Porsche Panorama, August 1998, Volume 43, Number 8
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The Boxsters Have Landed
by Berkeley Johnston - California Central Coast Region
photography by John Cochran

The Internet provides the catalyst that brings owners of Porsche's new roadster together

The Internet enthusiast is here.

Working for a software company, I've spent a lot of time on the Internet. I can assure you all -- whether you have or have not tried it -- that your suspicions about the web are correct. It's mostly a big waste of time and space. Once in a while though, you'll find a site that contains real value. A site that's not only got the information you need, but that also makes it fun to find. They are rare.

Now let me back up just a bit, because I'm sure you'll want to know a little about me. I hope so, because I want to tell you. Since my dad drove off the Bozzani lot, his Tangerine '71 Targa has seen near-daily use, including a couple of wintry family ski trips (we were little back then!). I loved visiting his office so I could look at his still growing collection of little 911s. The Porsche bug bit me early. I'm wired like many Porsche owners; I'm a rational thinker, conservative, and a bit of an introvert, so I tend to dwell on big decisions, gathering facts, until I'm certain I have made the correct choice. Still, as was subsequently so well documented in PCNA's Boxster video "A Love Story," I had become somewhat of a boring-car family man.

I first saw "A Love Story," a brilliant a 3-minute film, in January 1997. It explained to me why I needed a Boxster and it goes like this: (a) Young man loves his exciting, sporty car. (b) Young man woos his future wife with the help of his exciting, sporty car. (c) Man, now older, drives a big, generic car filled with resultant kids, dogs, etc. (d) Man buys Boxster to take him back to the good-old-days because the video, which has made him cry, is so well done.

Now I'm ahead of myself because at this point I had not yet seen the video. OK, I'm a boring-car family man flipping through a car magazine when I spy a picture of the soon-to-be-introduced Porsche Boxster. Staring at the image, I suddenly remember: I have always wanted a Porsche. I decide to find out more about the Boxster.

Information Wanted

Which brings me back to the Internet. I had now seen a picture of the new 986 and had become rather focused on it. My understanding wife Jacquie might say obsessed. "What about this Porsche Boxster?" I said to myself as I punched up my favorite search engine and typed in "porsche boxster information." Confidently, I clicked on the Search button. Wait. Wait. Nothing! Well, not really nothing. Nothing of interest. A measly selection of one-page sites with stale images of the show car isn't a substitute for facts in detail. "If I want this information, then others might want it, too!" I thought.

And so began the steady appearance of Boxster web sites. First Andrew Potts and myself, then Mark Christenson and Chuck Hammersmith, and now probably a dozen people, real Porsche enthusiasts, have created a wonderful selection of sites dedicated to the Boxster. Each one has a distinct purpose and focus with just the right amount of overlap. Type "porsche boxster information" today, you'll get that and more. We're a sort of next generation of Porsche lovers, owners, and evangelists.

If I had to pick a single web site to be crowned Boxster Central, it would be Chuck's www.boxster.net. Mark's www.boxster.org, with its growing Boxster Registry, runs a close second, but Chuck is host to "Porsche Pete's Boxster Board" and is truly the worldwide meeting place for Boxster enthusiasts. Both novice and expert, owner and wannabe dial up the Boxster Board to post questions, make comments and ferret out the secret details of our much loved cars.

Like-minded as we seemed to be, it was only a matter of time before someone suggested an actual in-person meeting (!). In fact, two people suggested it, one on the East Coast and one on the West. Before you could say, "I wish I had a faster Internet connection," David Derr had begun organizing the East Coast Boxster Rebellion (see June '98 Panorama), and the terrific trio of Mark Lysinger, Nita Burrows, and Betty Choate had designated Las Vegas as the spot for The Boxsters Have Landed. Itineraries, maps, attendee biographies, and frequent updates were all communicated via the Internet. And soon the weekend arrived.

