uptheorg

You guys may want to throw me off the board for this one, but I have got to say it. All my life I have wanted a 911 (I am 45) but could never afford it until now. Two months ago I got my '95 Cabrio C4 in midnight blue/grey and, yes it is a wonderful car, but I cannot understand the passion you guys have for these Porsche's!!!!

I feel like I must be missing something about the cars? I had a Fiat X1.9 manual -- loved it in 1988. I had a Lexus SC400 -- loved it in 1993. I had a BMW 540i manual -- loved it in 1999. I had a BMW Z3 manual -- loved it in 2000. Maybe I am not discerning enough? I test drove the new BMW Z4 manual -- loads of fun, but for essentially the same money I was able to get the Carrera. So I did. All you guys say you never looked back once you got the Porsche. But I am looking back! Why? I see alot of the great things you all see about the car (its looks, handling, power, reliability, etc.), but it doesn't seem so great that I am getting any more attached to it than I did my Z3!

It occurs to me that there is some sort of "groupthink" that lets you get so passionate about the cars. Maybe because it is acceptable to be passionate, you allow yourself to be. I have loved all of my cars, but there was never a "club" to join, so I never did. I am thinking, for example, if there was a Rennlist.com for Z4's that had a membership like this one, I would probably be in there. (I am already anticipating you guys telling me about bulletin boards for all of these categories, but I still am trying to make my point . . .)

Whenever I drive my new car, I like it, maybe even love it. But somehow, I enjoy the roadsters, too. (I have driven many a boxster as well.) Maybe I just like the roadster concept and design better? I don't and probably won't track my car -- it occurs to me that this adds to the passion most of you have.

What am I missing? Comments anyone? Please don't tell me if I don't get it, I never will! This is a serious post and I don't mean to insult anyone . . .

Rick Lee

No insult taken, but really dude, if you don't get it, you don't get it. Every single person who has ridden in or driven one of my Porsches gets an instant grin. I mean it's just automatic - like the 993tt poster ad says - "Like your own portable amusement park." Were you the only kid in your class who didn't get excited everytime your dad's station wagon got blown past by a 911? I know that got my attention at a very early age. Go hang with some other 911 folks, get to the track and you may come around.

Jon 'Bama

my sister in law, having never really cared for cars drove my former Boxster S and proclaimed, "its like having your own roller coaster if I ever drive it again I'll have to buy one"

seriously though if you mdon't get it now you never will, there is nothing wrong with that, but there is nothing wrong with us either or at least not in the sense that you imply

Jon

Evan

Touché Rick.

My 914 is a great roadster, but my 993....way more fun. Not even close!

Ruairidh

I'm with Rick, I'm not sure you can be "taught" to love 911's.

None of your previous cars have been as "edgy" or as "raw" as the 911 and maybe the 911's formula is simply not for you.

You've highlighted its strengths (looks, handling, power, reliability etc.) if the sum total of those strengths doesn't add up to an intoxicating blend that makes every other car look like an also-ran then you simply haven't succumbed to the addiction of Porsche Heroin and may therefore (in financial terms at least) be a richer man!

John H

I can't explain it but I have it. It was only made worse by tracking the car and getting hooked on Rennlist and the mod fever that ensued shortly thereafter. Right now I am freaking out because I only have a track 993. I will probably end up selling the Corvette shortly just to get back into a 993 for everyday. There really is no substitute (for some folks).

p_carfan

uptheorg

Well.....To me Porsche was an aquired taste. I can still remember seeing my first, I was setting in my high school science class. I heard this strange noise, I looked out the window it was a silver speedster, that was about 1967 and that's when it started for me.
Pesonally I don't like the Z3, it looks like a shoe. My wife drives a Lexus, it's a nice car but just a car. I don't know much about the Fiat X19. Every Porsche (7 911s) I've ever owned, to me has had a soul.....A soul that was intrusted to me, a soul that was bred in racing history.

I remember my mother once also saying, "It's like an amusement park ride". She's 73 an she's never seen the poster.

