wacky candies, I was going to the opening of the Downtown LA's Porsche dealer. There, instead of everlasting gobstoppers, would be the 2006 Carrerra, and (heartbeat) a chance to win the same.

Up the red carpet we walked, inside to a packed house, where I snacked on sushi and champagne and moseyed around looking for something to do or see. The guests all looked a little off. No one smiled or talked or danced. I finally realized they were posing. Posing for whom? I do not know. They all seemed to wear their slightly understated designer clothes as a badge of something. You get the idea.

In other words: yawn! This moment I had been looking so forward to was a dud. Living in LA, I should be used to the non-responsive social scene, where one can mix and mingle but never meet.

As I gazed around, looking for something, anything, to catch my interest, I found it. There, outside, on the sidewalk, were two lone protestors, bearing signs that read "Your Warranty No Good Here".

As if it were destined, I knew I had to go and be with "my people". And it was decided. Seconds later I hopped through the landscaping and went over to the protesting duo. "What happened that made you so committed that you came out?". They told me their story. They bought their 2002 Boxster (the same car I have!) there and when the plastic window separated from the cloth roof, they brought it in and found that the dealership refused to cover the repair under the warranty. They used the old "normal wear and tear" excuse. No one would hear their plea, so they decided to hit the streets and "remind them" that they were still there.

We stood and talked and shared stories and felt like great friends in five minutes. He worked for Apple, she for the Sierra Club. We discussed protest strategies, laughed and talked, exchanged emails. These two MADE the evening for me.

This wasn't really about the roof, or the money, this was what I live for, righteous indignation. This was about the principle. This was about justice and honesty and honor. The irony, of course, was not lost on me. I could be out saving the whales, but here I was hitting the streets for a couple of Porsche owners. Ah how things have changed!


Want to do something about it? Call Derek Uerling at Downtown LA Motors: 888-686-7696 or Geri Lumsden, Manager of Customer Committment, Porsche Cars North America: 770 290-3551 (or email Geri at glumsden@porschecars.com)

Technorati Tags: Convertible, Plastic Window, Boxster, 2002 Boxster, Protest, Porsche, Downtown LA Porsche, LA

MY FRIEND'S ALL HAVE PORSCHES

Oh lord won’t you buy me a Mer-cedes Benz?
My friend’s all drive Porsche’s…I must make amends…
Janis Joplin

I thought my friend Gary was kidding when he told me that Janis Joplin had owned her own Porsche and had it painted tie-dyed. According to Gary, at the time this was viewed as an outrage (to deface such a beautiful car), but now it is museum art! You can view a replica in Janis’ home town in Port Arthur,

Texas at the Museum of the Gulf Coast. I’m still working on locating the original.

Last sighting? The Summer of Love exhibition at the Tate Liverpool in September, 2005.

If you like her car, you too can be the proud owner of a replica of Janis Joplin's car in a cookie jar motif for only a hundred bucks! And that’s not all; it's also a music box too (which plays "Mercedes Benz" of course). The sellers have limited production to only 3,600 worldwide and claim this collectible is sure to be in high demand!

If you can’t afford the cookie jar, you can buy the same look and feel in a music box motif for only $45 big ones.

Stats: Janis’ car is a 1965 Porsche 356 Cabriolet (she purchased it in 1968) and was hand painted by the late Dave Richards, friend and roadie for Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Technorati Tags: Boxster, Cabriolet, Porsche, Janis Joplin

REPAIR CONFIDENTIAL

Took the car to the local Porsche dealer today and asked if they could get the repair history from the Scottsdale dealer. Valentin, my trusty service representative told me that other dealers did not share maintenance records.

"But I don’t want the personal details of the owner, I want the history of the car, with this VIN number, the car that I own".

"I know, I know", Valentin explained, "but they just don’t give out that information".

"So, let me get this straight, I can get a birth certificate for my Cabbage Patch Doll or a lineage for my puppy dog, but I can’t get the repair and maintenance history of my own car?"

"Yes, that's right" Valentin opined with a straight face.

****

For more on the Porsche service experience see "Service with a Smile" in BrainTangents.


Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche, Porsche Service

MONSTER IN A BOXSTER

Monster in a Boxster

"There's a party in my mind...And it never stops There's a party up there all the time...
Other people can go home...Other people they can splitI'll be here all the time...I can never quit"

Memories Can't Wait - Talking Heads

My heart is pounding, my head hurts, I want to lay down. Is it the flu? A migraine? No, it's just the come-down after driving my car.

The late author, Spalding Gray, had such a rough time trying to write his great American Novel that he dubbed it the "Monster in a Box". Now I have my own "monster", and it's a car!

I am accustomed to driving a car, but this car...is driving me! I never thought of myself as a timid person, but basically I am. I haven't been on a roller coaster since 1986 and THIS is what I've been avoiding. THIS is psychological war--who will intimidate who? Me? or...THE CAR?

OK, first the facts. I bought THE car last weekend. She is an "arctic silver" porsche boxster with a black top, and we are in love. Born in 2002, able to leap from a stand-still to 68 mph in under 5 seconds, she has traveled 46,000 miles just to be...with me.

Here's a snippet of conversation with my race-car driver friend:

G: Are you kidding, your car is a mid-engine! You can turn a corner at any speed and you will not roll, maybe spin around a few times, but you will NOT roll, not like a 911, THEY roll

Me: Oh?

G: With my car I have to steer with the gas pedal, you know when you're going 130 and then you just take your feet off the pedal just a little bit and the car kinda wants to spin out a little, so you just drop to 120 and then hit the gas. Your car can do that!

Me: Really?

I've only driven my dream car for a week now, so this may just be the period of adjustment. I have never heard of a car being "too much" for someone, but this one sure pushes the envelope. I'm used to driving a car, but not having the car drive me.

TANGENT: Speaking of race car driving and personality types... I'm reminded of a paper I wrote in college on the "Sensation-Seeker" personality trait--"...the pursuit of novel, intense and complex sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take risks for the sake of such experience". I don't remember much about our little study, but I can tell you this: I scored very, very LOW on the Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking scale.

And speaking of personalities...I am still trying to accept and recover from the loss of Spalding Gray, another of my heroes gone but not forgotten. I don't know if we'll ever get the details, but he died of an apparent suicide after a life long battle with depression and chronic pain. notable for me that this one-two combination punch of depression and pain quite reliably produces genius--but that's no consolation for the loss of Spald.



Technorati Tags: Boxster, Porsche, Spaulding Gray