And I was hearing it was too big and well equipped..
02-19-2013, 07:08 PM
#1
Race Car
Thread Starter
And I was hearing it was too big and well equipped..
The 20th annual Robb Report Car of the Year award judging process involved extensive test-drives by a panel of automotive experts including Robb Report Editor in Chief Brett Anderson, automotive consultant Robert Ross and approximately 100 members of the Robb Report Club, which includes top corporate executives and influential readers. On this year’s ballot were the Aston Martin DB9, Audi S8, Bentley Continental GT V8, BMW M5, Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, Chevrolet Corvette 427, Ferrari FF, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Maserati GranTurismo Convertible Sport, Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, Morgan 3 Wheeler, Porsche 911 Carrera S, and Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II Coupé.
It Would Be Nice to Be a Judge. The polling place was the Napa Valley Reserve, a members-only vineyard and winery. The judges lodged at the Meadowood resort in St. Helena, Calif., and dined at Cade Estate Winery, Cardinale Estate, Caymus Vineyards, Far Niente, Opus One, Spottswoode Estate Vineyard and Winery, Vineyard 7 and 8, and William Cole Vineyards.
“Porsche has taken a 50-year-old design and constantly refined and improved it without altering a single word from the original mission statement, and it has kept the price relatively affordable,” said Robert Ross, Robb Report automotive consultant. "In the truest Miesian sense, the 911 proves that less is more.”
SEE? We are downright Miesian.
It Would Be Nice to Be a Judge. The polling place was the Napa Valley Reserve, a members-only vineyard and winery. The judges lodged at the Meadowood resort in St. Helena, Calif., and dined at Cade Estate Winery, Cardinale Estate, Caymus Vineyards, Far Niente, Opus One, Spottswoode Estate Vineyard and Winery, Vineyard 7 and 8, and William Cole Vineyards.
“Porsche has taken a 50-year-old design and constantly refined and improved it without altering a single word from the original mission statement, and it has kept the price relatively affordable,” said Robert Ross, Robb Report automotive consultant. "In the truest Miesian sense, the 911 proves that less is more.”
SEE? We are downright Miesian.
02-19-2013, 07:38 PM
#3
Race Car
Thread Starter
02-20-2013, 11:41 AM
#7
Not that Robb Report is by any measure a serious auto rag, and I'm no fan of the 991 as the future of the 911, though it makes a brilliant daily driver, I can't quibble about its price, performance or even its proportions.
A lot has been made of the "extra rear leg room" and added overall "size" (it doesn't have either in human scale useful terms, in my humble estimation.) The wheelbase is limousine length, but it doesn't make the car feel at all unwilling to respond to the helm. It just continues to be the helm itself that's the weakness of the whole car -- the "information" coming back through the controls and the driver's seat (as the final messenger of the suspension kinetics) and the precise enactment of the control inputs from the driver (to the numb and numb-er steering, I would add the "upon approval" throttle programming and to some small extent the wooden feel of the brake pedal, especially finding and releasing at the threshold, which might also be pads, which become glazed and squeaky.)
So a magazine that advertises wristwatches, humidors and Viagra can take all the consumer products to task, compare the M5, the Mustang and the Maserati, with the Mercedes and the Morgan; why not, they have nothing in common. Each can be lauded as "best" in its own right. Have a fun week in a Rolls, a Bentley, an Aston, and the Bugatti from the "media" test car pool paid for by the misguided marketing budget of these car makers. But it doesn't make the 991 the Car of the Year.
If I were to suggest a Porsche as "Car of the Year" for 2013, I'd argue the Cayenne S diesel is the most forward thinking and exceptional high performance car in its niche. While I think it should have arrived as a 2005 model, if not earlier, I think it shows that "slow and sluggish" is not mandatory while getting 30-35 mpg in a large vehicle. Just put all this in AWD in a Panamera face lift and you've got a Porsche that could be car of the year. Then maybe VW will say they've siphoned enough revenue out of the Porsche brand to justify building a 911 again.
A lot has been made of the "extra rear leg room" and added overall "size" (it doesn't have either in human scale useful terms, in my humble estimation.) The wheelbase is limousine length, but it doesn't make the car feel at all unwilling to respond to the helm. It just continues to be the helm itself that's the weakness of the whole car -- the "information" coming back through the controls and the driver's seat (as the final messenger of the suspension kinetics) and the precise enactment of the control inputs from the driver (to the numb and numb-er steering, I would add the "upon approval" throttle programming and to some small extent the wooden feel of the brake pedal, especially finding and releasing at the threshold, which might also be pads, which become glazed and squeaky.)
So a magazine that advertises wristwatches, humidors and Viagra can take all the consumer products to task, compare the M5, the Mustang and the Maserati, with the Mercedes and the Morgan; why not, they have nothing in common. Each can be lauded as "best" in its own right. Have a fun week in a Rolls, a Bentley, an Aston, and the Bugatti from the "media" test car pool paid for by the misguided marketing budget of these car makers. But it doesn't make the 991 the Car of the Year.
