lou951

My lust started in high school. As a 16 year old in '82 I started searching for my 1st car. My dad told me that as a gift, if I did well in school, he would buy me my 1st car. So I told him that I wanted a Porsche 944 ( just introduced at the time). He didn't reply, just shrugged it off. A few months later, a few days before my 17th birthday, April 13th, I got home from school and to my surprise there in the driveway was a brand new 1983 Saphire Blue 944 5spd. (Thanks to my Dad) One problem, I had to wait 3 days for my birthday and my license (I lived in NJ and it's 17 to drive). The torture. After that, in 1986, I ordered an Alpine White 951. I drove that car for 6 years. After the birth of my daughter in '92, I traded it in for a Saab 9000 turbo (great car). In '96, while driving past a Porsche dealer, I was struck by a beautiful Arena Red 993 coupe. The next day it was in my driveway. I leased that car for 3 years (company car, family business has it's perks). In '99 when the lease expired, I aquired a BMW 540i Sport 6spd (present car until my '02 996 Cabrio arrives in 2 weeks). But on Sept 10, 2001, I purchased the '86 951 I have now.
I'm just a glutton for punishment as I am trying to find room for my 8th car in my present stable of 7, a 550 Spyder. Anybody want to buy a 1968 Camaro SS convertible? I started restoration but lost interest. That is how the Porsche love affair started.

cale

Mine was a mixed experience, probably the only one.
When I was a kid biking to soccer practice I was almost run off the road by a 928 that a teammate of mine's father was driving, he didn't see me coming around a curve and whatever, so I fell. Lucky for me he stopped and asked if I was ok. Unfortunatly I couldn't get a ride because the car was already full with other people. I thought, damn, thats a cool looking car, I sure would love to have one of those one day.
Randomly 10 years later I am with a friend of mine in South Carolina and he informs me that he has a "toy" he has been working on. So we go up to his parents house and its a silver '83 944. Not in the greatest shape, but still quite amazing, especially when he told me how much he paid for it. And that sealed the deal, been obsessed ever since.

booster

Dan I lust after all cars, I am in my 40's and never have been married, and I have the 944 turbo, 60 Austin Healey 3000, 71 Land Rover 88, 2 TR-6's a GT6 a BMW 635CSI and a few Jap traps and some American heavy metal, I love auto's and don't really lust after one model in perticular.......so many choices.......no wonder no one will have me!

Dan87951

I have loved Porsches since I can remember!! When I was little kid my second word was "porsche". hehe.... No but really ever since I was six I saw this beautiful 928 S4 at the gas station and I remember going crazy just seeing that thing! When I was 7 I remember begging for my parents to get me this 1/24th scale model of a Porsche 944 Turbo. They got it for me and ever since then they have been buying me Porsche stuff here and there (cloths, cars, magazines). My old best friends dad use to own a black 944 Turbo and we would get all fired up looking at the old pictures of it. For my 8th birthday all I wanted was to go to the Porsche dealer with my friends. My mom and dad kindly took me and my buddies there but it was closed when we got there . We were so bumed but we got some good pictures of us climbing on the cars getting cool shots. Something I would not (climbing on Porsches) do now! When I was old enough to drive (16), I asked my parents for a 944. They laughed in my face and gave me the keys to an old 87 Toyota MR2. I worked two jobs in the summer to purchase my first 951. My parents at the time were not happy of the idea as I had forgot to mention that I was purchasing a car that day. oppps live and learn, now 2.5 years later I purchased another 951 (42k miles) this time a gem. To bad I have to make payments on this one tho. After all I been through with my parents,...my Porsche sickness is moving to my dad, he wants a 911. My mom hates me now

Dan87951

lou951,
Your dad bought you a new 944 for doing well in school? WOW I bet you were the popular one at school? What did the teachers say, look like when they saw you driving in a car that probably cost there salary for the year? How could you sell your first Porsche? Have pictures? Your dad want another son? lol

sd01

LIFETIME 944 FAN! Well, pretty much at least. Started getting interesting in sportscars around age seven or eight (1984 or 1985). My dad worked at a Pontiac dealership and the Fiero made quite an impression on me. Then when flipping through Car & Driver, I discovered the 944. And since that day my dream car has rarely been anything but a 944. When I moved out of my parents' a few years back I stumbled upon an old Car & Driver, chock full of 944...and a framed 944 poster! Heh that proves it, I've always had good taste!

