Tales from the Early Days of Porsche in America

Reflecting back on the past 60 years that Porsche has been in the United States, it's a nostalgic tale of the incredible journey that started in a humble meeting in France between Professor Ferdinand Porsche and legendary entrepreneur Maximillian E. Hoffman back in 1950.

Two days after their first meeting in October 1950, Porsche and Hoffman struck a deal to send 15 cars to New York. After the shipment was sent over to the United States, sportman Briggs Cunningham won several races in his Porsche, creating interest and envy by other car enthusiasts.

Hoffman was not a racer himself, but he knew what racers needed. He created a dual-purpose lightweight model that was specifically for U.S. club racers. Sold for $4,600, the America Roadster had an aluminum body, plastic side-curtain windows, two bucket seats, and a cloth top. At a feathery 1,580 pounds it weighed little more than some contemporary golf carts. It was a vehicle that inspired awe from coast to coast in America.

In 1952, encouraged by this early success, Hoffmann pressed Dr. Porsche to create a brand symbol for the company that would better reflect its European heritage. At lunch that day, Dr. Porsche, a fan of the ancient art of heraldry, doodled on a napkin, sketching a rearing stallion on a heraldic shield that was surrounded by elk antlers and the red and black stripes of the Barden-Württemberg region around Stuttgart. The iconic Porsche crest was born.

A second historic Porsche was the Speedster, debuted in 1954. Designed to be a low-slung car that as writer Johnny von Neumann stated, "guys could drive, with their arm on the window sill, and talk to the girls on the sidewalks." Porsche shipped its entire output to U.S. consumers, in the first year.

In 1955, the Porsche Club of America was formed by a dozen Porsche lovers, based on a mutual camaraderie on the road, signified by flashing lights at a fellow Porsche. The first meeting at Blackie's Grill in Washington D.C. in 1956, attracted 64 members. Among the early club decisions, the annual gathering was to be called "The Porsche Parade."

Looking back on the past 60 years, Porsche continues to listen to its large market across the Atlantic. Now looking to the future, each new model is planned with American regulations and tastes in mind. American consumers wait impatiently for the new limited edition 2011 GTS and Speedster models to debut.

Five Best Porsche Movies

Whever Porsche enthusiasts gather, talk sooner or later turns to the best depictions of the Porsche brand on film.  After all, Hollywood loves the brand, and has often used the presence of a Porsche as visual shorthand to represent style, performance and taste.  Here are a few of our favorite Porsche movies:

Best Porsche Movie with a Porsche in a Speaking Role: The 2006 animated classic Cars featured flawless Toy-Story quality animation, a beguiling story that entertained the whole family, and Paul Newman in one of his final voice roles.  But the real showstealer was sassy, winsome Sally Carrera, the blue Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe with the heart of gold, voiced to perfection by Bonnie Hunt.

Best Coming of Age Movie Featuring a Porsche: Tome Cruise and his white BVDs achieved certified stardom in Risky Business, with dad's sleek 928 Coupe serving as a key plot element.  Enthusiasts will wince at the underwater dunking of the rare sharknosed 928, just as Alfa buffs can't bear to watch the exploding vintage Alfa 6C 2500 scene in The Godfather.  But close your eye for those few seconds, take in the Eighties feel of the film, and watch Cruise grow up before your eyes.

Best Use of the Porsche 356 as a Symbol of Authenticity:  This category is a tie.  In Top Gun, Kelly McGillis is an implausibly young and beautiful flight tactics instructor at the Top Gun Fighter pilot's school, resisting the well-practiced romantic tactics of Tom Cruise.  Her restored 356 convertible becomes a clear symbol of depth and authenticity unnoticed by the randy flyboy, and the audience immediately senses that this instructor will teach pilot Maverick a thing or two before the credits roll.  A similar dynamic plays out in 48 Hours, as ex-con Eddie Murphy is revealed to be more than a mere street hustler, first by his flawless British suit, then by his vintage Porsche 356.  This time, grizzled cop Nick Nolte is the master turned pupil.

