that would shape CVR’s future.
How lucky for CVR that on February 13, 1921 a new Ford dealership opened. Without that launch CVR would undoubtedly be very different today. The chain of events since then really makes you reflect on how that directly shaped CVR’s future. Let me explain…
100 years ago: The Hoffman family opened their first car dealership in New Hartford Connecticut. On behalf of CVR I’m honored to congratulate the Hoffman Auto Group on their 100th anniversary! CVR celebrates this impressive milestone with our friends at Hoffman Porsche and across the whole Hoffman team. Their enthusiasm and long-term commitment to CVR has set them apart and helped shape CVR into what it is today.
42 years ago: Hoffman Porsche had a display at the 1978 Hartford Auto Show. This was the magnet that drew me in, my goal being to set up my first test drive of a Porsche. A few days later, as the salesman drove me through the twisty Route 2 on-ramps, I was hooked and a deposit was made less than an hour later. Just a few months later I had a chance encounter with CVR’s Treasurer in the Hoffman Service parking lot. He blurted out “how would you like to drive Lime Rock” and produced a PCA application form. My driving journey and CVR lifestyle had begun. Hoffman, Parking lots, and CVR have been a constant theme in my life ever since.
36 years ago: With some urging by me and CVR, Hoffman Porsche hosted the October 1994 CVR monthly meeting. Now these fall gatherings feel like a rite of passage and a (very) large family gathering over dinner. Often packing-in over 200 CVR members, we learn about the latest from Porsche and renew our special friendship and relationship with Hoffman Porsche. Hoffman feels like home for so many of us.
10 years ago: AutoX-University was formally launched to help teach and refine better driving skills. Boiling down decades of driving experience and using a new approach to teaching driving skill lessons, the AutoX-U curriculum goes one step further than any other driving school I have seen, bridging the gap from intellectual understanding to actual learning. AutoX-U techniques have been developed to master key driving skills “…Faster!”. They let you know if you have actually reached a limit, hit the sweet spot, are too slow here or too fast there. A unique course is specifically designed to accentuate each of the featured driving skills. CVR AutoX-U Instructors greatly speed up the learning process with instant constructive feedback to help you digest what your car just told you and why it did what it did. Ah-hah moments are a regular occurrence. Our slogan, “Better Driving…Faster!“ has been earned and is verified by a decade of data.
8 years ago: in 2014 Elliott Matos, then Service Manager for Hoffman Porsche, collaborated with me to link the AutoX-U and the CVR AutoX-Series Championship to a new crowning jewel, the Hoffman Cup. A legend was born! Each year since, drivers sharpen their skills in an effort to earn a coveted Top-20 Championship ranking. That earns them the honor of competing back-to-back in the same Hoffman provided Porsche, with an equal chance of earning the ultimate prize of distinction, placing their name on the Hoffman Cup trophy. It’s the ultimate AutoX-U final exam and it drives each of us to keep refining our driving skills, the only way to earn that prize. After Elliott, Fred Stone carried on the tradition, as Jonathan Hoffman enthusiastically does to this day. That commitment demonstrates that the Hoffman Porsche – Driven by Trust motto is actually the way they operate.
As you can see, without that 1921 Hoffman Ford dealership, it’s hard to imagine the Hoffman Cup would have ever come to be. Hard to imagine that each fall, CVR would have hundreds of loyal members feel so compelled to gather over dinner with our extended Hoffman family. A sincere Thank You to Hoffman Porsche for this unwavering support, friendship, and trust.
and team Hoffman for another great year!
Join the AutoX-U Class of 2021. Participating in all six CVR AutoX Series events is the best way to master all of the skills taught at each of the events and to earn a spot in the Hoffman Cup Run Off event on October 9th. Registration is open for all six AutoX events – sign up now to ensure you don’t miss out. Links, details, and other helpful information are found on our CVR AutoX web page: (http://cvrpca.org/onthetrack.php?id=2 ).
Congratulations Hoffman Auto on your 100th anniversary!
