And even harder to find a good one...very serious rust issues...like nothing left if you sand blast the wrong one. I still remember seeing oen after being blasted about 20 years ago....the owner just abandoned it at the blaster !!!! never paid the bill. little was left of the rear frame rails and shock spring mounts it was UGLY !!!!

 

Funny you should say that. there is one coming up in the same auction. I havn`t seen one come across the block in years.

 

If Porsche has any sense, they will shorten the Panamera platform and bring back the 928 in a modern guise. I see more Panameras than 911s in Toronto, so it is pretty evident that the market for a water-cooled V8 was always there... Just hang on to your baby until that happens. That would be the only modern Porsche I would ever consider.

 

Yes, I don't want to rain on anybody's party, but I also think electric cars will take over. I've been in a few Tesla's, and they are quite impressive. That being said, I personally don't want a car with such a huge display... I like the 928s better, but they are getting older... I won't sell mine, but others will sell out...

It kind of reminds of the steam vs. diesel electric debate in the 40s. I have it in my mind the even in the late 40s the NY Central ran tests and concluded that diesels (at that time) were not really faster or cheaper to operate but there were other advantages...

That pretty much sums up what will happen with gasoline burning cars I guess. Wonder how long we will be able to easily get gasoline... (!)

 

It won't be long.

 

Funny...since others have already broken the ice. I will not replace the 928 with a "next" project car. My next commuting/local driving car will be electric (about 3 years away). However, even electric cars have to sit in Rt. 7 traffic - so next month I'm buying an electric assist bicycle to save up to $1500 in fuel annually (weather permitting), have my own private highway, and stay fit by turning down the electric assist for the ride home. I live adjacent to the W&OD bike trail and my work is also within half a mile of the W&OD (24 miles east). I should mention I bike a lot already...the W&OD factored into our recent home search...and offers a flat and straight shot from our home to my job. When I have to go to the hobby corner at Autozone to buy 5 gallons of gas I think I'm done with the 928, or any thing that has an internal combustion engine.

If you haven't test ridden the Specialized Turbo S, Stromer ST-1 or 2, or even the budget conscious iZip E3 Dash...you will be impressed. The torque sensor and pedal speed sensor feed information to a computer controlling a gear-less motor in the rear hub. In short...you feel like Superman. It feels like it's you...only faster...better...stronger super fun.

 

There will be plenty of gas available, maybe a couple generations from now you would have to buy it in a hobby car store, but no one reading this will have to do that. 10 -15 years before electrics make a sizeable dent in the market, that will be good news when it happens.

Reason I am posting is the bike mention, I have seen a bicycle recently that had a toothed belt instead of a chain, the belt profile was just like the 928 TB.

 

Finally a test on the Challenger,anyone else that likes the old Mopars take a look at the new one.
Looks like new Hemi is faster than the old.
10.8's on street legal drag radials.Wait till slicks get bolted on will probably be closer to mid 10's
https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motora...153150501.html
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYol7m3WjGQ#t=38

 

tv-
I agree with your time frame for widespread adoption of electrics...and perhaps a tipping point where more electric cars are sold "for commuting" than gasoline powered cars. The economics of the Chevy Volt and electric Spark already work out when commute is about 50 miles (and driven 70-100% electric). It's the tax incentives that help them "make sense". But I don't see myself every buying one...I'll lease. After three years the next gen of whatever I'm driving or something new and better will arrive on the market. Exciting times.

I have seen the belt driven bikes you mention. They are used on folding commuter bikes - and are described as really smooth and eliminate the greased pant leg problem. Some of these are electric assist. Funny you mention it because when I saw the belt I was puzzled that it looks really familiar I didn't put the two together until your post.

 

Gas powered vehicles will be around long after we are dead, and I'm only in my 40s... The market will become more mixed. Hybrids, Diesel, Electric, Hydrogen and more fuel efficient gas cars.

Electric cars are probably 0.3% of the market ATM. If we suddenly all switched to "GREEN" electric cars, I don't know if there would be enough COAL to charge them all.

 

none... it will be a coffin...

 

Plenty of coal (we are the Saudi Arabia of coal)...the bigger problem is obtaining enough rare earth minerals to make the batteries. And guess who has the lion's share of rare earths? China. Elon Musk (Tesla) wants to sell cars in China. To do so he must collaborate with a Chinese car maker (It's the law...and yes it's intent is to facilitate the stealing of cutting edge technology - and Ford, Volvo, GM have all gone along with it). Imagine what would happen to the electric car market if China has all the rare earths and access to all of Tesla's secrets. This is one reason I think Elon decided to relax ALL of Tesla's many patents a few weeks ago. He wants to jump start the electric car industry, globally. Oddly, I don't think he cares at all about dominating the electric car market. He wants to fundamentally change the automobile industry...create the paradigm shift. I think his attitude is like - If Tesla remains a kind of cutting edge innovator to push the others - I win. If Tesla can't compete with the scales of production a Kia, Toyota, GM, VW, etc. can muster - but all are making electric cars for a public that wants them - I win. This guy is like Edison, Gates, and Jobs all wrapped up in one, and his vision of "success" is as novel as his endeavors.

 

I have long suspected that Elon Musk's master plan is to make batteries and not cars sometime. But, I am not really involved in this business, so I can't say with any well founded knowledge. And I really don't know much about the Tesla per se, either.

I bet 30 years ago nobody thought film companies Kodak would go bankrupt either. Paradigms, when they change, change more quickly than we are used to. Also, don't forget about the idea of "Peak Oil." So, many things will lead the coming changes too.

 

Captin slow is correct we have enough coal, but we also have enough rare earth minerals here AND we also have enough technology and sunlight. What we don't have is enough leadership! We should be so much further along this abundant cheap energy path. It matters to everyone in the country because abundant affordable energy is the key to great economic times. Here are some videos I have enjoyed in the past year or so



solar --->http://www.semprius.com

 

Perhaps someone could get this thread back on track with a recommendation of a car to replace the 928?

How about the new hybrid Panamara?