My Porsche Day

Tom's Travel Journal
Porsche Special Edition
June 1999

Monday, June 14, 1999 2am - Paris, France
So I'm back from my Porsche travel weekend. What a great time. I can't even begin to tell you how fantastic it was. I ended up having to go to Zurich on business Thursday morning, but had a short meeting, so left for Stuttgart by 12:30pm. I arrived in Stuttgart safely, but SwissAir lost my luggage - amazing considering it's a 35 minute flight. But you know, I did not care. I was having my dream weekend and NOTHING was going to bother me.
I made it to the hotel, which was beautful. It's called the Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin, and it was very nice. I normally don't like hotels anymore, but this one was pretty charming. I believe it's the nicest hotel in Stuttgart, just across the street from the central train station.
There were probably around 35 people or so, all from the US. I would say of all these, maybe 7 were actually picking up cars. The rest were car dealership owners (3 of them) and spouses or friends of new car owners, and Porsche staff. The Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) coordinator was a lovely young woman named Cynthia Noye. She was very helpful and professional. She hosted us and basically babysat everyone the whole weekend, taking care of everything. God bless her.
We assembled at 4:30pm Thursday afternoon to fill out all the appropriate paperwork, etc. I had to fill out insurance forms and registration because I'm actually keeping the car in Europe for a year before shipping it back to the states. A little later we all had cocktails, then a very nice meal where we got to know one another. I could tell there was quite a bit of excitement.
The following day, we started at 8:45am by bus. We left the hotel and headed for the Porsche manufacturing plant and museum. We arrived at about 9:15 and explored the musem. Here are some highlights:


Porsche Museum Friday June 11, 1999	Porsche Museum Friday June 11, 1999	Porsche Museum Friday June 11, 1999

Porsche Museum Friday June 11, 1999	I guess I look happy.... Friday June 11, 1999	The classic design Friday June 11, 1999

So after the museum, we went on a long tour of the manufacturing facility. Unfortunately they did not permit cameras on this part. But we had the cook's tour of how they make a car - first we started in the leather production area, then on to the dashboards and interior, then went to see where the painted bodies come in and where they assemble the body, then followed the production backwards, to where they create the 'marriage'- the joining of the engine and drive train with the body. Finally, we walked through the engine manufacturing building. What a beautiful sight. They produce only 140 cars a day there, and it seemed at the same time very professional and efficient, as well as extremely intimate and personal.
After the manufacturing plant, we had lunch in the 'casino' - where the employees eat. The lunch was delicious and we all had time to catch up and share some past experiences.
After lunch we got a thrill. We went to Weissach (pronounced Vy- sock). This is the Porsche enthousiasts mecca- the Porsche Research and Development facility. They don't open this facility up to outsiders much (I hear about five times a year), so we were quite grateful they were able to accommodate us. The road there is a long and winding one - way out in the country. I imagine it is much more fun in the Porsche car than in the bus we took. So we didn't get to explore this facility much, just the test track! They took us to the test track and we drove around in a few of the test vehicles at outrageous speeds. Here are a few highlights:


Volker says Ok, now you MUST stay under 60 mph...right	What a way to make a living


The Turbo taking off Porsche Test Track, Weissach Germany Friday June 11, 1999	Tom buckling up in the Turbo Porsche Test Track, Weissach Germany Friday June 11, 1999	Tom exiting the Turbo... smiling of course Porsche Test Track, Weissach Germany Friday June 11, 1999

Lined up to go... Porsche Test Track, Weissach Germany Friday June 11, 1999	A sneak peak at the new GT-3 Porsche Test Track, Weissach Germany Friday June 11, 1999	The GT-3 taking off Porsche Test Track, Weissach Germany Friday June 11, 1999

So after this ravishing experience, around 4 o'clock, we headed back to Zuffenhausen (the manufacturing plant) to the delivery center to take delivery of our new cars. Well, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:

There she is, my new baby

Just like Christmas... no, BETTER than Christmas

I must say the staff at the Delivery Center were exceptional- all friendly and helpful. I guess they must love their jobs. Imagine doing that for a living- handing the keys to new Porsche owners every day....

Porsche Delivery Center (and another view of my new car)

The rest of the weekend was lots of fun, and you'll have to go to June's travel journal entry to see what happened. Thanks for visiting my Porsche special edition journal entry!