josephsc

If I had the money on a new Porsche, there are other cars I'd rather buy first -- like a Lotus Elise/Exige. I'm getting middle-aged, so I'd also consider a Corvette.

Plus, I'm still having too much fun playing around with all my old Porsche's.

Whisper

987/996/997 I would have to agree with you.

But what about the Cayman? Frankly, that is such a good piece of work that they seem to have refrained from putting a bigger engine in solely to avoid killing the 911.

If that's the case, then it's time for the 911 to die.

Potomac-Greg

Yup. The Cayman is what the 911 should have become 25 years ago. But the taildragger loyalists consider the Cayman to be somewhere between a 944 and a Cayenne.

cegan09

Then new ones just don't speak to me. Never cared about the Boxter, probably because i see so many of them. I don't like the looks of the cayman, and the new 911's have never spoken to me either. I kinda like the old ones, but there are plenty of other cars i'd have first. The older cars just speak to me more. There is less stuff between me and driving, which is one reason i love Lotus.

I have also heard that the Cayman was created to fit in the middle, and that it could be better than the 911, and that just angers me. Make a car as good as it can, don't hold on to an old car if you have something better.

tifosiman

I have come to really like Boxsters. An early S is not that much money now. I think they are one of the best buys out there in terms of used sports cars.

Cayman's are really nice. There are quite a few running around here since I have a Porsche dealer right up the road from me (White Allen).

FRporscheman

I also prefer old Porsches to new ones though if money were no object there would probably be a Cayman in my fleet. But for the money I'd rather buy and upgrade an older one.

I have heard great things about boxster S's, that they are great road cars. Once you get past the fact that they are all over the place.

Potomac-Greg

I know that vanity is one of the deadly sins, but one of the things I love about my 944 is that it turns heads.* NOBODY is going to give a Boxster a second glance (at least not in my neck of the woods).

--------------
* I can live with the fact that half of the heads turning are thinking, "That's a nice Mazda/280Z/Probe."

GloriaRedStang

To get this back near the original topic, I agree with Clarkson when he criticizes the Cayman's look. Everything looks great, up until you get to the rear window.

Also, I wouldn't refuse a new Porsche (other than Cayenne) if I were able to afford one, but if I could only choose between a new and old 911, I'd take the old one 9 out of 10 times. And as for the 944, I know conventional wisdom is that everyone should aspire to a 911 (old or new), but I'm not certain whether, if I had to choose between one or the other, the 911 would win every time. I know that it would be a close call if we're talking about a 951 or S2.

GloriaRedStang

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxsZ_...eature=related

Clarkson on the Porsche 928 at about 3 minutes into the video. He has many favorable things to say. Also the point of this episode was the difference between old cars and new ones.

xsboost90

exactly.

whalebird

The new cars took me a while to cozy up to and I remain a diehard aircooled guy. I would take a 993 C4S over any new 911 out there. I would take a (another) '73 911S over most any Porsche ever made. However, for me, I like P-cars in there minimal state. For me the 911 looses something the more turbos and wood-grain you attach to it. Same thing with the water cooled cars. I have an'87 924S and really enjoy its understated performance. That being said, the Boxster is a wonderful sportscar and one of the best open cars out there. It, like my 924 and many other Porsche(914) is a chassis car and is decievingly fast and graceful when driven properly - Good dancing partners.
Remember, Porsche is the giant-killers, and a capable chassis and frugel power is the "formula" from the start.

jtsporsche

i agree with what most of you are saying. i dont want all the fancy doo-hickies found in the new cars.
the only button i need that makes a car faster is called a far right pedal.

however, if someone offered me to trade a new 997 for my 924S i would sure as hell accept.

wjk_glynn

I'm originally from Ireland and I've been watching Top Gear for the past 30-years (saying that makes me feel so old). Clarkson made his first appearance on the show about 20 years ago.

About 6 years ago (give or take), the format changed from a traditional automotive reviews to a pure "entertainment" show. And to be honest, the change was good, simply to have a breath of fresh air. Not that I want the traditional review format to go away, it's just good to have alternatives.

Clarkson's onscreen persona has also changed over the years from a relatively serious presenter (80's leather biker jackets aside) at the beginning to his modern hyperbole. And part of his shtick is the deliberate mangling of technical terms and jokes that anyone interested in the science/technology side of automobiles is a terrible bore (i.e. James May).

Karl.

Luis de Prat

Great read. Thanks Karl!

Duke

Top Gear is one of my absolute favorite shows. Just the production of the main race/challanges in each episode is simply amazing when it comes to footage and graphical production.
In the old days when Tiff and Jeremy both where in Top Gear i didn't like Jeremy much.
But now I just start to laugh as soon as I see him on the screen... Simply a brilliant show!
Perhaps it's just the contrast to the US shows where the presenters mostly tries to be sooo cool that makes Top Gear so great.