No matter how ungracefully my 944 is determined to age, I still can't help but smile when I look at it...knowing few people get the chance to own their true dream car.

BRB_85.5_NA

Dad was a German car fan--Mercedes and Porsche. He had owned a couple Mercedes but never a P-car. When I was about to get my license (1985?--I was born 1970), he was looking at a 71 911E I believe. Gloss black, so shiny. I remember thinking it was so familiar because we owned a VW bug--rear engine, air cooled. Cheap, had been rolled but the body shop said it was fixable, etc. Too impractical with 5 kids, so he didn't get it. My dad died of a heart attack in 1989 and never owned a Porsche, but he did get his second Mercedes the summer before (78 240D, Mom still drives it with 350k+ miles). When I close the door of my 944 the sound reminds me of that 240D and what my dad loved about German engineering.

I recently moved to SF and have to commute 50 miles each way 2-3 times a week. My old gas guzzling, polluting, boating, slow Land Cruiser had to go. I started by looking at Mercedes 2*0 SLs, but they are outside my price range (I will own one some day). I knew the 911s were too. I looked at 912s for 911 cosmetics but for economy's sake, but they seemed like too much investment for little performance. Despite the fact that I now remember distinctly a poster of a guards red 944 with the black and silver Fuchs that my brother had on his wall in high school, I didn't consider the 944 until last. When I started doing research and realized the prices on these cars, I went for it, laser beam. Now that I have one, I could not be happier. I used to think the best value in a sports car was a 10 yr. old Vette, but not anymore.

I love the 944 for its efficiency of design, its brilliant engineering, and its performance. I have never been interested in muscle cars, always prefer handling and braking to engine power, and the 944 is perfect. I mean, a car that can more than double the recommended speed limits in corners, stop on the proverbial dime, and get 27 mpg--what more do you want?

A 951 of course.

I'm a cultural anthropologist and I have to say this is a fascinating set of stories about our obsession. Amen.

judd944

My obsession started when I was 17 in my junior year of high school. The Boxster was released and I loved the look of it. I told my current girlfriend that a Boxster would be my first car. High school went and two years later I was in Cannes France for the film festival and there was an exotic car rental agencey. They had a Boxster, and I could rent it for 400 bucks a day. I was close to spending most of my money I had on me to drive the car and forget about everything for a day but I knew my parents would kill me, so I left it go. when I returned I started looking into Porsches. I looked at every model under 5 grand(dads limit, not mine ) and found the 944 to be the best buy. after looking a some real P.O.S.'s I found one on ebay and put the reserve way high to make sure it was mine! I flew to Chicago to pick it up and brought a friend with me to teach me to drive a standard.(my family never had one) On the way home I saw a Boxster, waved and passed him, he followed and we made good time all the way back to PA. I still look on Ebay and classifieds for a 951 and a 968. I love the cars!

Judd wishing I had a job...only 2.5 more years!

Doc

Don't know if anyone is still reading this thread but here goes...

I guess my fascination with Porsche began way back in the early 70's when I was all of 5 years old. I received then, what was about the greatest Christmas present ever, an AFX racetrack. (Slot cars for those who don't know.) I had the RC Cola 917 CanAm car among other's from that time, but the Porshce was by far the coolest.

I suppose it was later in the 80's as a teenager that I *really* began my love affair with the 944 then the 951. I went on to buy EVERY magazine I could with either car in it.

[It was also then that I longed for the "Coolest Poster EVER" (or so I thought when I was 16) a gorgeous [naked] blonde spread-eagle on the hood of a red 944.]

In fact, even as far back as high school, I KNEW I would own a Porsche some day.

