I was at a retreat this weekend at a resort on the Oregon coast. After returning from a round of golf, my buddies and I spy a Porsche parked right in front. It's a 996 cab. But wait, it had turbo style bumpers on it. Wow, when I looked closer, I realized it was indeed a 2004 996 C4S Cab. And that's exactly what I said "Wow, that IS a C4S cab!", at the same moment, the owner, a guy in his mid-late 50s with his wife, walk right past me. He heard my comment and saw me admiring his new car. His only word to me as he passed was a condescending "Ha!" giving me a look like "**** off kid!" I was floored. It was the single rudest Porsche encounter I have had to date. I would think he would be excited to show off his new car to admiring onlookers. It has to be one of the first of it's kind to be delivered in Oregon. I had just read about the car about a week ago in Panorama. Oh well, I guess some P-car owners are friendlier than others.

It did make a little more sense after I learned there was an endodontist meeting at the resort that weekend. My other least favorite local Porsche driver is one. He likes to drive slow in the left hand lane on I-5 then turn on his brights at anyone who passes him in the middle lane. I know this, because he lives in my neighborhood and commutes the same time as me. And on occasion I have passed him in my non-Porsche daily driver to be rewarded with the brights in my rearview. BTW his license plate reads "DMD RCT" which brings me to my next topic.

What are the most arrogant vanity plates in your neighborhood? Others in my hood include "YALE MBA" "QK STDY" and my favorite "IQ 177" The cars are Lexus, Jag, Jag respectively. Please tell me nobody on this board puts degrees or credentials on their plates. Seriously, what are these people thinking? There ought to be a law. I think these plates would invite keying in the parking lot.

 

funny post ........ totally agree with you about vanity posts. rarely have i ever seen one that's interesting or not abnoxious. a cardiologist i knew had one that read "p qrs t" which i thought was kinda cute. those letters stand for the various waves on an ekg.

 

Tim,
It's disappointing to hear this about Oregonians. I'm a newbie to the Bend PCA and have been received extremely well by the veterans some of which are real high dollar guys. Were you at Bandon Dunes ? Highest priced golf in Oregon for the out of staters. Any chance your zip code is 97034-35 ? I used to live there. There are some snobs there for sure.
Relative to the keying issue, unfortunately I've seen too much vandalism to good cars. There are some pissed off people out there who don't understand that with a better work ethic they can be part of the great middle class in the USA. Instead they would rather trash someone else. Including some good guys who are dads and grandpas and employers.

 

Go ahead and say it. Lake big ego ! I live in West Linn which isn't much better. Looking forward to moving out to Sherwood after the first of the year.

 

just one comment...on a trip back and forth through Oregon this summer, I passed far more people on their right than on their left!!! Didn't matter what they drove, or the speed of traffic, 60 to 70% of the three lanes of traffic was in the "fast" lane on I-5.
Please, no offense to the few in Oregon that have some lane etiquette . Washington state was not much better!

max

 

Max,
You have grasped the Oregon driver problem accurately. I've lived here for 57 years. I've driven in 44 of the 50 states. The Willamette Valley drivers are among the worst in the nation. They frequently tailgate in the rain on the interstate highways. Californians drive faster but at least they leave adequate car lengths so you can brake. And yes Oregonians do have poor lane etiquette. The good news is that the Bend types who don't have an interstate generally do not tailgate because of their practice in snow. You can really pick out the Valley folks between PDX and Sunriver. Too close for comfort.

 

Lex,

I was at Salishan. I don't live in 97034 anymore, but I border it, most of my neighborhood is Lake O. And funny you mention that, DMD RCT and QK STDY both reside in LO. Not sure about IQ 177, but I think he is in SW P-town.

I realize that most Oregonians have poor lane etiquette, but I hold higher standards for fellow Porsche drivers. Please, stay right except when passing.

 

Guys I think its endemic to the whole country. I drove from TX to L.A. a year ago and I encounted the left lane problem everywhere. "Slower traffic to the right" should be part of our driver's education program; taught to kids from day one.

 

If the person in the left lane is going the speed limit while someone behind them is trying to pass while exceeding the limit, are they within their legal right the stay in the left lane? I think the answer is yes though I'm not sure. If it is yes than we all have no alternative but to pass on the right which can be potentially dangerous.

 

"If the person in the left lane is going the speed limit while someone behind them is trying to pass while exceeding the limit, are they within their legal right the stay in the left lane?" In Utah, that person can be cited for 'Impeding the flow of traffic' even if the traffic behind that person is traveling faster than the speed limit.

I remember this from a traffic school discussion I was in. The state instructor made a comment about it being legal to pass on the right if the person in the left lane is going too slow, and how technically it's illegal to go slow in the left lane. This old buzzard in the traffic school piped up about how he intentionally will move into the left lane and block those that he feels are speeding. The instructor ripped into him like you wouldn't believe about how unsafe that was, etc.

Of course, I've never heard of anyone receiving a citation for impeding the flow of traffic. It's usually the Highway Patrol causing the slowdown by driving 5 mph under the speed limit and nobody daring to pass them...

 

Many states (e.g., mine) have laws that provide:

"All vehicles in motion upon a highway having two or more lanes of traffic proceeding in the same direction shall be driven in the right-hand lane except when overtaking and passing another vehicle or when preparing to make a proper left turn or when otherwise directed by traffic markings, signs or signals."

However, they're seldom enforced.

 

Back to the original subject, there is a red Ferrari in my town with the God's honest truth Calif personalized plate "IPO TOY". I can't even imagine driving around in something like that. Talk about a key target.

 

One of the guys who works for me has the license plate "SMRTRDNU"... The funny part is that someone worked over his Maxima with a bat two days after he got the plate.. I don't feel THAT sorry for him with a plate like that.. It's almost like having a "HITME" plate.

 

There is a plate in our parking lot--2FAST4U--.
If it were on a MR2 or Miata, it would qualify to join the above blowhard examples. However, since it's on a 993TT, I like it. If you can pull it off, it ain't bragging.

 

I have BITURBO on my Audi...