akolodesh

OK - I know that style and design are subjective but did anyone read the latest issue of Excellence. Their 10 uber-reviewers (I am losing more respect for these guys each issue I read) rated the top 10 Porsche designs of all time. Interestingly enough the 993 didn't make it in the top 10.

Here is the list: 1) 911 coupe; 2) early 356 coupe; 3) 904 Carrera GTS; 4) volkswagon beetle; 5) 550 spyder; 6) 956/962 coupe; 7) 996 Carrera; 8) 356 Speedster; 9) Carrera GT; 10) Boxster Concept

Most of the variations of the 911 that were rated came from the 60's and 70's. Actually, only one reviewer rated the 993 as one of his top ten. A very surprising list IMO. I cannot believe these guys would rate the 996 design in the top ten while leaving out the 993 design. Btw, no offense meant to the 996. I do like the car quite a lot. I just don't think design was its strong point.

Dudley

Wow, your fast. I just pulled the wrapper off my copy.

Dave - Surprised to see the Volkswagon.

akolodesh

Are you kidding? I have to be on my toes with any of the Porsche mags I have ordered. If my wife gets to them first they go in the garbage
She knows as soon as one of the ads catches my eye, something new goes on the car.

Coleman

I wouldn't trust anything design related from our friends at Excellence. It has to be the worst-designed magazine I have ever read. (and it's supposed to be an hommage to the best designed car in the world.. how does that work??) Look at the masthead, they use a serif font!! WTF! Even Porsche had the ability to understand that serifs will make anything look like it's from the stone age. The graphic designers have never even heard of a grid. The cover is always a train wreck, with 7 typefaces and lopsided.. and who does those colored pencil renderings of the different models? Bruce Anderson's grandmother>>?

Okay, sorry...

(flame_off)

Coleman.

( I still have a subscription)

Howdy993

Peter Brock to his credit voted the 993 a #1.

The others, respectfully, need an eye exam or are smoking something pretty potent.

Come on - how many top tens for the 996 - give me a break!

Gotta love the Speedster and the 904 though.

my .02

jonathank2000

I terminated my subscription years ago. I found myself not really learning anything while thumbing through tons of ads to get to their articles. It was the same thing over and over...

Dudley

I suppose I would not be considered a savvy consumer. I am a big fan of big shiny pictures of anything Porsche related.

Mark in Baltimore

I like the 956/962, but over the 917? Or, better yet, how about the gorgeous 906?

akolodesh

It just seems very strange to me that while most Porsche enthusiasts I speak with are huge fans of the 993's design, whether or not they own one, these guys completely (with the exception of Peter Brock) disregard it. Its almost as if '89 thru '97/'98 years were irrelevant in Porsche street car design history to these guys - the 964 also gets the proverbial finger from these "experts". I wouldn't take exception to their opinions except that they score the 996 so highly. As I stated in a previous post, its not that I dislike the 996, I simply think styling was the weakest element of that model.
I also think its peculiar that that the outgoing design chief has taken such pains in this edition to tell the world the 997 is NOT an attempt to get back to 993 roots. He also rates the 996 very highly. If memory serves me correctly, he designed the 996 (and probably had nothing/ very little to do with the 993 - though I'm not sure).

vjd3

Um ... speaking as an art director, serif fonts are not "stone age," they are timeless and classic, much as the design of the 911 is. Bodoni can be beautiful if it's kerned correctly and used tastefully. However, criticizing as an art director, Excellence's design is far from excellent -- it's dated and ugly, IMHO.

It's also become clear (and I started my subscription back in the early 90s) that they bow fairly heavily to PCNA regarding their editorial department, as witnessed by each issue's "test" of whatever current PCNA press cars they could get their hands on -- "Boxster S -- the best ever?" or "Which current Porsche offers the most bang for the buck?" Or "testing" factory accessories on their "fleet" 2.7 Boxster -- breathlessly extolling and rating the virtues of the rear speaker option and the Litronic light kit. I doubt you'll see them seriously tackle something like Porsche's nonreaction to RMS failures on the 996 or anything remotely anti-factory, which is ironic, given even Panorama's columns regarding the future of Porsche's motorsport program and reaction to the impending Cayenne a couple years back. I think the UK's 911 and Porsche World is a far better read, although I bemoan the loss of the "reader report" feature.

I stopped subscribing to Excellence a year ago, although I browse it sometimes at the bookstore. From a journalistic standpoint, it's kinda fun reading the same cut-and-paste answers to the tech questions and same copy for the market reports with a couple of extra grafs tacked on. (No disrespect intended to Mr. Anderson; there aren't that many ways to answer "How hot should my 911 run?" -- just check our own archives.) And heck, some of those ads toward the back haven't changed since the early 90s!

Vic
95 C4 cab

SLVR

I am letting mine run out as I feel there is not a lot of content and thousands of ads. I thought the 1951 Glaeser project (until they came up with a whole article on the miniature one, bah) was fun but most other stuff in there is not terribly exciting.

Is there any other P-car mag worth reading....? Haven't really thumbed through anything at the stand that was much better than excellence either.

akolodesh

911 and Porsche World is significantly better IMO. The trouble is that they are UK based and therefore many articles and ads aren't relevant to the American reader. I still subscribe to it though, since it seems to be much more analytical in its approach to covering all that is Porsche (at least across the pond).

akolodesh

I am going to let my Excellence subcription run out. I have decided that anything in the mag I would like to see can occur with a two minute glance at the pics at the bookstore.

Rezal

I'm going to let my Excellence subscription run out too. IMHO, the magazine is nothing but an advertising arm for PCNA. Too often, the articles have nothing but positive things to say and even when they do a comparison test, the answer is never conclusive.

I see the same thing happenning to Road & Track. I used to be critical of Motortrend. Now, it seems tha MT is getting better but R&T is just going down the tubes. Again, nothing critical, all good things.

In general, with the area exception of Car & Driver, American car mags don't hold a candle to European car mags, be it Evo, 911 & Porsche World, or even the more consumer oriented Car. American car mags tend to have poorer photography, less critical writing, lesser quality paper, too many ads, and too many bloody SUVs. To have an idea of how mainstream US car mags have become, both R&T and C&D have launched separate mags to address the needs of the more discerning driver. Huh? I thought that's what R&T and C&D were supposed to be.

I found a used books store a few blocks from work that sell previous issues of the Euro mags for 40% off! In fact, I just got the latest Evo, which has yet to hit the Barnes & Nobles or Borders magazine stands for $6 + tax. Much better value than my $10 per year R&T subscription or whatever Excellence charges.

Howdy993

My Excellence subscription is in the crosshairs - with a finger on the trigger.

Thanks to a great site like Rennlist - most everything in Excellence is frankly, old news.

Dollar for dollar a rennlist membership is a far better use of your time and money.