shmark

I always thought a 928 was a big bruiser of a car, a man's sports car that swallows up everything in its path. Well I drove it to work today and parked next to my boss' new BMW 650 cab. It completely dwarfed my 928! It looked like some little British nubbin of a car next to that thing. We actually laughed about it...he's also got a 750 and he says parking the 650 next to it is surprising just how large that "sports GT" is, much bigger than it looks and gigantic next to my little ol' 928.

Amazing how much larger cars have gotten in the last few years, not even counting SUVs. I was driving my Mini the other day and got behind a classic Mini complete with right-hand drive. He could have parked that car inside mine!

dr bob

When I bought the 928 but before picking it up, I started laying out garage space to get the new sports coupe in there. Double-take on the dimensions-- the shadow on the floor is within an inch or two of the shadow cast by the gen-1 Explorer it sat next to. Sold a Europa to make part of the room, more stuff to storage for the rest. Current cars are getting bigger all the time. Gotta have space to store 4500+ lbs of BMW 650 metal, and the SUV's are way out there even more.

MrGST

So true. Compact cars today are like mid-size cars just 10 years ago.

Mike Frye

I have a parking block in the garage where my wife keeps her convertible Mustang. When I pull my car in there it looks so much smaller it's amazing. I can walk all around it without any problems either. And my wife's car is much smaller on the inside too! It's weird.

shmark

Here's a couple quick pics from this morning to illustrate my point (I gotta get a better phone). I really like the 650 but it's just a giant next to the 928. My boss is a certified BMW nut, has 5 of them including a new M Coupe, and the M is more the same size as the 928! I always think of it as a much smaller car. I'll try to get a pic of them together the next time he drives it in.

AO

Parking next to the boss's car... brown-noser!

heinrich

Parking my 928 and 911 side by side I was always reminded of just how similar trhey are in dimensions. The 928 is deceptive, because of all the exposed, uninterrupted surface -- where other cars have it all segmented. The 928 is an excellent design from that perspective.

shmark

He's a genuine car guy who just got back from the new M3 driver preview at the Nurburging (he's got one on order) and is in control of my bonus. Hell yes!

BC

Mmm. No Rub strips. Nice.

SteveG

The intricacies of the shark panels are deceptive. There are several threads about how the car draws your eyes when walking to or away from in the lot, in the garage, etc., but that is our drug of choice. IMHO this is due to my first sentence. And it is cause for surprise when we park next to "lesser" cars. It sits lower that those others and so on. To the experienced shark eye, even the MY differences are striking. The rounder lines of the S4/GTSs make it look bigger, more so that it really is compared to the OBs and I suppose to other box cars.

Marine Blue

It really is amazing just how big cars are getting. When I'm sitting next to an 18 wheeler in traffic in the shark I feel dwarfed.

shmark

The 650 is taller, wider and no doubt heavier. But in overall length it's just a few inches longer and the wheelbase is surprisingly close. Of course the monster wheels make it look bigger too, but there's no doubt that it is much more substantial than the 928.

fabric

THis probably is the best example of this. My Mini doesn't feel like a small car, and compared to the original it isn't. But the original actually had *more* interior space. Airbags and stronger structure, power doo-dads, and a bigger motor to carry around all the extra weight make today's cars much bigger.

The new M3 weighs 3600-somethinglbs. That's my '87 auto with rear a/c and a good chunk of me.

shmark

Thanks. That was one of my requirements when I was searching. Looks so much better that way, and I love it.

JHowell37

The 928 gives off an odd illusion of being a large car because of its long hood and long doors. It is a very wide car. Definitely as wide as my '97 I30/Maxima but it's much shorter in terms of height.