[V8] Is this the "new" Porsche hotrod list?

[Roger M. Woodbury]

I hope not.  

What's the "Porsche hotrod list", you ask?  

Well let me tell you a little story.  A short while ago, I got really
involved with Porsches.  My daily driver was a 1989 Audi 200 Avant, and in
the garage for other duties rested a 1988 Porsche 911 Targa and a 1987
Porsche 928S4.  Naturally, I belonged to almost all the Porsche email lists.
The 928S4 was a replacement for a very nice 944, and the 911 was, well, it
was here because I always wanted to have one.  

But as those particular cars got older, the membership seemed to get
younger. Or maybe I just got older.  Whatever the situation, there developed
on some of the lists...not ALL of them, but some...a certain edginess that
was unpleasant.  More "in your face" kind of exchanges, with little real
substance.  Just smart mouth stuff, as though the writer, cloaked in the
anonymity of the Internet, was going to "show" someone what a big hot shoe
he was.  

Gradually, I reduced my membership, until only the 928 group was left.

After I bought my second V8 Quattro, I looked around until I found this
list.  This list was much like the 928 lists that I belonged to.  I think it
might have had something to do with the simple fact that unless you actually
had the experience, you wouldn't know what it was.  Certainly in the case of
the 928, almost every other Porsche owner looked askance at the car, as
though the 928 wasn't somehow a "real" Porsche.  (Of course the 928 was the
first "real" Porsche; designed using a totally clean sheet of paper and not
at all influenced by VW, or for that matter, Ferdinand.  But the 911 people
didn't want authenticity, they only wanted obsolescence, but I digress).

So on this list are people who know and love or perhaps hate the V8 Quattro,
which was Audi's first real venture into the luxury automobile field.  It
was a failure.  It was a failure because it may have been about a decade
ahead of its time.  Now, it is a car that those of us who have or have had,
or want one, know about, but the number of people like us is small and
dwindling about as fast as the number of cars available for us to own.  I
doubt that there are ten thousand left on American roads today, and probably
a lot fewer.

So, when we have a resource available to us that can help us to maintain our
vehicles into their second DECADE of service and beyond, I think it makes
good sense to display a certain amount of loyalty to that resource.

Recently I read a lister slamming Bruce at Audi Connection (Now German Auto
Connection).  There was no real content to the indictment, just that
something had gone terribly wrong in the discussion between the lister and
Bruce, and therefore, Bruce was a "bad guy".  

Well, wait a minute.  I have never bought anything from Audi/German Auto
Connection.  But I have had occasion to ask some questions of Bruce about
specific types of problems, and I have received prompt and professional
replies.  No, I have not asked Bruce or anyone there to diagnose a problem
with a vehicle, but I know that if I do need a diagnosis, it will be
furnished in professional detail FOR A FEE. Seems fairs to me:  German Auto
Connection is a business with specific valued information about the Audi V8
Quattro that a lot of franchised dealers do not have.  So, if there is
something that is needed for these cars, be it information or parts, then
the availability of a resource like Bruce is of great value.

The hinting around at something that had been terribly wrong without giving
more than mere slander as "proof" is childish and immature.  If the story is
worth telling, then tell it like it is, and be very specific for that is one
of the values of this list.  This is not a club with a secret handshake, it
is an open forum for the exchange of information about these fine
automobiles and mere bad mouthing some professional because of hurt feelings
demean all of us on this list.

So if someone has a problem with a business transaction involving ANY
supplier then present the situation in complete detail, being honest and
forth right about the expectations that were not met so that both sides of
the story can be reviewed.  I doubt that there will be any counter claim
made by a commercial business so if a negative report is going to be made by
a lister about a supplier, I think it would be of benefit to all of us to
hear the WHOLE story, including what happened, what was expected, where the
falling off of service occurred, and what the result was of attempted
mediation of the issue.  If all the details are left out, what is left is
mere childish rumor.

I don't want to see this list become like some of the Porsche lists to which
I belonged for many years.  I do not want to read posts about how cool it
was to be going to the Seven Eleven to buy diapers and on the way, "Man:  I
smoked that Rice Eater at two stoplights!"  

I also don’t want to read gossip about this or that company or service with
an established reputation of support and professionalism without a lot of
detail and truthfulness.  

That would be just a waste of my time.

Roger

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