Friday, April 17 started for me early with a quick stop at my dealer in Santa Barbara for my first service, then a speedy drive down 101 to the San Gabriel Valley to pick up my brother, Erik. Nine years my junior, spending time with his distant Boxster-owning brother was high on his list. He wanted some seat time, and I didn't disappoint. Then a quick jaunt up to the 210 where we spent the next three hours practically parked on the "freeway." Past Barstow, we picked up speed, and nearing our destination fell in with a silver/red/black (that's Boxster lingo meaning the color of the car/interior/top), the first Boxster I had ever driven alongside. As if we weren't narcissistic enough, now there were two cars for people to stare at whom we were to notice without noticing. We broke off the affair when my foot finally broke free of my ego's grasp. Wonderful experience to see the car in motion from all sides.

Putting Faces to Names

The Imperial Palace had a roped-off parking area for us. We slid under the ribbon, jumped out and began the struggle. Should we be polite and meet the growing crowd of Internet friends, putting unlikely faces to familiar names? Or stare slack-jawed at the most 986 cars ever assembled by mere mortals? Balancing curiosity with propriety, we managed both and even arranged a weak but enjoyable dinner at the hotel with five of our new friends. Rob and Gillian Sward will eventually take their white Tiptronic back to their native Australia. They chose the automatic because it costs far less to convert to right-hand drive. Jude George drove his hardtop-equipped silver/grey/grey off the lot and straight to Las Vegas. Gary and Ruth Samad brought the only Pastel Yellow car, his second Porsche. (I wasn't sure about the color, either, but it's beautiful in person.)

I went to bed early while younger Erik cruised the Strip meeting the nightlife, including a Let it Ride card player from South Dakota called, strangely enough, "South Dakota" and some chic Caesars Palace players winning at Baccarat ("You just won twenty-five? Thousand!?!").

There's nothing like waking up on a Saturday morning to the jet sound of 20 plus Boxsters winding their way down the parking structure, out of the hotel and onto the Las Vegas Strip. Even the jaded and bleary-eyed pay attention. Many thanks to Gaudin Porsche for their hospitality and to energetic District Parts Manager Terry Wells for his video presentation and Q&A session.

Prudently dividing our few CB radio-equipped Boxsters, we split into groups: the empty, the hungry, and the anxious. The later group forged ahead to the Las Vegas Speedway where we would rendezvous with the others. After stops at Texaco and McDonalds, the bulk of the group rejoined us, and from there we were off to the Valley of Fire State Park. I volunteered to go back to check for stragglers, and was therefore quite a ways behind. I just *had* to go a little faster to catch up. Miles later, they were finally in sight. Beautiful. Every color under the warm sun in a neat, law abiding line. Joe and Betty's ocean jade Spunky1 was the easiest to spot, shining as if it possessed its own Inner Light.

Approaching the end cars, I began to slow down; but I was ruined from the chase. Abandoning my assigned place at the rear, I sped up and shot past my brothers and sisters, neatly pulling a few rebels with me. In the lead now (we thought) the six of us drove smiling, bobbing and weaving all the way to the Valley of Fire exit and its local roadside market. We thought we would fraternize and laugh at the slowpokes when they finally caught up. Until we found Paul Cordell, friend Dawn and his '93 RS America already parked and cooling down. Smiling, he was tapping his watch and raising his arms in question, "Where have you guys been?" We considered ourselves whipped by the glorious white 911 from Arizona. Paul's third Porsche, a white/tan/black Boxster, due in July, will vie for drive time with the RS America and his Screaming Frog Green '74 914 2.0.

The Lineup

Now on the Indian Reservation, we kept in order (not Paul, of course) and didn't stop until we reached the entrance gate and fee-collection trailer. Said the Ranger, "You want a discount because there are a lot of you? In Porsches? No, that'll be a fiver from each of you. Oh, and no speeding." Our blaring Valentine detectors told us they weren't kidding. A few miles later we were unloading our selves, our lunch, and our cameras for the first serious photo-op. Not satisfied with $1.3 million in a single lot and the gorgeous geography, some of the more organized participants took great care -- but less time than you'd guess -- to arrange us all in a rainbow of every color available for the '97 and '98 model years. As an aside, the group's color makeup represented a statistically close match to actual U.S. sales. We talked to each other and to interested strangers in constantly shifting groups. We ate lunch and took in the beauty of the valley. After many photos and even more talking, we filtered out of the park.

