joey c

was in the mall last night,and there were new cars in the lobby areas..they all had window stickers..there were jags,mercedes,audis,land rovers and porsches...

they all looked the same ..100k mercedes s class looked like the acura from the side..and the 3 porsches were a boxster,cayman s and a 911 c4s cab.for 110k...

i washed and waxed my 87 911 a few days ago and for the 20ish i am into the car for,i am thrilled..money being no object at all,i would get a ferrari..the new 911s are great drivers but i would much rather look at my car or a 993..in some ways the cayman s looked nicer than the 911..and the same for the boxster...the cayman s was 70k..

i thought for 70k..i would buy an 05 audi s4...and a 95 993..and of course keep my 87..

911vet

There's always a twinge of sadness/disappointment in me when a new Carerra goes by. For so long, a 911 was a 911 and there was no way to mistake it for anything else. No other car looked remotely like it.

Now, from the front, I don't know if I'm meeting a Boxster, Caymen, Carerra, Turbo... they all look the same. And even after I pass one, I'm still not sure sometimes.

They might be fun to drive, but they are not as fun to look at. I'll be keeping my 1987 Carrera.

Real

I agree with you both. There is just nothing like an '80ish 911. No mistake visually, raw performance and rich history. I've been tempted by newer but just can't do it. My '86 Cab. stays.

Best Regards,
Real

Joey....How you doin' man???

shaynes

you know my wife and I were just having this conversation this morning... that everything looks the same now days... it might be time for a 993 daily driver when my Infiniti lease is up.. LOL

Oshin11

Shannon, thats how I felt with the 996, but the people at Weissach really took to heart what people said about the 996. The 997 is much more reminiscint of the classic 911. The front lights are much more distinct and easier to pick apart from boxter and cayman models now. I think the 997 is one hot machine, and although it doesnt look like the 80s, it also has a coefficient of drag that is much better than the 80s models.

911vet

I agree the 997 is an improvement over the 996 in that it's a return to more classic lines. Just getting rid of the headlights that belonged nicely on a Hyundai but made my heart sink everytime I saw it on a Porsche was a major step.

I can see the differences when I directly compare a Caymen to a Carrera or a Boxster to a Cabriolet. But... the 911 has lost its "nothing else like it" distinction.

Though... I guess it's ok since it lost that distinction to other Porsches

I know they had to update. And while I'll happily take the pilot seat should someone give me a new 997... I don't think I'll ever really lust after one like I did the "real" 911s.

JES1680

Not only looks, but feel as well. I went from:
78 SC Targa
01 Boxster S
99 996 C2
82 SC Euro Coupe

I've come full circle and couldn't be happier. Although the new Cayenne GTS looks intersting........ for a winter beater.

Mike Murphy

I think something is going on with allnewer cars, including ones from other manufacturers. There is this constant need to produce something that has more luxury, more features, is safer and more technologically rich than last years' models. And this causes these cars to become huge and too much. So the only way to make it fun is to stick big HP motors in these cars (Corvette, CTS-V, BMW M3, Porsche 911 S, Lexus IS-F, Audi RS4, etc), which kills gas mileage.

But the BMW Mini is also a fun car with 1/2 the HP. So the key, IMO, to getting these new cars fun again is to shrink them down to proper size. But most people don't feel safe in smaller cars, so they buy a "safe" big SUV and thus to cycle of big=safe continues.

The solution is for car companies to re-think safety and apply Formula 1 technology of safety to small cars. When a small car can crash into a wall a 143 miles per hour and the car disintegrates and the driver walks away with a sprained ankle, people will say "I want one!" even if it means paying a bit more for it. Because they will save a lot of money on gasoline.

WitchDoctor

Another "anti-trend" sports car, perhaps, is the Lotus. Saw one scream past me the other day. There's a few around town of these Elises. Basic in terms of amenities. A great value, it seems to me, in a new exotic sports car.

Now, if they just didn't look quite so much like an upscale kit car...

Mike Murphy

I almost mentioned the Lotus. Doesn't that thing pull 1.00+g on the skidpad? Regardless, at a DE event, I saw one racing neck & neck with all the 911 Turbos & GT3s on the track that day.

WitchDoctor

I don't remember reading the numbers, but Lotus has long been a car I've admired. This time last year, I was torn between Lotus, Porsche and, don't laugh, Morgan.

Those ... Lotus. Lotuses, Loti (?), though, look like they'd stick down like nobody's business. Toyota makes the engine for the current iteration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Elise

190 hp, and under 2000lbs!

Mike Murphy

And...

0-60 mph (0-97 km/h): 4.7 seconds
0-100 mph (0-161 km/h): 12.9 seconds
Top speed: 147 mph (237 km/h)
Fuel consumption: 24 mpg–imp (11.77 L/100 km / 20 mpg–U.S.) city / 29 mpg–imp (9.74 L/100 km / 24.1 mpg–U.S.) highway

Tuscany964

Exactly! The 997 is a big improvement over the 996 just as the 987 is over the 986 and all it really took was getting rid of those 996/original Boxster headlights.

However the 911 has lost its distinction and for the money I would prefer a Cayman S and an aircooled 911 both of which seem so much more compact than a 997.

justinsrx7

The fact is that the older Porsche's are hard to drive and the new ones feel like your driving a Mercedes. What's missing in the new 911's is character. They are mass produced now and look plain (with the exception of the turbo) and do everything effortlessly. I much prefer my '78 in looks and driving fun.

Rob951

One thing I am not that fond of is all the Porsche's looking alike. From Boxster to Cayenne. They all have the same 'face'. They seem to be copying BMW and the rest of the usual suspects in that respect. I think that they should bring back the different looks, from the 944's, to 928's, to 911's; all these cars were very different, yet all distinctly Porsche.

Just my $0.02cdn