Just when we were getting used to warm winter weather in January, Mother Nature (New England branch) decided to bring us back to reality with some bone chilling cold and some of that white stuff. Keep being optimistic though, just think the days are getting longer which means the full fledged Porsche season is just around the corner. Check out Doug Adams' complete track calendar at www.PorscheNet.com and notice that the first event is scheduled for mid March. Speaking of web sites, as I mentioned last month our mart is getting to be, if not already, the ultimate Porsche information source. Look at the locations detailed on the mart ads, ask board members about inquires they receive, (I recently had a request for a transcript of one of our tech sessions from England), our web site has visibility far beyond our locale. Along these lines, the board is now examining the feasibility of sales of our logo items via the web. We already have acquired many new members via our web site, and fielded requests for material and products, so selling seems a logical extension, stay tuned. On a recent trip to Florida in early January, I dropped in at Champion Porsche in Pompano Beach, the world's largest Porsche dealer. I examined a new 911 in the flesh, apparently a European model that they had purchased, but the style is identical to what we will get. My opinion, it will probably grow on you but the initial look does not grab you as the recent 911s have. Now if you want to be the first on your block to see the new American 911, we will be holding a meeting at a local dealer either in April or May (depends on when the new cars get here), check the NER calendar for specifics. Two new activities we will be attempting in the coming year or so are participation at the Castle Hill Concours in Ipswich in late September and a possible booth at next years' World of Wheels in January. The Castle Hill event has been billed by some as the Pebble Beach Concours of the East, possibly due to the phenomenal growth in both numbers and quality of vehicles over its' relatively short 3 year time span. Our participation will hopefully include exclusive parking for the club within the site, keep an eye on the NOR'EASTER and our web page for updates. The World of Wheels looks like a possible location to attract attention to our club, believe it or not many car enthusiasts (even sports car nuts like us) visit shows of this type, even though it is hot rod and bike oriented. I have visited this show a number of times and always run into some PCA members while noting that NHIS, SCCA and COM Sports Car Club have had exhibits. With the wealth of videotapes and numerous interesting Porsches our members own, an exhibit could be a real "showstopper". If you are interested in assisting in this project please let me know, as we are doing the preliminary planning this spring. Looks like our autocross site in Ayer has become very popular with other clubs. Pat Branagan, our autocross chairman, relates that in addition to North Country Region (who will be doubling up with us on 2 weekends in May and August), SCCA, a Corvette club and Mass Miata have all requested space. We are currently negotiating with base management personnel to more clearly define the areas for which we have access. With more space we could possibly construct a more road course shaped autocross versus the typical up and down the runway course we have been restricted to due to the nature of the narrow pavement. Stay tuned. Speaking of autocrossing, my annual predictions in each class should be ready in the next month or two. Some interesting changes have or may be happening in the near future. Bjorn Zetterland, a longtime friend of ours from the BMW club has recently acquired a 968. We don't yet know if he intends to run it at our events, but based on his performance with his M3 at the BMW events, this could be an interesting challenge to our very competitive Class 5 champion Charley Learoyd, and '95/96 champion Bruce Corwin. Then to add fuel to the fire, I am currently negotiating the purchase of a 968. I'm not quite there yet (this being written in mid January), but the sale of my S2 may accelerate the process (see the mart section of the NOR'EASTER and our Web Mart), but then it might take me a while to get used to the car!!! With the onset of winter, tech sessions are the prime club activity. As you read this the deadline for the first tech of the '98 season for 356s is fast approaching. That event will be held in Berwick Maine at Foreign Intrigue. Mike Grishman will be tuning an engine, plus giving a demonstration of carb setups. Next up in March is the ever popular 911 tech at EPE, which this year may be simulcast on the Web for those not able to attend. Applications for both sessions are in this month's issue. Finally a new site for the 924/944/968 tech, this time at Rich Hetherington's Autobahn Performance in Peabody in April. Finally I would like to offer a thank you to Carole Searle and Drew Ley. They organized another great annual dinner. The good news is that they have not done enough, it looks like they have volunteered to do it again in 1998. Mark the first Saturday of December on your calendar. Also thanks to Susana Weber for the caricature of myself on the masthead for this column. Of course we all know what happens if you complain, just see Drew's column from 3 and 4 years ago - right "Elvis."