Copyright © 1998

Porsche Club of America Out For A Spin January, 1999 Bruce Corwin Bruce968@PorscheNet.com

Race and car, two words that go together like peanut butter and jelly. Put together, they spell racecar. Write it backwards and it still spells racecar. Let’s look though at another definition of the word “race”. Specifically as it refers to genetics and ethnic origin and how it applies to cars. Like religion and politics, most people are afraid to talk about this subject, but let’s be a little “racy” and do it anyway!
 
Before I continue, excuse me if I’m being politically incorrect. I still haven’t figured out all the rules of being “PC”. I guess the term “black” is not PC, I should say instead “African-American”. But what if I don’t know where the guy lives? Maybe he’s an “African-Korean”, an “African-French guy” or even an “African-African”. Let me then propose the new term “African-Earthling.” Other terms we should know are American Indian (no), Native American (yes) which I understand because Indians live in India. Also Oriental (no), Asian (yes) which I have no clue on. I don’t know if it’s okay to say “white” or if I should say something like “European-American” or “European-Earthling”. Supposedly there are people who are concerned about these things, but I haven’t met one yet.
 
When it comes to cars, its fun to observe the automotive creativity of different races and cultures. In California, Hispanics created an entire genre of car with the “low-rider”, crazy looking cars, some of which jump up and down or lift a leg like a dog at a fire hydrant. The Asian community developed the art of turning front wheel drive Japanese econoboxes into drag racers (a seemingly preposterous idea) with a surprising degree of success.
 
On the Internet, there is a publication called “Woman Motorist” (www.womanmotorist.com), which sounds like a PC version of the sometimes derogatory term “Woman Driver”. I can understand the need for a web site like this since most car magazines are oriented toward men. Women are not a different “race”, but are an entirely different species than men. In fact NASA has determined that more is known about the geological evolution of Neptune’s moon Proteus (recently discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2) than is known about the everyday functioning of a woman’s mind.
 
Another site on the Internet is called African American on Wheels (www.automag.com). I don’t think it is any relation to the Steve Martin book, “Renegade Nuns on Wheels”, although he does claim to have been brought up as a poor, black child. My first reaction was to wonder how the automotive needs of a black person are different than those of other races. Maybe black people tend to be too tall for cars designed by shorter Japanese people? Maybe culturally they have different taste in automotive styling?
 
I checked out their web site and in reading through it, was saddened when reminded of how often minorities feel discriminated against. Apparently African Americans on Wheels is a magazine with a circulation of over 600,000. There doesn’t seem to be anything special about their automotive tastes, but they seem to be seeking solutions to discrimination with regards to purchasing cars, sponsorship for black racers and lack of black-owned dealerships. In one article on Corvettes, it was interesting to see that there are several clubs specifically for black owners of Corvettes, although I wonder if that is a case of fighting discrimination with discrimination.
 
It’s good to know that our club does not discriminate, and in the future, I hope to see more minorities becoming financially successful enough to own a Porsche. I think we’re on the right path with our Driver’s Education program. You see, at the track we have different run groups based on experience and white drivers aspire to become black drivers!