William Hallier, USA

A Pleasant Addiction

William Hallier is a member of the Porsche Club of America, Santa Barbara Region

A story of half a century.

For many Porsche people, this is a common story, and it is just one of many stories of dedication to the brand and its people.

My Porsche addiction began in 1965. I was driving a 1956 VW “Beetle” when I discovered a wrecked 1958 356 A Coupé. I bought it for $600 – after repairs, I had my first Porsche.

While participating in a Gimmick Rally in Southern California I met my future wife, who was driving a bug-eyed Austin-Healey Sprite.

My car pictured was a 1600 cc Normal, a real fun car to drive. This picture was taken in Solvang in April 1966, on my last road trip to Laguna Seca, just before my induction into the Army. Six years later, in 1972, while going to school in Santa Barbara, I managed to rescue a Metalflake Purple 1959 Coupé (Ugh: It had lime-green carpet) that was owned by someone in Hollywood with terrible taste.


I thought that with school, work, and family I was cured of what I now know as PAS (Porsche Acquisition Syndrome), but in 1990 I fell off the wagon and purchased a 1981 911 SC and joined the Porsche Club of America (PCA). Not yet cured, in 2001 we bought a 1996 993, and again in 2007, a new 2008 911 C4 Targa.

An addiction is normally a bad thing, but I felt pretty good, and so in 2018 we acquired a Macan GTS… and then overdosed with the 2015 911 C4 Targa in the picture.

In 55 years, Solvang has not changed much, but as you can see the addiction continues.

I understand that addicts have a 12-step programme. If so, I still need to acquire another five.