1981 Shark

Hard to read is an understatement. I have a hard enough time reading small print as it is!

I don't know that I totally agree as to it being a fair portrayal; seemed a bit 911-slanted from the get-go.
What I got out of it is that in order to have a "true" driving experience, you have to drive the 911 and stay on your toes at any speed and feel as if you've operated an auger for a couple of hours. If that's the case, I made the right choice with my purchase. Its as if he really liked the 928, but couldn't bring himself to admit that it's a better car due it's civility, comfort, engineering, technology, weight distribution, etc. Who says you can't have it all!

heinrich

I've owned and driven under the same circumstances (past the limit) in both Porsches and my opinion is, there is almost no difference between the feel of the two. In fact, I was surprised how 911-like the 928 feels, including the emulation of rear engine twisty power-through. My first thought when driving a 928 was that it felt as if porsche had worked very hard to emulate the 911 driving experience in such a very different automobile. If you keep both cars within any sane limits, the driving experience to me is the same. My 928's are just a lot more forgiving and the gears shift much more easily.

zmayne

Hello all,
As the writer of the story in Excellence I feel I need to respond to some of the above comments, which were ALL pretty much right on the money. First off, the fact that it was unreadable was pretty upsetting to me. I didn't even bother to really read it in print.
Second, editors often will edit a story and inject a bit of their "voice" in the story, which I suppose is their job...
When I originally wrote it, I really wasn't looking for a clear "winner" but rather wanted to compare and contrast the two to give readers a sense of the differences of the cars. They're both great, just different, which is why I said I want one in addition to my 911.
I didn't choose the 911 over the 928, that was added since I guess the editor felt it necessary to have a "winner." And there is nothing I can do about it. Thats the nature of this type of work. And no, the photos weren't my best work, but not every shoot is magic.
Glad you guys read my stuff with a critical eye.
Zach

Nicole

Thank you for chiming in here, Zach! I hope we'll see you here more often from now on, and maybe we can help you become a proud shark-owner soon.

I repeat what I have said many times before: The 928 is the better [overall] car, but the 911 is the better Porsche - based on the public's perception of what a Porsche is and should be. There is no real right or wrong here, and we all are here for a reason: that the 928 meets our wants and needs better than the 911.

One thing that struck me about the black 928 in that article was the fog light. This looks like the fog light of an early model car, forced on an S4 model. Now, in Europe where fog lights are the norm (and people don't turn them on unless it's really foggy), the 928 came with the fog lights integrated into the tail lights. From what I understand, the Euro tail lights only had two tail light bulbs, and the inner most was for the fog light (on both sides). The wiring harness would be accommodating this, of course.

Anyway, both cars shown there are beautiful - each in its own way.

nee.dragger

heinrich, having owned a 911SC before, I noticed the same thing when I first bought my 928. The 928 engine feels like the boxer engine with just more HP and torque. And the feel of the 928 is very similar to the 911, only with a little more weight. I also think, in the hands of an experienced driver, given each cars strengths and weaknesses, on a road course, that performance of the 2 cars would be very close to equal.


I went out and bought the Excellence magazine Saturday evening. I couldn't wait to read the 928 / 911 comparison article first. I thought the write up, as far as the character and performance of the 2 machines was pretty close to hitting the nail on the head. Not sure about the maintenance equation yet. And for me, it's too soon to tell if my 928 will be more expensive to maintain in the long run. So far, the 928 has been cheaper and required less maintenance for the same amount of time of ownership. But we'll have to see. I think the article may get people, thinking of buying their first used Porsche or even first Porsche, to take a first and second look at and consider 928 ownership where as before they really never thought about anything but a 911. Of course, I'm glad I own my 928, it's a really great car. But I think the rest of you members are in agreement with me, otherwise we wouldn't be here in this forum.

nee.dragger

Oh, and zmayne, I liked the article. You should do another one comparing the required maintenance of the 928 to the 911. And maybe inherant problems with each car. A 911 that has not been well taken care of can be just as much trouble and even more troublesome as a 928 that has not been very well taken care of also. Might surprise people.

Nicole

If the 928 in the comparison had been a 91 or newer model with the improved steering, the weight might not have been criticized as much. The newer steering makes a big difference, in my humble little opinion.

Sueden

Quote:
Originally poster by Greggles,
I picked up a new auto rag "MPH" which appears to be a cross between FHM & road & track.One of the cover stories is a sub $5000. porsche which turns out to be a $1117 weissach 928s.

Greg to set the record straight the magazine wrote the story on the west coast months ahead of needing a car for their artical, their photo dept. is loacated in Troy Mich. where they contacted the local PCA chapter looking for a nice 928 to photograph for the mag. The PCA contacted me and of course I said yes .I contacted the mag and told them the car was speacial and they might not want to use it but that I knew of 30 or so other cars in the area if they needed one .They said bring it by and we will look at it. The rest is history.

-------------------------------------

Dennis
82 weissach # 142

chaadster

Let me paraphrase for Dennis: the car (pictured in MPH) is worth a lot more than $1,100!

I've seen Dennis' car in person, and it's a real eye-catcher. Sounds awesome, too. It is definitely not the car referred to in the text of article.

Ferris B

Zach,

Welcome to the board, glad to have you here. Thanks for your comments as it's good to hear your perspective on how the story evolved.

I hope you'll participate more in the discussions in this forum. As you can tell, we are a pretty passionate group of owners... and would of course be willing to write the 928 side of the piece for your follow-up article.

As I noted in my follow-up message, because Excellence focuses so narrowly on 911s, it is doubtful that I'll keep my subscription beyond this year. Perhaps you can voice that concern to the editorial board.

Regards,

fabric

I just read the article over lunch. I actually didn't have much difficulty reading it, and didn't even think about the text over photo until I was done. Not sure that really means anything.


I thought it was an excellent article. Well done Zach. I see what you were talking about - near the end, you clearly stated that it isn't really possible to pick a winner, and then the next paragraph, they pick the winner! And that, based solely on maintenance, which the article did not cover in any detail, and which wasn't the point. It's a shame that they couldn't have left it at that - they are different cars, pick the one that suits your purposes or tastes.

Ferris B

Maybe the problem was fixed, or limited to a sample of magazines...? Mine was almost illegible it was so bad.

nicobel

I have the magazine right in front of me... almost 2 weeks now (i guess i get one of the freshest ones?)
I tought the article was fine and well done...unitl i read the "winner" part.
How can you compare apples to oranges?

fabric

The text was over pictures, and seemed like that's how several of the articles were. If they didn't change the picture, maybe they darkened the type. The area that seemed like it would have been the most difficult to read, I think the background was road, which has a sort of TV static quality to it - I can see how that type would blend in and be difficult to read.

If there are an eye docs out there, maybe this has some explanation.

DANdeMAN

The only way we will be satisfied, is if there is a 928 N. American magazine or e-magazine. Anyone in the (e)publishing bizz?