Jim_H

What the hells a henweigh? Something you work on a Porch with?

Nicole

Correct.

GlenL

OK. Gotta add this this mayhem.

Long ago when I wanted dual-quad tunnel ram on my Oldsmobile (well, still do) a guy who was angling for Porsches told me a funny line:

"It's a "porsh" if you bought with your money and a "porsh-uh" if you bought it with your daddy's."

heinrich

You may have it bass ackwards Glenn, if I buy it, I make damn sure I pronounce it properly. But if your poppy bought it, who cares if it's a vette or whatever, as long as it has extra bling.

My daddy drove many Porsches all his life and he never bought me one. He called them "porsh". God rest his soul, he was wrong.

ew928

How do the Germans call the 9-2-8?

I only ask cause I was little surprised to hear native French speaker
call their Peugeot 405 as a Peugeot 4-hundred-5. (Quatre-Cent-Cinq)

Is my 928 a Nine-Hundred-Twenty-Eight? (Neun hundred acht und zwanzig)
Ernest (NYC)
Too much time to muse on silly thoughts till I revive
the stereo in the 928.
There's only that many camp songs I can sing to self on commute.

Nicole

The only problem with those names is that they are totally old fashined - nobody in Germany has named their children like this in the past 40-50 years. That makes your sharks sound older than they are... Just kidding!

But like in the US, there are trends in naming everywhere, and I think the Germans should keep the authority to make their own trends. Heidi is out, Helmut is out, Hans is out, Franz is out, Gretel is out, Gretchen - I have never in my life met anybody with that name before I came to the US. Then I thought it was a joke, as Gretchen would be an incorrect way of saying "little Gretel". The poor ladies who have been named that way will probably cause a lot of (behind-the-scenes) laughter when they visit Germany...

Nicole

Mostly it's called "neun-achtundzwanzig"

Yes, "achtundzwanzig" is one word, but not as long as "Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmütze" (danube river steam boat company captain hat)

Ron_H

Imagine for a moment what the car would be like if Porsche had taken the "whatever" attitude in designing their cars. Aw, whatever you wish to build, can't please everyone but we can make it blah and please most mediocre buyers. Add to this list what Heinrich said, etc. and you'll get the idea. Porsches are not mainstream, common, middle of the road, compromised, uncommitted, bland, tolerant automobiles. They are deliberately designed to higher standards. There is a line, and they are meant to rise above it. Don't forget this: Porsche is a design company first and they perform design for many other industrial clients, including Cadillac. When someone wants design of unusually thorough and uncompromising character, they hire Porsche. The cars are one aspect of their business. They have established themselves as superior and without equal time and again by not dropping their standards to mediocre and plebeian levels. And they deserve to be recognized properly and correctly, just as you would not find the mispronunciation of your name particularly welcome or respectful. Porsche cares about rising above the level of "don't care" to the point of passionately creating a care-ful product of superior stature. But then there are those that still claim classless is best. What a pity for the few fortunate beings that have the opportunity to experience the difference in machines and anything else in life....like say... the 959...or the 917K ......or the 928... which is becoming the standard by which GT is guaged. They care. We can at least give ourselves more self worth and raise our standards to match theirs. And not worry about Cheby drivers calling us snobs. You know the cars were not meant for those people anyway. They may never understand the difference, poor fellows.
Do it Nicole's and Old & New's way. Give respect, and you will get respect back.

saxapeeel

I call it a porsh, thats just the way I have always heard it. I know a lot about nice cars, well because i love nice cars. I am not ineducated, and i live in northern California, in a nice town. Not at all hillybilly or backwoods in anyway. I just call it a porsh because It's the way that comes out of my mouth and it is the way i want to say it. I just think it sounds better.

saxapeeel

oh yes, and I think I should start calling Corvettes, Corvays. Sounds a little better to me.

heinrich

Ron, well-said. Btw in all the Porsche vids I have ever seen, they pronounce the entire number as an integer, ie nine hundred-and-twenty-eight.

Realist D.

It's customary for Germans to pronounce numbers as the whole number, so a 928 is often a nine hundred and twenty eight. My particular 928 was built in nineteen hundred and eighty eight.

And to all those arguing that Porsche must be enunciated as a two syllable word in order for you not to be confused with some heathen who drives a cheby, I say you guys should learn a little better how to get along in the world where there are different customs and languages everywhere you go. The object of the game is not so much to adapt yourself to the customs of where you are (and god knows Americans are not very good at that) but rather to be more accepting of the differences presented to you everywhere you go. That means that when some hillbilly in the Appalachians say "Porsh" you should not look at him like this is the measure of his intellect and education as it probably is not.

Toejam

Guys, I'll try to start calling it a Porsh-a... I dont want to be categorized with Chevy drivers!!!

Who the HELL would buy/drive a Chevy?

Gretch

Did sombody say "hillbilly" ??????????

Them's my peeps man..............I AM a hillbilly............

You would, however, be surprised how smart some of those folks are, but your surprise may come too late to be of any use to you.

Toejam

I have done a bit of mechanical work on my car(lots more to come in the near future), and I can't help but be amazed at the engineering of this vehicle. I feel a little bit closer to the Porsche engineers and the way they designed everything on the car so perfectly; Moreover, everything is designed for even the most novice mechanic to work on.

With the amount of care that went into the engineering of the car, I cant help but think that the engineers are probably just happy that we are enjoying their creation. Now I may be incorrect about this (maybe those who know the German customs a bit better can correct me), but I doubt the Porsche company/engineers that put this car together would sit and argue with you about the pronunciation of the name to make sure you get it right before going out and enjoying their creation. Or.. if that's what it means to own a Porsche, maybe I'm not worthy of the one I have.

Again, I'm not disputing the pronunciation of the word, just the diehard emphasis on correct pronunciation. Maybe I'm way off... just my thoughts.

(FWIW, my ancestors are German)