JPTL

I'm noticing a dramatic increase in head nods, thumbs up, extended glances in rear view mirrors, and blatant stares with smiles coming from preteen passengers every time that I'm out and about in the GT.
Today a guy in a 7-11 parking lot simply said "Nice" as he passed by. 15 minutes later a guy in his mid forties driving a Toureg went out of his way to pull up on my side in traffic, roll down his window and said "I love that car. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved that car!".
I said "Me too."
1/2 hour later a guy in a red Camry gave me a thumbs up and mouthed "Nice car".
I've never seen so many compliments paid to the 928 in one day.
Here in Potomac, you'll see a multitude of Boxsters, contemporary 911's, M3's etc. on any given day. These cars are part of the landscape and don't get a second look.
However the 928 does.
I think that those who are familiar with our cars are starting to regard the 928 as a classic, iconic exotic.
There also seems to be a considerable upswing of appreciation of our cars coming from younger folks (mostly guys) in their teens through their twenties. Since these cars never made an impression on kids this age as a result of pop culture, ads, etc (Risky Business isn't their generation) I can only assume that it's simply the presence, lines and sound that captivates these car enthusiasts.

Schocki

Same situation in Germany

dr bob

A few weeks ago, a bus load of female teenage student athletes and their leaders was creeping through Los Angeles evening traffic just slightly slower than I was. Nice day, windows down. One of the nice adult leaders stuck her head out the window to tell me that the girls really liked the car.

Last week at the dry cleaners, overheard a guy walking in front of me telling his son what a nice car that 928 is. It happens pretty regularly.

A few weeks ago I had to go run an early errand, getting on the freeway, I was across the intersection from a very tired but running early S2. It needed a lot of love, but at least it was out and about being driven. Even in Los Angeles, where thre is statistically a larger number of 928's that most any other single area in the country, it's still a rarity on the streets.

wanta944

I love me some 928. It'll be my 'next' project...someday. The wife may have something to say about me having two extra fun cars, though

pcar928fan

I think it depends on how nice the car looks to be from about 5' to 10'. If your car looks even just good at those distances you will get lots of compliments on the road. If your car looks good from 3' you will get them as folks walk by... I am fortunate that all my cars are at or near Concours level now and so I hear "nice car" A LOT! When I park it in a busy lot where I can see it (any of them, but especially the White GTS and Red EURO85 cars) the attention they get is stunning!

Today was one of the rare days the '94 GTS did not get much attention... Maybe because it was parked two slots away from a roped off area with 30 Ferrari's...most all of them RED! The next lot I parked in though had all kinds of fast and exotic cars and mine got PLENTY of love there!

Nicole

In the last 4 days in the LA and Ventura/Santa Barbara area, my car got much more attention than I'm used to. People asked so many questions - what year, how many miles, what years were they made, is that a 924, how do you keep it that nice,...

The Silicon Valley computer geeks don't pay as much attention. But that's not why I have the car anyway, so it doesn't really matter to me.

EspritS4s

Personally, I believe that 928s will gain more respect as they move into classic status and are no longer purchased by people looking for a "cheap Porsche" to compete with modern sports cars. The shape really is iconic and like nothing else out there to anyone who actually pays attention to cars (ignoring the AMC Pacer quips). It's a beautiful design (both OB and S4+) that will gain more attention as fewer examples are on the road and many of the neglected examples have been parted or scrapped.

pcar928fan

Gary,

Interesting you mention AMC Pacer...there was one at the Ferrari Concours I went to today. It was in the parking lot. What I didn't know was there were apparently more than ONE type of Pacer as this one DID NOT have the curved rear quarter windows (which is what causes folks to make the Pacer comments). This one was completely slab sided with flat rear qtr windows. I don't recall ever seeing a pacer that looked like that. Not sure it was an early or a late model or maybe one that had real seats in the back...surprised me!

That said, the GTS did get a little love there today...just not as much as it normally gets!

Rob Edwards

James-

It was probably a Gremlin. Was it one of the coveted X models?

safulop

I second these thoughts. I've owned my S4 for just a few months, and I have had a number of interesting encounters with people who just have no idea what it is all about. They see a Porsche that they do not recognize at all and start asking questions. Many believe it is some sort of new model. I drove to San Francisco and parked at a 5-star hotel for a conference. I ended up explaining the car to a couple of parking valets! I thought they must be the most jaded people around when it comes to fancy cars, but then the guy who brought it back for me got out and started gushing about how great it sounds, how nice it runs etc. I was really surprised.

On top of the encounters with the unknowing, of course, there are also occasional encounters with enthusiasts, and they always want to talk through the whole story about the model year, the features, the horsepower etc. It is getting like a car show wherever I go.

Almost forgot, the other day at work (on a college campus) I got back to my car and there was a group of college guys nearby. As I got in, I overheard some chatter about the car, in which it was called "the batmobile." An interesting perspective, considering that in my generation the batmobile looked more like a 50s car, didn't it?

-Sean

Landseer

I get no response here in Richmond usually.

But was in NJ and PA with one last week.
Conversations about the car every place I stopped.
Car wasn't even clean, muddy cat prints all over it.

SeanR

Around here mine, or whatever one I'm driving, gets comments/compliments almost every time I'm out. Hell, people stop at the house to make a comment. Feels good.

ajmarton

I live in Los Angeles and was driving downtown on my way to another city. The downtown LA freeway exchange can be challenging if you're not familiar with it. Lot's of lanes merging for all directions north, south and east. I was essentially lost and driving a little erratic when a CHP pulled me over. He said the primary reason was to look at my 928 up close. He then gave me directions and let me go with a warning. One of my better experiences!

JPTL

& to think that before I picked up the GT in '00, the "rational" side of me almost bought a new 2001 Acura CL-S.
That car would have been appreciated by me and others for a week or so. Had I bought it, I'm sure it would still be running great, but talk about a car that blends into the landscape of uninteresting-ness.

James Bailey

The Pacer was a station wagon. They made both types but wagons were more rare. Made it an even bigger small car....