Category: Desert Drives

There were so many high points with our club’s activities during 2023 that I don’t know where to begin. So, I won’t! But I will say that it has been a joy to meet so many members having a great time at our many events. Our Board and volunteers made it happen! I’m not a pessimist, but sometimes I remember the challenging times. The event that created anxiety for me was our Tri-Region drive to the Valley of Fire that we hosted last March. We had everything planned to a “T”. Dana and I left home plenty early with the waivers, drive directions, $500+ worth of NPS and NVSP passes, and traffic cones to help line up dozens of cars from Arizona, Utah and Nevada at our meetup location. We live in the northwest area of town and it was raining. Little did we know it would take nearly 2 ½ hour to get there. [...]

From the Archives #21, December 2023

In our Region’s middle-age, in 2002, Ed Pacini was the President. He was the LVR’s 19th President by individual, and 29th by year. Our Region had almost 200 members at the time.

Ed died at 90 last month. He had been still sort of active in the Porsche world, having bought a new Macan just two years ago; it was black, and he had it custom pin-striped with red. And he was a member of the POT.

So I thought I’d look back at Ed’s Presidential year and report some interesting happenings under Ed’s guidance. First, you have to realize Ed took over the Region leadership just three months after the horrible events of September 11, 2001. Against this background it looks like Ed rallied the Region quite well. To quote from his “President’s Corner” in the Jan 2002 Sandscript: “It could be argued that activities like car clubs [...]

We have been blessed to have volunteer speakers at our monthly brunch at Red Rock Country Club. Our Board of Directors believe this is an important feature that is of great interest to our club.

WE NEED HELP!

There are many club members who can share their automotive experiences. Or you may know of non-club acquaintances who can be of interest. This could include a short technical talk, racing stories, or interesting stories about travel experiences. We are will consider other subjects that would be of interest to the brunch group, but our goal is to try to keep it ‘automotive’ in mind. It could involve travel experiences with recommended locations worth touring. Although cars are our common interest, other subjects would be welcome. The more Porsche relatable, the better.

What we do not want are solicitations or speakers trying to sell their product. We would like to know about the product without feeling pressured [...]

And

50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!

JANUARY 21, 2024, 5:00pm SOCIAL, 6:00pm DINNER

M RESORT & CASINO

LUX Banquet Room

Back by popular demand, our annual Las Vegas Region PCA WINTER GALA will take place at the M RESORT & CASINO on Sunday, January 21st. We will also be celebrating our 50th ANNIVERSARY OF LAS VEGAS REGION PCA! Come at 5:00 p.m. and enjoy an hour to socialize and enjoy no-host beverages. Dinner is planned for 6:00 p.m. and will feature an OVER THE TOP Buffet. 

The LUX Banquet room is at the top of the M Resort, with spectacular views 400 feet above the Las Vegas Strip.  So, pull your fancy rags out of the closet and plan on an incredible evening!

In the past, many have reserved accommodations to stay at the M Resort. [...]

PHOENIX FUN RUN TOUR!

January 12-14, 2024

The Arizona Region PCA has invited Las Vegas Region and Southern Utah Region members to the inaugural 2024 Tri-Region Weekend Extravaganza Event over the January 12th weekend that will be centered in North Scottsdale!   The weekend will consist of showcasing two exceptional nationally recognized Arizona car collections and a drive across beautiful and diverse Sonoran Desert landscapes.

• January 12th, 10:00am – Meetup at Railroad Pass Casino, 1500 Railroad Pass Rd., Henderson NV 89002. Depart 10:30am. Check in to your hotel. No formal activities planned for the evening. 
• Jan. 13th, 7:00am Cars and Coffee – Alpio’s at Troon, 10452 E. Jomax Rd., Scottsdale AZ 85262.
• 10:00am – Depart on the Mystery Sonoran Desert Drive. No host lunch at destination. 
• Jan. 14th, 8:30-11:00am – Don Murray’s Secret European Car Collection, location TBA (it’s a secret!). [...]

Hi, I’m Michael Dugan. I’ve been a member of PCA and LVR for 9 years. Needless to say, I am car person. I know I date myself by telling you that as a kid I clipped out car pictures each fall as new models were announced. I had envelopes full. At 8 I knew the model of each car Detroit produced and would point out the cars, ad nauseum, when with friends. Remember the push button transmission? The brand-new T-Bird? The turbine powered Chrysler? The Jaguar XKE introduction?

My first introduction to Porsche was by Bob Holbrook (one of the first Porsche dealers in the US). Look but don’t touch those cars. My first drive in a Porsche was in a 1990 Turbo. It was driven by a madman who loved to race the freeways of the Bay Area at 100+ mph. (Scared me to the point I avoided the idea of buying one).

Finally, [...]

By Roger Greene

Long time member and Past President of LVRPCA Ed Pasini passed away on Oct 5 of this year just 6 weeks before his 91st birthday. He is survived by his sister, Janet, son Barry and his wife Katy.

Born and raised in the Los Angeles, he graduated from USC with a degree in Accounting and upon retirement in 1997 wisely relocated to Las Vegas.

Ed was very definitely a “CAR GUY”. His career focused on auto dealerships. The renowned Longo Toyota dealership was a customer. When Mr. Longo passed away his family wanted to sell the business. Ed was part to the team that sold it to Roger [...]

Sunday December 10th, 10:00am

Park your Porsche in the circle in front of the clubhouse next to other beautiful works of automobile design and craftmanship. Enjoy a morning chatting with old and new friends in the comfort of a sunlit dining room at Red Rock Country Club.

What:         Porsche Brunch

When:        Sunday December 10th, 10:00am

Where:       Red Rock Country Club, 2500 Red Springs Road 89135

Cost:          $22.50 per person. Register by Noon Friday Dec. 8th 

Guest Speaker: Jose Guerrero, Communications Manager for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

THREE WAYS TO REGISTER AND PAY:

PREFERED WAY: Pay $22.50 per person by Zelle. Set up your money transfer via your bank account and send to email: info@LasVegasPorscheClub.com  for payment by the preceding Friday before noon. If you use this method after the deadline, the cost will be $30 per person. [...]

The holiday season is here! If you haven’t put those decorations up yet, I’m sure it’s on your short list. During the month of December, we usually do not offer as many club activities because it seems like many of us are busy with family and other commitments during the holiday season. 

The new year will include the Phoenix Fun Run Tour, which take place January 12-14th. It will include a unique Cars and Coffee social, a day drive through the Sonoran Desert and a visit to an incredible Secret European Car Collection. 

Our Winter Gala will take place at the M Resort and Casino January 21st. It will be a wonderful evening to kick off our Las Vegas Region 50th Anniversary celebration year. We are excited to have Vu Nguyen, PCA Executive Director, as special guest speaker. We will have a big birthday party for our 50th anniversary on April 20th, the day of [...]

From the Archives #20, November 2023

In the spring of 1980, our young Region held an autocross (today we’d probably call it a time trial). In June, they congratulated themselves for the success of the event. Among other good things, about 40% of the Region membership turned out to help and work the event. Imagine if 40% of today’s members worked an HPDE event at Spring Mountain. That would mean we would have about 350 track workers. We could have a flag person stationed about every 50 feet around the track. We can dream on…..

Additionally, they had five large sponsors for the event, allowing the LVR to have the lowest entry fee of any Zone 8 Time Trial and still make a little money. Unfortunately, they forgot to include one of the five sponsor’s name on the written materials given to the participants. They acknowledged the big OOPs and apologized in the newsletter.

The [...]