If I were to suggest a Porsche as "Car of the Year" for 2013, I'd argue the Cayenne S diesel is the most forward thinking and exceptional high performance car in its niche. While I think it should have arrived as a 2005 model, if not earlier, I think it shows that "slow and sluggish" is not mandatory while getting 30-35 mpg in a large vehicle. Just put all this in AWD in a Panamera face lift and you've got a Porsche that could be car of the year. Then maybe VW will say they've siphoned enough revenue out of the Porsche brand to justify building a 911 again.
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02-20-2013, 01:08 PM
#8
Race Director
The wheelbase is limousine length, but it doesn't make the car feel at all unwilling to respond to the helm. It just continues to be the helm itself that's the weakness of the whole car -- the "information" coming back through the controls and the driver's seat (as the final messenger of the suspension kinetics) and the precise enactment of the control inputs from the driver (to the numb and numb-er steering,
.
.
the bolded part is especially ridiculous
02-20-2013, 01:39 PM
#9
Race Car
Thread Starter
02-20-2013, 03:32 PM
#11
Not that Robb Report is by any measure a serious auto rag, and I'm no fan of the 991 as the future of the 911, though it makes a brilliant daily driver, I can't quibble about its price, performance or even its proportions.
A lot has been made of the "extra rear leg room" and added overall "size" (it doesn't have either in human scale useful terms, in my humble estimation.) The wheelbase is limousine length, but it doesn't make the car feel at all unwilling to respond to the helm. It just continues to be the helm itself that's the weakness of the whole car -- the "information" coming back through the controls and the driver's seat (as the final messenger of the suspension kinetics) and the precise enactment of the control inputs from the driver (to the numb and numb-er steering, I would add the "upon approval" throttle programming and to some small extent the wooden feel of the brake pedal, especially finding and releasing at the threshold, which might also be pads, which become glazed and squeaky.)
So a magazine that advertises wristwatches, humidors and Viagra can take all the consumer products to task, compare the M5, the Mustang and the Maserati, with the Mercedes and the Morgan; why not, they have nothing in common. Each can be lauded as "best" in its own right. Have a fun week in a Rolls, a Bentley, an Aston, and the Bugatti from the "media" test car pool paid for by the misguided marketing budget of these car makers. But it doesn't make the 991 the Car of the Year.
If I were to suggest a Porsche as "Car of the Year" for 2013, I'd argue the Cayenne S diesel is the most forward thinking and exceptional high performance car in its niche. While I think it should have arrived as a 2005 model, if not earlier, I think it shows that "slow and sluggish" is not mandatory while getting 30-35 mpg in a large vehicle. Just put all this in AWD in a Panamera face lift and you've got a Porsche that could be car of the year. Then maybe VW will say they've siphoned enough revenue out of the Porsche brand to justify building a 911 again.
A lot has been made of the "extra rear leg room" and added overall "size" (it doesn't have either in human scale useful terms, in my humble estimation.) The wheelbase is limousine length, but it doesn't make the car feel at all unwilling to respond to the helm. It just continues to be the helm itself that's the weakness of the whole car -- the "information" coming back through the controls and the driver's seat (as the final messenger of the suspension kinetics) and the precise enactment of the control inputs from the driver (to the numb and numb-er steering, I would add the "upon approval" throttle programming and to some small extent the wooden feel of the brake pedal, especially finding and releasing at the threshold, which might also be pads, which become glazed and squeaky.)
So a magazine that advertises wristwatches, humidors and Viagra can take all the consumer products to task, compare the M5, the Mustang and the Maserati, with the Mercedes and the Morgan; why not, they have nothing in common. Each can be lauded as "best" in its own right. Have a fun week in a Rolls, a Bentley, an Aston, and the Bugatti from the "media" test car pool paid for by the misguided marketing budget of these car makers. But it doesn't make the 991 the Car of the Year.
If I were to suggest a Porsche as "Car of the Year" for 2013, I'd argue the Cayenne S diesel is the most forward thinking and exceptional high performance car in its niche. While I think it should have arrived as a 2005 model, if not earlier, I think it shows that "slow and sluggish" is not mandatory while getting 30-35 mpg in a large vehicle. Just put all this in AWD in a Panamera face lift and you've got a Porsche that could be car of the year. Then maybe VW will say they've siphoned enough revenue out of the Porsche brand to justify building a 911 again.
02-20-2013, 03:41 PM
#12
Not that Robb Report is by any measure a serious auto rag, and I'm no fan of the 991 as the future of the 911, though it makes a brilliant daily driver, I can't quibble about its price, performance or even its proportions.
