Porsche Club of America, San Diego Region

Chartered on 26 December 1957

The San Diego Region’s About page, written by its historian, tells the founding through three letters. The petition of 14 November 1957, organized by Paul Madigan, listed what the group had already done: two dinner meetings, three runs, two to Mexico and one to Mount Palomar, and two trips to the races at Palm Springs and Riverside. The first meeting, with ten members, was at the Golden Lion restaurant. The region took in San Diego County, and its charter dates to 26 December 1957.

The Windblown Witness newsletter started in 1961, named for the air-cooled cars. The region now counts more than 3,250 members and holds several events a month, from Chula Vista and La Mesa to Escondido, Vista and Encinitas. PCA’s region finder returns San Diego for zip codes downtown, in Escondido and in Oceanside.

From autocross to time trials

The driving side is a ladder. Per the Autocross page, events run in the large parking lot at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, with free instruction at every event and an instructor required for a driver’s first four. PCA members show their membership card at tech; non-members must be experienced drivers, and only PCA members can be student drivers. There is no lunch break, though a lunch wagon usually comes through.

For newer drivers the region runs an annual Performance Driving School each fall: an evening of driving theory and two full days of exercises. Driver’s education is offered mainly as a school for true beginners, and drivers with enough experience move on to the region’s time trials, which its MotorsportReg listings show at Buttonwillow and Chuckwalla. The region also hosts Tire Rack Street Survival schools.

A monthly rhythm

The Social Events page sets out the month. Cars and Conversations is a cars and coffee style gathering on the last Sunday from 8am to 10am at changing venues. The Last Tuesday Social is dinner at a different restaurant around the county, with arrivals around 6:30pm and dinner at 7pm. Porsches and Pours wine tastings come every six weeks or so at San Diego County wineries, and tech sessions cover maintenance, paint and detailing.

Tours and Mystery Weekends

Driving tours are usually half a day on the county’s lesser known back roads, ending at lunch, and the region publishes a PCA-SDR Road Guide to local driving roads. Off-road tours of four to six hours are for Cayenne and Macan owners. Mystery Weekends head for a secret destination with stops along the way, dinner together and brunch the next morning; past venues include Santa Barbara, Solvang, Lake Arrowhead and Palm Springs, and they sell out quickly. The region also joins the Vineyard Region for some tours, and its concours has been held at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside.

What members get

The region’s join page lists the quarterly Windblown Witness, event emails sent to the address on the member’s national PCA account, and renewal reminders from the membership chair. New members get a $30 SDR Award for the goodie store or a region event, plus a region name badge for them and any family member. Every five years, continuing members get a $75 SDR Award to spend on a region event. Members host a podcast too, Windblown Mic. Joining runs through the national club, and the Porsche Club of America page has dues and eligibility.