Any interest in forming local 914World Chapters?, One Lesson Learned from European 914 clubs |
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Any interest in forming local 914World Chapters?, One Lesson Learned from European 914 clubs |
JeffBowlsby |
Jul 3 2014, 09:55 PM
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#1
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914 Wiring Harnesses Group: Members Posts: 8,663 Joined: 7-January 03 From: San Ramon CA Member No.: 104 Region Association: None |
My recent visit to the 914 International meet in Italy opened my eyes to some interesting differences in the 914 communities here in the USA vs Europe. I had the great pleasure of meeting and spending a few days with our very own Gustl, Johannes, Peter and many others with the 914-passion and I think that common bond is an aspect of 914 ownership that most of us are interested in. 914s are not just about the cars – its about the people.
Europe is roughly ¼ the size of the USA, and they have multiple local 914-dedicated clubs mostly organized by country – 914 clubs exist in Germany, France, Italy, England, etc. These clubs meet from time to time locally to network, socialize and promote the 914 hobby in their regions (check out their individual websites). Once a year they all get together for a major high quality International 914 event somewhere in Europe. The International meet is always well attended (limited to 100 914s and their owners!), booked/paid a year in advance, and is hosted in a different country (by the local 914 club) each year on a rotating basis. It has official support from Porsche. The European approach is very supportive, and non-competitive in the negative sense. In the USA, we have no organized, local 914-dedicated clubs. We have no regularly (monthly-quarterly-ish) organized local 914 events. We have no annual USA National 914 event. Europe has nothing like our 914world.com forums…in a literal sense, 914world.com is THE international 914 Forum because we have many international members here. I would like to see if we can increase international participation on the forum in the future. The USA is much larger geographically than Europe which is a challenge for holding larger national events. PCA, SCCA, and similar groups are good events for some, and not that we want to withdraw from those, but they are not an ultimate 914 venue for most of us. Thanks to the camaraderie on this Forum, we do have a series of what I will characterize as fairly regular, regional, moderate-sized events that are always fun – Red Rocks, WCR, ECR, Okteenerfest, etc. Some locales have sporadic informal 914 breakfasts, drives etc. Only when someone volunteers to host an event does it happen – I think we as 914 Owners could all really benefit with better organization and regional leadership. New 914 owners need a venue to hang out face to face, and long-time owners can share their experiences. A real world, local, in person, ‘914 Garage’ experience is one of the great things about our community. My idea is that we form local/regional 914World Chapters to generally help better organize us and promote the 914 ownership experience on multiple levels. 914World.com will always be our playhouse. None of us wants a dues paying, card carrying, rules/regulations format and I don’t propose anything like that. The idea is intended only to be a way for 914 owners to connect locally and informally, and perhaps hold a national event in the future. I don’t see the concept as divisive, but rather as unifying us, prospering the 914 experience and being a supportive environment. What say you? Attached image(s) |
EdwardBlume |
Jul 8 2014, 10:33 AM
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#2
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914 Wizard Group: Members Posts: 12,338 Joined: 2-January 03 From: SLO Member No.: 81 Region Association: Central California |
I have some experience with PCA at different levels and non-PCA Porsche clubs. The key ingredient is the people. If you have common people with similar interests, it mostly works. If you have inconsistent people you don't really have much in common with, you split.
Sorry to the socialists, but money is a factor... Concours people will likely prefer concours people. Racers / racers. Ricers / ricers. You can try and do it all but my experience is that people eventually split up. The Euro experience intriguing though. You have to recognize like it or not that our cars are becoming collector pieces and while I used to race, used to build, used to club with PCA, all I really want to do is hang out with 914 people who love these cars. I love seeing the art people create. I love seeing people I like. I love learning about our cars. We are becoming old guys and will either ride this hobby into the sunset or will do nothing. That said, I'm willing to be a part of the effort in N Cal because I know there are many many great people in N Cal and I like most of them. I would suggest a small group with a small footprint and a small focus. Get the right core set. Do everything later. Have a bunch of small groups. Cheers! |
914_teener |
Jul 8 2014, 01:06 PM
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#3
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,245 Joined: 31-August 08 From: So. Cal Member No.: 9,489 Region Association: Southern California |
I have some experience with PCA at different levels and non-PCA Porsche clubs. The key ingredient is the people. If you have common people with similar interests, it mostly works. If you have inconsistent people you don't really have much in common with, you split. Sorry to the socialists, but money is a factor... Concours people will likely prefer concours people. Racers / racers. Ricers / ricers. You can try and do it all but my experience is that people eventually split up. The Euro experience intriguing though. You have to recognize like it or not that our cars are becoming collector pieces and while I used to race, used to build, used to club with PCA, all I really want to do is hang out with 914 people who love these cars. I love seeing the art people create. I love seeing people I like. I love learning about our cars. We are becoming old guys and will either ride this hobby into the sunset or will do nothing. That said, I'm willing to be a part of the effort in N Cal because I know there are many many great people in N Cal and I like most of them. I would suggest a small group with a small footprint and a small focus. Get the right core set. Do everything later. Have a bunch of small groups. Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) I like this comment. I think where Jeff was going and was reflecting on was the cultural aspect in Europe. Culturally it is a different place than here. I think the question might be is that it would be fun to have an event/drive and have a hundred teeners show up like in Italy. I think the notion and question was that if having regional organization would help that happen on this side of the pond. It was meant as a discussion. |
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