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Porsche Club of America
The Northeast Region

Following are a few examples of how the cost of living in New York has changed in the  last decade, 1991 to 1999.  My educated guess is that we would find not much difference in the relative numbers for the Metro Boston area.
 
 

	1991	1999	% Change	% Change
			actual	less inflation
Manhattan 1 BR	$1,135	$1,925	70%	38%
Cab from JFK to Midtown	$27+tip	$30+tip	11%	-16%
1Gal. Unleaded gas	$1.08	$1.67	55%	17%
Zagat’s Survey	$8.95	$11.95	20%	-19%
Yankee Ticket (field Box)	$12.00	$32.00	167%	102%
Prix fixe dinner at La Cote Basque	$55.00	$65.00	18%	-10%

 

There were no examples of technology in the chart. However, anyone who has recently bought anything with a silicon chip knows that the "actual cost" is significantly down while the performance of the item is significantly up.

Most of us tend to forget about the impact of inflation on our lives. The above shows that as long as our income at least keeps up with inflation we should be OK.

Member Profile of the Month
Laurie Williams is the proud owner of a spanking new 2000 Ocean Blue Boxster, her first Porsche ever, and a new PCA member. I think her story raises the bar to a new level. It may either give you food for thought or cause you to hide this Nor'Easter from your spouse or significant other, so read on.

Associate member, husband Bob's 40th birthday came a year ago and the William's family has been celebrating that milestone all year. Along with birthday presents of a watch and canoe there were vacations to Maine and Hawaii and the acquisition of some land in Vermont ski country where a vacation house is under construction. With all those goodies it was not unusual for dinner table talk to get around to "...what does Laurie want for her 40th?" Without being too forward, in fact in a joking manner, Laurie let it be known that a Porsche in the garage would certainly be nice.

Fast forwarding to early this summer, the William's family picked up some relatives at Logan and stopped for dinner at the 4 Seasons. After a wonderful meal, Bob handed the Expedition's parking ticket to the valet attendant who brought back an Ocean Blue Boxster and handed the keys to Laurie. The wait staff, valet attendants and relatives had all been in on the secret. So two cars came home that night.

Laurie has already found one of our member, sponsor, independent shops and has been thrilled with their service. The kind of service she should have received from the selling dealer but didn't. The situation is too lengthy to be reported in this column but suffice to say that dealer service department snafus resulted in Laurie and Bob enjoying an excellent high end dinner compliments of the sale's manager. 

Another snafu connected with the first, found her unexpectedly driving home from the dealer in a loaner, a new Carrera right off the showroom floor. Now the family has another Porsche to think about as the Carrera had room for all four Williams. Those dealers may be shrewder than we think.

Laurie's days are chock full with sons Ryan, age 11 and Evan, almost 13. They're both pitchers in organized leagues and when that season ends they move right into football. Bob has been with Cisco for eight years, a very busy period to say the least. And last but not least is Madison, a Yellow Lab. Madison may have flunked the Seeing Eye school but that training has served the Williams just fine. When they can find time, and they do make the necessary time, the entire family skis all winter and loves to travel. 

One can see why the new Boxster hasn't made it to any NER events yet. But Laurie looks forward to getting started next season with the Spring Ramble and then maybe some Autocross events to really experience Porsche's engineering and the friendly social side of PCA. Welcome to all the Williams.

Only in America
...do they have drive-up ATMs with Braille lettering.
...do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a diet Coketm 
...can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
...can a homeless combat veteran live in a cardboard box and a draft dodger live in the White House.