A lot has been made of the "extra rear leg room" and added overall "size" (it doesn't have either in human scale useful terms, in my humble estimation.) The wheelbase is limousine length, but it doesn't make the car feel at all unwilling to respond to the helm. It just continues to be the helm itself that's the weakness of the whole car -- the "information" coming back through the controls and the driver's seat (as the final messenger of the suspension kinetics) and the precise enactment of the control inputs from the driver (to the numb and numb-er steering, I would add the "upon approval" throttle programming and to some small extent the wooden feel of the brake pedal, especially finding and releasing at the threshold, which might also be pads, which become glazed and squeaky.)
So a magazine that advertises wristwatches, humidors and Viagra can take all the consumer products to task, compare the M5, the Mustang and the Maserati, with the Mercedes and the Morgan; why not, they have nothing in common. Each can be lauded as "best" in its own right. Have a fun week in a Rolls, a Bentley, an Aston, and the Bugatti from the "media" test car pool paid for by the misguided marketing budget of these car makers. But it doesn't make the 991 the Car of the Year.
If I were to suggest a Porsche as "Car of the Year" for 2013, I'd argue the Cayenne S diesel is the most forward thinking and exceptional high performance car in its niche. While I think it should have arrived as a 2005 model, if not earlier, I think it shows that "slow and sluggish" is not mandatory while getting 30-35 mpg in a large vehicle. Just put all this in AWD in a Panamera face lift and you've got a Porsche that could be car of the year. Then maybe VW will say they've siphoned enough revenue out of the Porsche brand to justify building a 911 again.
A lot has been made of the "extra rear leg room" and added overall "size" (it doesn't have either in human scale useful terms, in my humble estimation.) The wheelbase is limousine length, but it doesn't make the car feel at all unwilling to respond to the helm. It just continues to be the helm itself that's the weakness of the whole car -- the "information" coming back through the controls and the driver's seat (as the final messenger of the suspension kinetics) and the precise enactment of the control inputs from the driver (to the numb and numb-er steering, I would add the "upon approval" throttle programming and to some small extent the wooden feel of the brake pedal, especially finding and releasing at the threshold, which might also be pads, which become glazed and squeaky.)
So a magazine that advertises wristwatches, humidors and Viagra can take all the consumer products to task, compare the M5, the Mustang and the Maserati, with the Mercedes and the Morgan; why not, they have nothing in common. Each can be lauded as "best" in its own right. Have a fun week in a Rolls, a Bentley, an Aston, and the Bugatti from the "media" test car pool paid for by the misguided marketing budget of these car makers. But it doesn't make the 991 the Car of the Year.
If I were to suggest a Porsche as "Car of the Year" for 2013, I'd argue the Cayenne S diesel is the most forward thinking and exceptional high performance car in its niche. While I think it should have arrived as a 2005 model, if not earlier, I think it shows that "slow and sluggish" is not mandatory while getting 30-35 mpg in a large vehicle. Just put all this in AWD in a Panamera face lift and you've got a Porsche that could be car of the year. Then maybe VW will say they've siphoned enough revenue out of the Porsche brand to justify building a 911 again.
I have a new Cayenne, it is great but really, Car of the Year? If it eases the pain of seeing the 991 gain another accolade, then fine, why not?
What are you going to do when Porsche starts to race the 991 and it reverses the losing tend of the 997? Will it be because all of the competion is so slow that a car with "numb steering" and a Limo wheelbase could win?
Life is short, if you hate the 991 so much buy another car. Or adopt a dog, you can fit two in a Cayenne.
02-20-2013, 07:11 PM
#13
Not to defend the indefensible, but technically he did not say the steering is "numb". He said the steering is "numb and numb-er". A clever reference to the movie Dumb and Dumber. Keep in mind CGT is a Wordsmith. We should be happy to hear him admit the "helm" has "steering" and not go the full Naval Monty with "wheel". Excuse me now I have a friend coming over, he's about to ease his 991 into the harbor, got to radio the helper tugs, guide him in to dock....
02-20-2013, 08:03 PM
#14
Burning Brakes
This entire "The 991 is huge" meme makes me chuckle. You see, my GF thinks it is tiny. She thinks the 997 is tiny. When she got her first look at the 991 during my second test drive her first words were, "I thought you said it was bigger?"
That's what she said...
Not the first time she said that...
etc...
just figured I would beat all the smart asses to the punch there.
That's what she said...
Not the first time she said that...
etc...
just figured I would beat all the smart asses to the punch there.
02-20-2013, 08:11 PM
#15
This entire "The 991 is huge" meme makes me chuckle. You see, my GF thinks it is tiny. She thinks the 997 is tiny. When she got her first look at the 991 during my second test drive her first words were, "I thought you said it was bigger?"
That's what she said...
Not the first time she said that...
etc...
just figured I would beat all the smart asses to the punch there.
That's what she said...
Not the first time she said that...
etc...
just figured I would beat all the smart asses to the punch there.