Bruce In Philly

Get off my lawn buddy.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

Tom R.

They ruined it in 1998 when the went to water cooled. They had some nerve imitating the rebadged Audi and overweight land yacht they called a shark that were mocked by Porsche purists for over 20 years. The true insult to "real Porsche guys" in addition to making it fatter and heavier was putting in an air conditioner that actually cooled the car. Real men don't need AC or eat quiche. Fortunately there was no transaxle in that 996 they dared call a Carrera 911.
Then they ruined it when they got rid of the cable between the go pedal and the throttle body. Drive by wire takes all the feeling away.
Then they ruined it in when they made it even fatter and heavier and called it 997.
Then they ruined it when they made it even fatter and heavier and got rid of the hydraulic power steering. the icing of the ruin was calling it a lower number just to screw up those who are not true fanbois.
Each of those changes was called progress. Lets face facts here, the only true 911 has lap belts and vent windows for air conditioning. All the rest are poseurs.
Next thing you know they are gonna make lifted station wagons and call them Porsches. umm, oh wait, they did. Is there no sanity left in this world. Next is electric with more power and better handling. How dare they. When will the insanity end?

mk85911

I haven’t driven any 911 newer that my 2011 997.2, so I don’t have first hand experience as to newer 911’s. But my decision to purchase my 997 was influenced by what I read re the then upcoming 991, which I had the impression was moving to the GT category; it was certainly larger than the 997. And the newer 911 versions appear to be moving further in that direction.

I keep my cars for a long time, and I knew full well that my new 997 was likely to be a rest- of -life car, because I was in my upper sixties when I bought it, and I wanted 25 years out of it. As it turned out, I ended up keeping my 1985 911, which will mean 50 years with that one by the end, so I think I hit a couple of sweet spots. I then added an awesome Audi S8 Plus, so I feel my fleet is complete, and with proper care they will get me to my finish line. It helps that there is absolutely no new vehicles out there that I have any desire to own.

Going forward, I will likely replace the family SUV at shorter intervals so that we have something somewhat newer for road trips, if necessary. Along that line, I replaced my 2014 Cayenne S with a 2024 Cayenne S late last year, and although the new Cayenne is quite nice in some respects, the ten year interim in model versions exposed an unfortunate move toward “softness”, which I presume is what Porsche customers in its primary market want.

The primary weak link in my plan is the fact that both of my 911’s are manual transmission, and although I have absolutely no problem shifting gears now—in fact, I love it—, I can’t ignore the possibility that I could be forced into a PDF version of a 911 at some point. Could be worse. Mike

Mike Murphy

One should not compare the 992.2 to any other 911 from the past. Each 911 is interesting and unique and serves a purpose. Each 911 ditches old tech and tradition for modern comforts and regulations.

The 992.2 should be compared to any 2025 equivalent daily driver, any weather, do anything car that can get groceries and have some fun on the track.

So no, they didn’t ruin it completely. They must trade a little bit of the 911 soul with each generation, but that’s life in this day and age.

Ironman88

I agree with what you've said here. Regulations / government mandates drive a lot of the evolutionary changes.

But the thing I find most disturbing about the generations of 911 that are newer than the 997 is the fact that they have become non-repairable.

With a 997, a fairly industrious and motivated owner can "get in there" and diagnose and repair issues with the car. In the case of some of the electronics, perhaps not. But in some cases, yes.

The new stuff - it's just swap out the overly complex and really expensive bad component, for a new one. (With heavy emphasis on EXPENSIVE.)

I've had a 997 and really enjoyed the car. But being the geezer that I am turning out to be, I sold that car and ventured back in time to something that I can connect with on numerous levels and also repair (provided that it ever breaks.)

Rig.Stunts

Great discussion!

As a die hard manual transmission fan, the 992.2 GTS is not an option.

But, this car is a brilliant, innovative engineering statement.

Usage of 480 volt electrics, electric motor in the PDK, electric boost assist, ideal fuel trims, and a completely new motor - it's shockingly good.

For somebody else though, not me . . .

voiceprint1

when you see the bill for that light weight lithium battery from the dealer you might soil yourself, that is the real gotcha with that setup.

Mike Murphy

I’m guessing that, in ten years, that battery is going to be fairly common…

Maybe in ten years that same sized battery might have twice as much power?

Bruce In Philly

There is a wave of new battery tech on the way.... and, recycling of batteries is just getting going. In time, not sure how long, but you will be able to replace your exotic batteries including your Tesla or Ford EV batteries with EverReady or whatever... it is coming. Keep in mind, we are at the very beginning of a new tech environment of stored energy... it has hardly begun.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

Mike Murphy

I would have assumed that many of these newer cars are non-repairable, but in talking with mechanics, many have said that newer cars (generically) are actually sometimes easier to repair than some older cars because we have so many more sensors and software tools to pinpoint problems.

I agree that certain components are black boxes - things like PDKs and surely the 992.2 PDK/motor/generator system might be exactly that. And sure, pop the decklid and you cannot even see the engine, let alone troubleshoot anything from there. But…once out of warranty (scratch that - out of extended warranty and ten years later), I’d assume a healthy amount of independent mechanics out there and 3rd party partners will have dissected, improved, and fixed many issues these cars will have experienced by then, no?

Mike Murphy

I re-worded my comments because I agree with what you posted…

Tom R.

I bet you didn't have to replace a high pressure fuel pump. I know, people replace them all the time. 1,400 PSI gasoline squirting in the garage is not my idea of a DIY job. Only $3,500 at an Indy with me getting the pump from Gaudin

Ironman88

Maybe to better illustrate the point I was attempting to make, I'll use an actual real example.

I had a later model BMW that had a driver's side turn signal bulb malfunction. At the time, I thought - ok, no big deal, I'll just head to the dealer and pick up a replacement bulb and swap it out myself. Well, that turned out to be wrong.

I explained the situation to the clerk at the BMW dealership parts counter and he hesitated for a moment and smiled. He then told me that "you can't just replace a bulb in that assembly." "The problem is not with the bulb, it's with the way that the entire headlight assembly (including the turn signal bulb) is designed." Long story short, the only way to address the bad turn signal was to replace the entire headlight unit assembly - both low and high beam (Xenon low beam) included. The whole thing. Total cost - $2,200. And I'm not joking.

BMW offered to provide "good will" consideration and would give me $500 off of that - so only $1,700. $1,700 to replace a bad turn signal bulb. And - it gets better. The passenger side assembly I was told would soon go next.

Not to overstate it - but this is precisely what I see as being an epidemic wrong with new cars.

voiceprint1

I am sure battery tech will evolve, but in ten years that factory lithium battery might have to be replaced 2-3 times at a cost of north of 2,500 + labor each, a lot of folks seeing about 2 years on them in certain models.

BRN9121

You should see the bill for a stupid PTS option.