Concours enthusiasts love clean and shiny wheels. Perfect looking wheels really make the car pop. A vehicle however, with dirty or even damaged wheels can really take away from the look of a gorgeous automobile. Wheels are more expensive than ever, with many people installing custom aftermarket wheels for a more personal look. OEM wheels are nicer than ever as well, and enhance the posture and stance of a great looking vehicle. Care must be taken to protect this ever increasing investment.

Therefore the cleaning and care of wheels is extremely important in the overall look of a well detailed car. We need to fully clean all the wheels to make them look showroom new, without damaging them or ourselves, and without spending all day on them. Sometimes wheel cleaning is quite a chore and can be very dangerous.

Before you get too excited, this is not a steamy exposé of what you might fantasize of what takes place behind the pavilion at Schooley’s Mountain Park after a competitive concours event. Remember, this is a family magazine. On the contrary, this article is meant to help those new to the activity who are interested in entering their Porsches in PCA concours events. So read on and benefit from these insider’s tips.

Over the last couple of concours seasons we have seen a large number of new members attend our concours workshops and try their hand at a competitive event. Hopefully they found the workshops to be informative in addressing their questions on proper Porsche appearance concerns and care, and the competition to be below-stress and enjoyable. However, many of the novices who are competing for the first time ask, “What are the judges actually looking for and where are they looking?” This article will address these questions by providing insights into the favorite spots experienced concours judges examine to try and find the elusive speck of dirt for that precious tenth of a point deduction.

At NNJR concours events, we judge Porsches in three major categories: exterior, interior, and storage. We do not judge engines or undercarriages; however engines are judged at the Zone 1 Concours and at the New Hope Automobile Show and Concours, and engines and undercarriages are judged at the national Parade Concours. We do not judge originality at NNJR concours events.

As a new year unfolds, we look forward to another great NNJR Concours season. But first, it is necessary to look back and thank some of our late 2011 season workshop hosts and congratulate our 2011 NNJR Concours season champions.

NNJR Concours had the privilege of hosting two late season workshops at both Flemington Porsche and ID Signs. The Flemington event featured Bill Rochford the “Dent Man”. Our very own Fred Simonson was the architect of the workshop. Fred previously used Bill on several of his cars over the years and raved about his talent. With Fred’s help we were able to have Bill help out several of our NNJR members. Bill spent a couple of hours working his magic on fellow Porsche owners’ dings and dents. He did some outstanding work at very reasonable prices. John Nelson, the sales manager at Flemington Porsche, provided a fantastic bagel breakfast for all workshop participants. John’s state of the art Porsche facility was a great backdrop for such a well attended event. Thanks again John for you hospitality.

 Oktoberfest is not only celebrated in the homeland of Porsche, but also here in New Jersey at the Deutscher Club in Clark, NJ. This year NNJR was again invited to participate in their final biergarten fest of the season on September 30. The Deutscher Club, in conjunction with NNJR, sponsored a lively dinner, complete with German food, plenty of beer, and a traditional oompah band, in combination with a people’s choice concours event. 
 After what seemed like a summer of continuous rain, we finally lucked out and had great weather for our Oktoberfest celebration – at least before 9:00pm after which, you guessed it, it started to drizzle. This in no way, however, hampered the enjoyment of the NNJR members who turned out for this fete. Once again we had an outstanding turnout of spectacular Porsches that our members put on display for all of the Deutscher Club attendees to view and enjoy.
 Jeff McFadyen took first place in the people’s choice concours with his outstanding 1957 356 outlaw. Murray and Akemi Kane took second place with their always immaculate 1994 911 coupe, and Anthony Cristello took third place with his beautiful metallic blue 1989 911 turbo.

 On September 10, NNJR Concours hosted the second annual Red Mill Museum Concours d‘Elegance. This event was an outrageous success, with over 50 Porsches in attendance. Fortunately, we were bestowed with reasonable weather in light the horrible rains that dominated late August and early September. People came from as far north as the Hudson Valley and south to Philadelphia. Cars ranged in age from as far back as 1957 up to 2011. Almost the entire lifespan of the Porsche automobile was represented. This event was also open to the public and over 200 people came to the event to enjoy the beautiful vehicles on display. The location of the Mill along the Raritan River allowed the vehicles to be majestically displayed and provided an incredible back drop for some magnificent photography.