sp250

I work at a U.S. university and happened to be talking cars with a colleague, a native German. In response to his question as to what car I drive, I mentioned my Porsche 993. He indicated that he would not wish to own a Porsche since in Germany they have the reputation of being driven by pimps. This surprised me. Although I can't say one way or another what people think about Porsches in Germany, such a view is hard to believe. Porsches are relatively expensive, and a good pimp, I suppose, should have a lot of discretionary income. However, Porsches are not glitzy or cheap-looking. In fact in many ways they are quite understated (the absence of conspicuous badging, the toned down and practical interior, same exterior shape for decades, etc). Am I missing something here?

Joe L.

David in LA

I don't think 993s make good pimp cars...can't carry many ho's since back seats are so small

AM993

This is the reputation of the 928, not the 993. No offense to 928 owners here (I personally love the 928 ), this is what my German friends told me.

Scott 1996 993c2

What if they're small ho's?

Scott

ssarchi

What kind of cars to American pimps drive? Chrysler 300's would be my guess- or mid 70's Caddies....

Paddy

^^ I was thinking the same thing

993_Pilot

Does that have something to do with the movie, "Risky Business" ?

Van1

My guess is that most Europeans in general gravitate towards the smaller more economical hatchbacks and probably have a disdain in general for anybody who owns a more expensive type of car. I am sure that I look like a pimp in my 540 on Crete when everybody else is driving little hatchbacks of 2.0 liters and less.

e9stibi

When did your buddy leave Germany? A 911 has never been a pimp car and is one of the most desired cars. This in particular applies to the 993 as "the queen of air cooled.

There might be another issue, that the Germans tend to be jealous at people that work hard, are successful and show it (e.g. drive a 911 or have a nice watch). It would be impossible for me to drive my 993 to work in Germany without being the talk of the week. (I am a regular Engineer and not a CEO). This is very different to the USA and one of the reasons why we do not miss Germany too much at this time.

Back to the pimp cars. The corvette and other V8 American muscle cars have the pimp image in Germany.

Erik

ste993

As a Brit I can tell you that Porsches have a similar reputation in the UK as they do in the US. Having lived in Vienna also I can also say the same for Austrians. I imagine the only reason for a Porsche being deemed a "pimp car" would be because pimps make good money?

tmc

If my 911s bright me the perqs of a pimp, who gives a sh*t what other people think?

Damien Lewis

I love it...call me a Pimp..but I have a certain love for Cadillacs and Porsches....Color me PIMP...Now all I need is the Technicolor Coat and Hat from Seinfeld and I'm all set!

Avenger6

The guy is kinda sort right.

There is the whole "socialist" thing that says to show success, ability, and wealth is arrogant and anti-social. The only people who are "allowed" to show wealth are the remnants of the old gentry, who often still hold the old titles and the wealth that goes with that, and "promis" (prominent people) from sports, show business or fashion. Anyone else is either stealing it (from the "common man" of course) or getting it through exploitation of some kind. Hence the "pimp" comment.

Granted, my comment here is a bit of a generalization, but the underlying truth of it is there. Market socialism says everybody should be in a narrow band of wealth, and no one person should have "too much."

Very few of the Porsche owners I have met here are "ordinary" folks like you find in PCA or here on Rennlist. They all have been pretty wealthy, and even so, the cars stay mostly hidden except for club events. The Doctors and CEO types can get away with a P-Car as a daily driver, but the others not so much. One guy runs a painting company, doing mostly "major" projects and high-volume house painting, and and he never lets any clients or employees see him in the P-Car. Other people who are also business owners (Not really CEO types, just people who busted *** to build everyday businesses like plumbing, roofing, construction, etc.) are the same....they keep it all very low profile.

There IS wealth here in Germany, but it stays very low-key.

95 C4 993

They call me Mack Daddy P here in Utah.

Dan V

"Am I missing something here?"

A lot of people in universities have a mental disorder, often exhibited as "Socialist" tendencies. There is a famous Ph.D from UC Berkeley who even wrote a best selling book on the problem. He writes under the name Michael Savage.