Dan in Pasadena

Wow, One night and 53 responses! Yikes
Even though my question was the origin of your PORSCHE lust, not your car lust I still love the stories and like I suspected most of us got "bitten" in our teens. Hell, some of you are STILL in your teens. I envy all the cars you will still have.

I too was holding the light for my dad working on cars since I can remember. Literally since age 5 or so. Dad was strictly a shade tree mechanic. This was still in the day of babbitted rods on stovebolt Chevy sixes. It's why I could answer Ribs question the other day about "what is Plastiguage?". It brought back memories. But Dad never had "hot" cars.

No, my true lust came when a single guy moved in across the street and he had a school bus yellow 32 high boy with a Merc flathead, finned polished aluminum heads and three Strombergs carbs. I had never seen such a beautiful thing in my life. Steely wheels with the 48 Ford little hub caps and beauty rings! Yikes, still gives me a charge thinking about it. All this is totally foreign to you teenage guys, but it's the way you'll feel later about the hottest things on the road now. I guess the predominant cars are Japanese imports. I admire the passion people put into them. Some of these kids- including you guys have taught yourselves to be virtually automotive engineers. The rice kids get a LOT of performance out of those small engines. I could do without many of the "mods" they do, but hey, I appreciate the effort. I even appreciate low riders that are well done. I don't ever want one, but I tip my hat to anyone that has their own dream car and then does the work, makes the sacrifice to make it a reality. To each his own -well, except maybe that Viper with the Dolphins on the hood! Kidding!

951Tom

This thread isn't over yet......a friend of mine's Mom had a 914 when I was in elementary school. I was 9 yrs old and remember riding in it with the top off. Then another friend of mine, who lived around the corner from me in high school, his Mom always had 928's. Ever since seeing & riding in those cars, I knew someday I'd own a Porsche. I realized that dream before I turned 30 and the thought of selling my 951 is a phrase I just don't comprehend.

SamGrant951

My father had 2 944s and a brand new 951 (now mine). Man they now hate that car But going through past photos of me growing up I found posters of Porsches ONLY surrounding my bed in my room! They couldnt have made it easier to fall in love. not to mention all the matchbox porsches i collected and die cast models, etc...
Always wanted a Porsche..will always have one, hopefully 2 in about a year.
So in the end..i blame the whole love affair on them

Brett Matthews

Cool thread, and lotsa cool stories!
Mine, I think, is different from most, as I have been extremely lucky. When I was 7, my Dad bought a car that was 7 also, a '56 356A. I learned wrenching on that car, had always "held the light" and fetched whichever wrench or tool before, but I actually got to get my hands _DIRTY_ on that car. Mom devorced Dad when I was 13, but Dad never sold the car. He died about '92, and I inherited the '56.
Got married in '84, first anniversay present from my wif was a '55 BSA Gold Star ( sorry about the posting of BIKE related items, but it sets the stage) only child in '87, and last year, I had gone to a swap meet, and saw a 928 in a used car lot, a few days later, I remembered to mention the sighting, and she "dead pan" sez to me; "Why don't you go see if it's what you want?" Need I say there was no moss under my feet? Well, that one was much too iffy for me! But, she found another at a local BMW dealer, we went to "test drive" it, and she was hooked. We found an '87 928 S4 in Florida, had a PPI done, (what a rip-off THAT was) Wired the funds, two weeks later the two of us flew down and drove home. What a blast! <img src="graemlins/r.gif" border="0" alt="[king]" /> <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" /> <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

Type_LT

My best friends' 83 N/A 944, it's handling and braking plus the fact that it was solid through all the years. Also out of pure despiration (I had a 2000 Sable for god's sake) I needed a car to extend my personality, for now the 951 is doing just that. I have a love for all cars however and feel no garage would be complete without a heavy, inefficient 60's american musclecar. From an engineering standpoint it seems like porsche has the magic touch when it comes to packing a lot of power into a relatively lightweight package. In other words every little detail is tended to.

Renntag

we are definitely getting the mileage in this one....