Recently, while scanning through Facebook headlines, one in particular caught my attention. The headline stated that in 2019, for the first time ever, more electric cars were sold than cars with manual transmissions. Hmmmm. That piqued my interest. I mean, I knew manuals had been on the decline (Becoming more of an anti-theft device than a transmission choice!) and electrics had been gaining in popularity but the headline still surprised me. So, I was curious to know the actual numbers. Turns out that electrics and manuals each made up less than 2% of total cars sold, so we’re not talking anything huge here. But the trend does show that electrics are probably here to stay. I guess I’m old fashioned, or maybe just old, but I do find it enjoyable to row my own gears on a Sunday drive and listen to the familiar rumbles from an internal combustion engine (preferably one on a sportier model, including any Porsche, of course!). So, I really haven’t felt enticed to even consider an electric. Out of curiosity for new tech though, I’ve test driven hybrids and electrics, including a Prius, a Leaf, and a Model 3, just to see what they were like. I found them cool, but nothing about them made me want to actually own one. But now Porsche, with its long history of building solid, high-performance vehicles (Yeah, I’m biased), is introducing their first electric car. They are promising high performance, long range, fast charging, and the car looks great in person. Hmmm…Ok, I will need to test drive this Taycan. Maybe it might convert me…or if not, it might at least make me more interested in an electric Boxster in the future, since I’ve always preferred 2 to 4 doors. I guess we’ll see…
Wow, is it February already? January went by fast, which is fine with me, because that means we’re another month closer to warmer weather and outdoor car events!
But for now, bundle up and join us for this month’s indoor events: enjoy Greek food at Olympia Kebob House in for Thirsty Thursday, American, Thai or Korean dishes at The Park in Columbia, Valentine’s Brunch at Ya Ya’s in Chesterfield and a vodka tasting event at Mastermind Distillery in Pontoon Beach. If you prefer to stay warm in your house, visit Mexico or Morocco virtually by watching some Formula 3 racing on TV. Or if you’ve never done and are curious about HPDEs, check out the upcoming “Intro to HPDE” session to learn more! Personally, it’s been over 4 years since I’ve gone to an HPDE at Gateway (so long ago that it’s not even called Gateway anymore!), but maybe I’ll make it to one this year!
Happy New Year! My name is Nancy Goodman, and I am honored to serve as President for the next 2 years. My husband and I joined the club 5 years ago, soon after the purchase of our first Porsche, a 2009 911 Carrera 4S (997.2). I first noticed Porsches when the 930 turbo caught my attention as a teenager in the 80s, and have drooled over many iterations of 911s, and read many articles about them in Car & Driver over the years. After taking a 997.2 Turbo S around a Las Vegas track at one of those exotic car experience centers, I knew for certain that a 911 was the dream sports car for me. I have enjoyed driving our 911 in autocrosses, on the Gateway track, and even just commuting to work. We originally joined the club because we had heard about the HPDEs, but soon found out that the club offered much more than that, and have since attended multiple road tours, dinners, and car shows, and met many wonderful new friends. We also enjoyed our first Parade at Lake of the Ozarks last year, especially Autocross and driving on parts of Route 66.
I was invited to join the Board in 2016, and most recently served as Vice President in 2018. I want to thank Steve Warren for helping me prepare for this new role, and for his last two years of service as our President, in which we saw our membership reach over 1,000, and attendance grow at our club events. I also want to thank all our past and current Officers, Board members, and Committee Chairs for all the work they do to keep the club running smoothly. And last but absolutely not least, I want to thank all the members who organize and attend events, which make this club a success and a joy to be a part of.
None of this could have happened without you, the membership, volunteers, committee members, committee chairs, board members and officers of the St. Louis Region PCA, and for that, I thank you all.
With each new year comes a few changes in the Club leadership:
I’d like to welcome New Board Members, Linda Dunn and Charles Faussete; new Social Chair, Jeff Ponte; and new HPDE Chairs Todd Sylvainus and Dan Rieman. We’re glad to have you with us and look forward to your fresh ideas for the club. And I’d like to thank retiring Board members, Gary Bachman and Geoff Baltz, retiring Social Committee members, Gail Warren, Mary Ecsedy, Patty Paster, and Pam Wingbermuehle, and retiring HPDE team Dan Sokol, Geoff Baltz and Paul Lerman, for their years of service to the club. We will miss you in your old roles.
Marek Parafiniuk will be our new VP, and Charles Faussete will replace Marek as Public Relations and Registrar chairs. Catherine Ham returns and replaces Elaine Rose as our club Secretary. And Josh Landau replaces Kelis Thacker as Membership Chair. And I’d also like to say thanks to all our returning members of the Board.
We will kick off 2020 with our first Board meeting on January 8 at Center of Clayton. The first Thirsty Thursday will be on January 9th (note that this is the SECOND Thursday of the month, instead of the usual first Thursday to give everyone time to recover from their New Years celebrations before jumping into a new year of events) at BrickTop’s in Frontenac. And then later in the month, the Club will return to showcase members’ cars at the 2020 St. Louis Auto Show, which takes place January 23-26. More information about these events can be found in this newsletter. We have lots of other fun events planned, so be sure to check them out this year! Because as the PCA saying goes, “It’s not just the cars, it’s the people!”