"What Porsche sells are not cars but a form of pleasure (entertainment) destined for the elite of drivers" - Ferry Porsche

Davies

If I may be so bold, I think most people who are passionate about
Porsches had some type of epiphany at a very early age. Mine was back in '76
when I was nine years old and I rode in the back of my friend's dad's
silver 911. He was a professional race car driver at the time, and I
remember pulling out of the driveway and as he opened it up, an accelerative
force pressing on my chest that I had never experienced before. I'll never forget
that ride....And from that moment on I stared longingly at each passing 911,
appreciative of it's strange, stubby shape and the raspy, whiny growl emanating
from beneath the quirky, rearmounted grill.
IMO There's a certain type of magic that can only be created in childhood, and
it helps me - and I suspect others - to overlook some of our beloved car's
shortcomings, which to the uninitiated are reasons to consider other cars,
like Z4s or 350Zs or whatever. Personally, those cars don't even exist in
my universe.

Anyway, thank God it wasn't my friend's dad's Ferrari I rode in that day...Or I'd
probably be in big financial trouble right now!

Randy M

Its in the blood.

CP

Passion is purely subjective. We may date many women, but only marry one. You may have multiple pairs of jeans, but one just feels more comfortable than the rest. Same could be said for cars.

I think it all starts with what you see in a car. If it's a tool that gets you from point A to point B (ala my wife), then the 993 is no different than the z3, 540i, or an Odyssey (in the case of my wife, again). I think car enthusiasts treasure cars in different ways: the 'feel' around the corners (much different in the 993 than the Odyssey), the enhaust note, the confidence you have driving the particular car, the look, etc.

I also think a lot of us are passionate about our cars (in my case, my M5 and my RUF) because we can share our experience and adulations for these fine machines with folks who are equally passionate about them on these boards. The sense of community is a big part of stoking that fire, to me at least.

I'm 53 years old, had owned some great cars before, but never really was a car enthusiast untill I got my M5. Now the RUF will get me deeper, much deeper, into the hole here, and I'm LOVING it.

CP

96P993

My passion started from a very early age with all cars...I just love them, not the way they look but the way they work. I love everything about cars...When I bought my Porsche that excitement went up 10 fold...When I walk into the garage the car excites me, when I turn the key and the engine fires up it excites me..I agree with others, its something you have or something you dont. I have loved all the cars I have owned but this car holds a special place in my heart. I love the fact that it is a Porsche but the badge and name do nothing for me. I love the look of the car, the rawness of the interior....God I need to get her back from the bodyshop!!!!!!!!

Rick Lee

BTW, CP, I visited Ruf in Pfaffenhausen a few wks. ago and now I have to own one of them too.

Jay Gratton

What is your definition of passion anyway? I think it might be different to everyone. I know I love my Porsche so much because my family has always had them from my Grandfather, Uncles, my Father and my best friend. It is that common bond we all share that makes me so passionate about my cars. Some people just look at it as a way to get from point A to point B. Others look at them as a extension of themselves. Hope this helps. Best wishes - Jay Gratton

Mike W

It's obvious you don't get it, i wouldn't take a Z3 for free(well mabe for free). To me sorry, it's a girls car. I do disagree with CP -one can have many wives. I've had a couple. Mike w

Mark in Baltimore

I have loved 911's ever since I was a kid. Even if Rennlist never existed, I would still feel that lust. WRT "groupthink", the passion came first, not the influence from others.

Is my 993 the ultimate car? No, but it's what I can currently afford, that McLaren F1 just being a bit out of reach for me. I appreciate fast, nimble cars and would love to have a stable of autos filled with Porsches, Ferraris, BMW's, Coopers, Lotuses...the list goes on.

It's a NINE-ELEVEN PORSCHE, man, and, along with the mystique of the rear-engined, high performance vehicle with the unforgettably classic profile, this is a car that you can take the the track, race without holding a thing back, and drive it back to your house. In this car is four decades of racing tradition, a burning desire that has carried Porsche to F1 World Championships and countless LeMans, Daytona and other sportscar wins.

If you've never tracked your car or cars, then it's understandable why you may feel the way you do since you've never had dreams of racing a car. I think many of us experience a biomechanical connection with our cars when we drive it at speed, a feeling that is enhanced by track driving where the involvement is pure, and free from children, police cars and other obstacles. That experience is sensory and visceral and can literally flow from your hands, feet and backside, the road undulating beneath you, steering wheel and tires in deep conversation with your fingertips.

It's a shame that you feel ambivalent about it all, but I guess it's not for everyone.

Maybe you have an engine that's down on power?