I’ve always believed that you can tell how prestigious your employer is by the way its headquarters are decorated. Large, majestic fountain in the lobby surrounded by marble flooring? Congratulations. You’ve made it to the big leagues. That’s especially true if the sign on the front of the building says “Porsche.”
Next summer, the German automaker will be working on erecting a sculpture that’s more than 78 feet high and has a base that measures greater than 32 feet around. The structure will be placed in the roundabout on Porscheplatz in front of the company’s home office in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. “It consists of three steles, each of which has a Porsche 911 perched on its top. The cars stem from various model years to document the history of the sports car icon, which has rolled off the production lines in Zuffenhausen for the past 50 years.” Porsche’s monument will be inaugurated in the autumn of 2015.
Local residents have even more cause to celebrate: Construction will take place outside of peak traffic times. However, I have a feeling it will slow down at least once as drivers brake to take in an eyeful of the striking work…and park to go inside and get a job application.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