Best Porsche Movie featuring a Porsche supporting an Unlikely Hero:  The 2004 suspense flick Cellular might seem an odd choice for a Porsche buff's film: after all, the movie promptly introduces us to a Porsche owner who is vain, obnoxious, and comically self-absorbed.  However, the film's young hero Chris Evans (later of the Fantastic Four) is the car's spiritual owner - borrowing it from Mr. Vanity, and careening around Los Angeles on a heroic mission to find trapped heroine Kim Basinger.  Porsche owners can laugh at the overplayed stereotype at the same time they cheer the 911 Cabriolet's overused brakes and engine.

Best, All time A-Number One Porsche Buff Movie Absolutely Requiring Immediate Respectful Viewing when Stumbled Upon on Cable:  Yes, Steve McQueen's 1974 masterpiece Le Mans is overlong, boasts a threadbare plot, and lacks convincing secondary characters.  But those are minor details.  It happens to feature more high-speed road-racing footage - much of it featuring the actual hotshoe drivers of the day - than any other Hollywood effort in history, as well as spectacular period motorsports detail ranging from a 917 GT Prototype to two-piece driving suits to chunky Heuer watches.  Plus, of course, two hours of the coolest male in human history at the peak of his rugged masculinity - a role model for every male Porsche owner who ever kept his key in his lefthand pocket.

Take a Look At Audi's Quattro Concept

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the debut of the quattro, Audi is presenting a show car at the 2010 Paris Motor Show that moves a futuristic interpretation of this concept into the fast lane: the Audi quattro concept –a thoroughbred driving machine with 300 kW (408 hp), five-cylinder turbocharged engine, a lightweight body and — of course — the latest generation of quattro permanent all-wheel drive.

Let’s hope Audi builds this and brings it to America.

Taking your "Best Friend" for a ride in your New Car

Just look at that face. Why would you ever risk endangering your dog when taking them for a ride?

I recently ran across and article that stresses the importance of using a harness when you take Fido for his beloved car ride. The reasons for securing your pet are obvious. Primarily so he or she doesn’t become a projectile in case of an accident. even a minor fender bender can be enough to hurt or kill your pet. I ran across this story at petautosafety.com that proves my point.

“Trixie is an interesting mix of Malamute and lab. She has the lab head and build, but the Malamute coat coloring, curled tail, and one blue eye. Although Trixie is a high-maintenance dog who needs lots of exercise, she is very well-behaved in the car. That is why I never considered getting her a dog car harness – until it was almost too late.It was mid January of last year. It was snowing hard, but my boss insisted that I come to work. I considered leaving Trixie at home instead of taking her to the doggy day care. But Trixie is still young and doesn’t do well when left alone by herself. After making sure the doggy day care was open, Trixie and I got into the car and pulled out of the driveway.
The road was slick. My car literally slid out of the driveway. I considered calling my boss back and saying I couldn’t make it, but an echo in my head told me that I didn’t really want to hear him yell at me. Besides, I thought, I just go new tires on my car. We will be okay.
Even though I was going very slow, my car lost its traction and spun when I tried to turn off of my street. I turned into the direction of the spin and took my foot off the brake, just as I have been told to do by the media and DPS. I cringed as I heard Trixie yelp as she was thrown to one side of the car. Then cringed even more when I heard her cry as the car was jolted to a stop when it hit and jumped the curb.
Trixie was frantic. She kept yelping like she was injured and I feared the worst. I never got out of the car to see what I hit or assess the damage. I was too busy trying to calm Trixie.

Needless to say, I did not go to work that day. After a visit to the vet, it turned out that Trixie was fine – nothing more than a bit of bruising, thank goodness. But for several months afterwards, Trixie was terrified of riding in the car. I have since bought a dog car harness from Pet Auto Safety.com. And thanks to some tips from those at Pet Auto Safety.com, I have been slowly rehabilitating Trixie to ride in the car again. I am happy to say that she has seemingly forgotten the incident and gets very excited when I get out the dog car harness.”

You buckle yourself in, so do yourself and your pet a favor, secure them every time you go for a ride…He’s your best friend, you owe him that at least.