GO AWAY YOU NPR LISTENING PORSCHE DRIVING YUPPIES!

by pam ashlund

"... note to artsy rich kids: don't stay here and laugh at the kitschyness of East LA and then go back to Silver Lake. I've seen how quickly you spread in an area, drive the rents sky high, infest the place with tacky pop culture and disconnected cynicism, and then boot the locals out. Don't make us start a chapter of the Mission Yuppie Eradication Project down here! You've been warned." (emphasis mine)

This isn't the first time, and it won't be the last, that I write about Porsches and Politics. I still find it hilarious that there is anything to say there at all. I felt I had truly crossed one of the surreal lines in life when I found myself supporting a protest in front of a local dealership (about a warranty squabble). What had I come to? There are so many more important things to do. Then again, what's life without a little laughter?

I recently moved into a renovated loft in a neighborhood that has been "down and out" for close to fifty years. I did think about the Porsche, but only in terms of theft. I did not think about what it would symbolize to my neighbors.

Who would have thought owning a Porsche would set off a firestorm of controversy over neighborhood gentrification? Alright, technically that's not what started it, it may have my whining about wanting to find a decent grocery store, but it didn't help.

Oh well. It all started with a blog post on the merits of one LA area (Silver Lake) and my new neighborhood (Lincoln Heights). Understandably, my comments touched a nerve in the community. I would leave it at that, but in pursuit of a deeper understanding I studied one of my critics website. There I found thought provoking comments on gentrification (something I give a lot of thought to these days), but then....I saw it--a link to a website called Mission Yuppie Eradication Project.

The Yuppie Eradication site was hilarious and representative of the wit that makes Northern California so unique. But as I read on I got a creepy feeling that this wasn't tongue in cheek. It was a website that advocated violent resistance (what they refer to as "controversial methods") as follows:

Tips on Making Yuppies Pay

• Vandalize their cars: Mercedes, Lexus, Porsche, Jaguar, and anything that your family wouldn't be able to afford. (emphasis mine)
• Throw shit at Yuppies as they drive by, especially if they are on their cell phones.
• Don't patronize Yuppie establishments.
• If you are sitting with friends near Yuppies, spread rumors about increasing crime in the neighborhood.
• Organize your community against developers who help gentrification.
• Organize your co-workers against your Yuppie boss.
• Work with your neighbors to find out who owns what in your neighborhood
• When Yuppies invade it means higher rents, so organize a neighborhood Tenant's Association to keep a lid on rents.
• "Don't listen to Yuppie radio stations, which includes your local NPR affiliates.

"That does it", I thought, bashing Porsche's AND NPR??? To quote a favorite movie "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

Oy. Signing out.

Technorati Tags: Lincoln Heights, Gentrification, Loft, Los Angeles, Silver Lake, LA, YUPPIE

REAR WINDOW: HITCHCOCK MEETS BOXSTER

Rear Window: Hitchcock Meets Boxster
by pam ashlund

Back in April, 2006 I ran into a great couple protesting in front of Downtown LA Motors. In solidarity, I did a write-up of their struggle in "They Can't Get No Satisfaction". I felt bad for them because sometimes when you make a $50 or $60K purchase and you pay god knows how much in regular maintenance and repairs...and all that money pours directly into the pocket of your dealer...and you NEVER protest...you just keep opening your wallet. Finally, you come in five years later and ask for a measly four-hundred dollar repair..and...they refuse. Come on people, that was just a bad business decision. Had Downtown LA Motors just fixed the dumb piece of plastic, they might still have a customer, who might want trade up that Porsche in the near future. How else could someone make a 10,000 percent return on investment? But nooooooooooo, they had to make reference to a nonexistent policy. It's not covered in your warranty? What kind of sports car owner wants to hear that? Please. Tell me another one.

Why am I on a rant about something that happened last April? A picture says a thousand words:

Three guesses whose rear window that is? I guess it will be a cold day in LA when somebody reimburses me for this one....

Technorati Tags: Boxster, 2002 Boxster, Rainy Day Magazine, Convertible Top, Porsche, Plastic Window, 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