A dozen of us made it back to the Speedway for another photo shoot and a chance opportunity to see NASCAR champions Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt turning test laps. Fast and loud, they were damn fun to watch. In Boxsters, I thought we had a fighting chance to get onto the infield, but the old guard denied us. Dreams of meeting the rich and famous faded.

It was a good thing, too. Most everyone else was already back in town getting ready and on their way to the Bootlegger restaurant. Good times and fast cars only go so far in a confined banquet room, so we were glad to have a pre-dinner shower. Sandra and Perci Hala from Calgary, Alberta won the mileage award, barely beating Texans Mark and Cindy Lysinger, Washingtonian Reddick and the Whatleys, also from Texas. In my book, the Canadian snow-melt-dirt covered Guards Red machine looked great. Like all Porsches, the Boxster is meant to be driven, no matter the weather (though local PCA region friends Hamp and Ed did tell me that it's generally a good idea to keep the 356 out of the rain).

Tim Maffett's every-available-option (seriously) arena red Boxster won the most expensive category. PCA vets Bob and Carole Gale's rare turquoise blue car was the earliest 986 built. We also met some late comers. Rhonda Jacobs from Ohio, who's Boxster was ONVESL (secret Porsche code for "on the ship and coming soon"), met us for the start of her family vacation, and a Boxster-owning commercial pilot flew in from Japan just in time to do the same.

Until We Meet Again

A couple of cars left for home early Sunday morning, but most gathered again and headed to serene Red Rock Canyon. We dutifully stopped at each turnout to answer questions and to admire the unique beauty. By this time we were getting to be friends in the pre-Internet sense of the word. Conversations slowly shifted away from the cars and toward us as individuals. Of course, now it was time to start leaving. Some had already said good-bye and kept driving at the following turnout. But I got the distinct feeling that I would be seeing these people again, in Monterey this year, at subsequent Boxster Gatherings and at Porsche Parades in years to come. Some veteran, but mostly new members of the Porsche family, we were making life-long friends. If Porsche's goal was to create the best two-seat roadster possible and at the same time to draw a new generation of owners into its tight-knit circle of enthusiasts, then it has succeeded absolutely.

Where to find us

Conveniently, www.boxster.net has quality rated links to all the other notable sites. Here's a brief summary. PCNA's official site at www.porsche.com/boxster/index.html is a great place to start though I prefer the grittier homegrown locations. The Boxster Registry and Watch is at www.boxster.org. UK denizen Potts gives a marvelous first-hand comparison between his admittedly troubled (now sold) early Boxster, the 968CS, and the 993 coupe at www.welding-units.co.uk/boxster [sadly, now gone]. The Frequently Asked Questions page (www.xoc.net/boxster/faq/index.html) by Greg Reddick and Larry Whatley provides an important base of technical information. You can find my complete, ever-mutable history of Boxster options, among other things, at www.industryfigure.com/berkeley. German entry www.boxsterfans.com from Stuttgart native Chris Kramer is our link to the source. There's even the ridiculous and funny www.infowest.com/personal/d/dboren courtesy of wacky Utah Dentist Dane Boren. Walt Bilofsky's Boxster Pages rounds out the top sites with interesting odds and ends. And by the way, since April, a new 996 Discussion Board, which is similar to the Boxster Board, has emerged and is gaining popularity. Join in discussions about the new 911 at www.boxster.net/board_cfg/996discussion/index_996.cgi [now moved].

See Philip Greenspun's site photo.net for his views on broken links, etc. in his on-line book and 100 things tips page. (In summary, breaking other people's links to your web site -- in this case, by deleting content -- is about the worst thing you can do.) You will notice above that when PCNA "redesigned" their site, they took out the last of the useful Boxster-related content. They also broke every link.

Berkeley | Boxster | Mags