https://www.autoblog.com/2020/05/19/...a-4-road-test/

 

"There is always going to be a better Porsche 911. Yet, that fact is hard to care about when in the driver’s seat of any variant on the performance ladder, because every single one of them is enchanting to drive."

Amen to that.

 

 

I feel a little out of sorts thinking I am below the average person, as I suspect most of us would if we were told that we were in fact so. I mean, after all, just about every male at least used to think he was way better than the average driver. Now I see from this piece that the average new 911 owner has annual household income of $750,000. That's the average for 911 households. And this must include all versions of the 911, from C2 up. I'm getting to be pretty old and I like to live frugally for the most part, except when it comes to 911s. I no longer have to support children or a spouse, so my frugality isn't hurting anyone else; my estate planning is pretty much a done deal. But there's the little matter of a $150k 911. But, really it will only cost my kids the investment value of $150k for a period of time less the depreciated value of the car when they sell it (and they will). So maybe it will be okay to be a below average person. And that figure did mean household income. I suppose I could try to get myself up to average. That seems to mean either finding a really wealthy high-earner woman or living with a bunch of other guys. The last time it was a bunch of guys I was driving a crapped out '59 Austin-Healey 100/6 with chicken wire for a grill and a stapled top. Even if I'm below average I'm doing a little better than I was then, as far as cars go anyway. Overall, that's good enough. And the 911. That's not only above average, it's the very best there is. Just my below average opinion, but I'm gonna go with that real soon.

 

Wow. I feel poor now, by comparison. Having said that, I've always paid in full for my 911's and I never finance them. Also, every year I save a lot more $ than I spend. But when I was in my 20's, I was totally broke after every new car purchase. And I don't regret any of it.

 

Median may be a better metric than Average. There are probably some pretty extreme high end incomes in that data set.

 

I think this number is complete BS, for a couple of reasons. I first heard this posturing during the reign of former Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking around 2000, and the number was just under under $400k. There was no indication then - or now - how the number is determined. If a buyer pays cash, there is no data to plug into the model; if a person leases, there is (generally) no income verification as the decision is made based on credit score; when financed, a majority of vehicles aren't handled through Porsche Financial but a person's own financial institution; in 20 years of owning Porsches (some leased, some purchased) I've never been asked or offered up "household" income; finally, I've never been asked in any follow-up survey from Porsche about my income levels - personal or household.

I think this is a Porsche "exclusivity" myth that was birthed around 2000 by marketing, propagated by a CEO known for playing fast and loose, adjusted every year to some higher imaginary number and repeated by enthusiasts and media without thinking for a minute that there is no way Porsche could possible know what the real number is.

 

Just to clarify, the article said $750k was the median, not the average.

Although I think that argues more for the fact that a lot of owners are below median. In fact, half are :-) A high average could be skewed by a handful of extremely high salaries, but the median is just the midway for headcount.

 

Ouch. I was hoping that the capital gains on Jan Khoum's facebook shares had blown up the average.

 

The CPA allows me to get 911 as "transportation expense"
Everyone needs a CPA that's an attorney!!!