R.I.P. Thomas Sila
04-06-2010, 12:44 PM
#17
Rennlist Member
Very sad indeed and a great contributor here. I believe that he was fairly active on the 993 board as well and perhaps this warrants a cross-post there.
Bob
Bob
RIP
04-06-2010, 09:37 PM
#23
Seared
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Tom, may you rest in peace.
I had numerous email conversations with Tom over the last few years, and am sad that we never met in person.
Andreas
I had numerous email conversations with Tom over the last few years, and am sad that we never met in person.
Andreas
04-07-2010, 01:58 AM
#27
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
04-07-2010, 12:12 PM
#30
Tom's Porsche Story
As an Army brat, I actually grew up in Germany. I don’t remember the first time I saw a 911, but it made an impression because that is the ONLY car I have ever wanted. During High school, right after I got my drivers license, I used to go to the Porsche dealer and just lust after the 911s. It never went away.
A few years ago, I was finally in a place I could afford one. The new 997 looked like the 911s from my youth and they had to be better cars, right? Well, after a few months of ownership, I realized that better isn’t always…better.
The 997, while nice, wasn’t what had made that imprint in my brain so long ago. It was HUGE. It didn’t make that metallic clang when I closed the doors (sounded rather like my Expedition actually). You couldn’t hear the engine at all. It had so many electronic nannies looking over my shoulder, that I never really felt connected to the car. Reading through the Owners Manual required another manual to decipher all the acronyms. That display on the center console was more complex than my office (see my avatar). It was nice, but Lexus or Acura nice. I ended up selling the car and actually thought I was done with Porsche. Maybe you can’t go back.
About six months later, I saw a red TT at one of the local dealers. There were those hips I remembered so fondly. Oh, and that cute little ***. I sat in the car and immediately felt “home”. You can’t help but feel they designed this car from the driver out. Did I want to take it for a test drive? OK. Start it up…oh yea, there’s that noise! With no water to drown out the mechanicals, you hear stuff. Cams turning, pistons pumping, valves…valving. Take it out of the parking lot and you can feel it at the first light. There is no fluff. Everything is here for a purpose. You can feel it actually breathing beneath you. I can only imagine that it must be like sitting astride a race horse in the starting gate at the Preakness. That is until the first time you experience a 993TT at full chat. Then you realize, this is a horse from a different planet. The first time you experience those turbos pumping air into that mighty 3.6, you will realize that the reason they don’t make them like this anymore is because they can’t.
With the safety ***** (can you say **** on a Porsche forum) in charge it’s all about airbags and traction control. Marketing has determined that I am more interested in cup holders than feeling the cable action from the throttle pedal to the intake. I can’t feel the throttle cable on a “drive by wire” car. Porsche has done an incredible job with the 997 given the constraints they have to work with. If you want a nice car, I can recommend the 997 whole heartedly. If you want a Porsche, buy a 993. But that's just me.
Tom
Last edited by md11plt; 09-18-2007 at 04:51 PM.
A few years ago, I was finally in a place I could afford one. The new 997 looked like the 911s from my youth and they had to be better cars, right? Well, after a few months of ownership, I realized that better isn’t always…better.
The 997, while nice, wasn’t what had made that imprint in my brain so long ago. It was HUGE. It didn’t make that metallic clang when I closed the doors (sounded rather like my Expedition actually). You couldn’t hear the engine at all. It had so many electronic nannies looking over my shoulder, that I never really felt connected to the car. Reading through the Owners Manual required another manual to decipher all the acronyms. That display on the center console was more complex than my office (see my avatar). It was nice, but Lexus or Acura nice. I ended up selling the car and actually thought I was done with Porsche. Maybe you can’t go back.
About six months later, I saw a red TT at one of the local dealers. There were those hips I remembered so fondly. Oh, and that cute little ***. I sat in the car and immediately felt “home”. You can’t help but feel they designed this car from the driver out. Did I want to take it for a test drive? OK. Start it up…oh yea, there’s that noise! With no water to drown out the mechanicals, you hear stuff. Cams turning, pistons pumping, valves…valving. Take it out of the parking lot and you can feel it at the first light. There is no fluff. Everything is here for a purpose. You can feel it actually breathing beneath you. I can only imagine that it must be like sitting astride a race horse in the starting gate at the Preakness. That is until the first time you experience a 993TT at full chat. Then you realize, this is a horse from a different planet. The first time you experience those turbos pumping air into that mighty 3.6, you will realize that the reason they don’t make them like this anymore is because they can’t.
With the safety ***** (can you say **** on a Porsche forum) in charge it’s all about airbags and traction control. Marketing has determined that I am more interested in cup holders than feeling the cable action from the throttle pedal to the intake. I can’t feel the throttle cable on a “drive by wire” car. Porsche has done an incredible job with the 997 given the constraints they have to work with. If you want a nice car, I can recommend the 997 whole heartedly. If you want a Porsche, buy a 993. But that's just me.
Tom
Last edited by md11plt; 09-18-2007 at 04:51 PM.
I remember being touched by his story. RIP