Billy Bob Dibble

Ghost, YOU ARE SUCH A TROLL!

However, in case you don't fully understand what a troll you are and on the off chance you might just say sorry:

Troll Post:

Go to a 997 board and post with the title: "Boxster S faster than 997 S "

Not a Troll post (though still slightly off topic):

Go to a 997 board and post: "Boxster S beat SLK"

Good topical post. DO NOT GO TO THE 997 BOARD instead post where it is appropriate. Goto the Boxster board and post: "Boxster S beat SLK"

(EDITED TO ADD THIS)

Ghost think of it this way. Do you think ANY car owner would want someone posting on their board saying X beats your car? How do you think the M3 people would like me posting with the title "330i faster than M3" ? It is clearly a troll. In fact I can't imagine a more "trolly" post. It is an example I would use to explain what a troll post is.

Ghost Rider

Last time I checked Trolls lived under bridges, I don't live under a bridge, thus your analogy doesn't apply...

equ

If a Boxster beats a 997 on a particular track (whatever the conditions) that's newsworthy enough to post on 997 or a boxster board. Taken literally, the title of this thread is misleading as it sounds very general. It's for ironic effect. It's a catchy title and the information inside is interesting.

I was surprised by the strong negative responses to this post. Usually such reactions are based in insecurity but 997 owners have nothing to be insecure about.

HBacura

I think you just hit the nail on the head.

997 owners...who cares. The conditions were obviously not the same. If this is really burning you up, get two equal drivers with experience driving both platforms and duke it out on the track.

DoubleNutz

I am still waiting to see a Boxster is faster than the 996 Twin Turbo... now that I just have to see!!!!

I mean that is simply insane, madness, crazy and must be a total mis-print.

DoubleNutz

In all years that it was produced, the 928 was Porsche's most potent N/A production car. That is a published fact by Porsche. The 911 did not reach comprable potentcy levels in a N/A production car until 2002.

DoubleNutz

Well, the 997 is still classified in the "BOY CAR" catagory and competes against other "Boy cars". However the SLK is still considered a,,, "GIRL CAR" so I guess the cars it competes with would be considered ...uhhhhhh,,,what?


DRIVE BUYS

Who You Calling Cute?
By JONATHAN WELSH
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 10, 2004; Page W15C

Let's admit it's fun to assign gender to cars. Chevy's Corvette is a boy car. Porsche Carrera: boy again. Pontiac's GTO is surprisingly androgynous -- an automotive Ziggy Stardust. But the Mercedes-Benz SLK is all girl.

At least it was. Compared with more muscular roadsters from Porsche , BMW and even Honda, the German auto maker's first-generation cabriolet often was lacking in the machismo department. To that end, Mercedes has redesigned its two-seat convertible for 2005 with the goal of attracting more male buyers. Since its introduction in 1997, the SLK has been a favorite among women -- they account for 55% of its drivers, says the company, which attributes the car's past popularity with female drivers in part to its styling. Its modest power and not-so-hot handling also helped get it branded as more of a cruiser than a sports car.

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
See how the Mercedes-Benz SLK 350 compares with other roadsters, and what we liked -- and didn't -- about the car.

And that hurt sales, which fell 23% to 6,023 cars last year -- less than half the number sold at the model's peak in 2000. Meanwhile, competitors are crowding the once-roomy market for entry-level roadsters. Rival BMW sold more than 20,000 of its Z4 convertibles last year and even Mazda found buyers for nearly 11,000 of its aging-but-affordable Miatas.

The new SLK, while still small, has a bigger engine and a muscular-looking body with bulging wheel arches and a long, pronounced nose reminiscent of the company's $450,000 SLR supercar. It's clearly a more masculine image, but we also found it a bit overwrought. Where the original SLK was almost toylike, the 2005 model is more like that short, stocky high-school wrestler who spent too much time in the weight room.

Crystal-Clear Transmission

On the road, the car backs up the visual swagger with strong acceleration and a light, nimble feel that surprised us. It actually seemed athletic, a quality we rarely experience even in the most powerful new cars. The SLK's 3.5-liter V6 engine generates 268 horsepower -- more than enough for this small car, but it responds to the throttle so smoothly that it doesn't seem overpowered in a jumpy, hyper way. Horsepower-hungry men (and women) will find the new SLK more appealing.


The SLK borrows (with mixed results) styling cues from the $450,000 SLR McLaren.


The biggest improvement by far is the six-speed manual gearbox -- an area where Mercedes historically was deficient (one theory was that the company designed manuals only for cars destined for European taxi fleets). The new SLK's shift lever moves easily between gears while keeping a crisp mechanical feel. The previous model's grab-bag transmission felt as if too many gears had been stuffed into too small a space, making it difficult to find the right one. (The SLK also offers a seven-speed automatic.)

We spent most of our driving time with the top down. The folding metal roof, introduced on the first-generation SLK, is still fun to watch. One button folds up the roof and drops it into the trunk (which is pretty much filled up once the top is down -- we could fit only a couple of small gym bags back there). While we're nitpicking: The folding operation took 22 seconds, which really is a long time to hold one's finger on that button.

Warm Feelings

Heated seats that really get hot make open-air driving comfortable when it's in the 40s outside. There were even openings in the headrests that blasted warm air onto our necks (Mercedes calls the system "Airscarf"). It's a clever idea, but we didn't notice a difference when it was on.

"Entry level" means different things to different people, but for folks wanting a convertible Benz, it means $45,500 for the SLK. Options including heated seats, navigation and a CD changer boosted the sticker on our silver test car to $52,000. It's a few thousand more than rivals like the BMW Z4 3.0 and Porsche Boxster, but the SLK is quicker, has that four-seasons-worthy folding roof, and, perhaps most importantly in this impulse-buy category, is new. Since none of these cars is truly practical, the SLK's novelty gives it the advantage -- at least until the next souped-up roadster comes along.
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Ghost Rider

Hey DoubleNutz,

I noticed you cancelled your order for the 05 Cobalt Blue 997S, was that because it was an 05, a 997 or Cobalt Blue or all of the above? Just curious.

Interesting article on the SLK, I am assuming they think the new SLK is faster than the existing 04 base Boxster, which it might be, haven't seen those pitted against each other...

If anyone can chop up an AVI video, I have the entire episode of Top Gear on my hard drive - 375 mb and I'd be willing to host a smaller version, perhaps just the Boxster/SLK segment on my webserver but I don't have any tools to cut it down in size.

DoubleNutz

I happened to love Cobalt Blue, however I am going to wait out the 2005 model year in light of the recently revealed quality issues (i.e. Skip in Boulder's problems) on the 997. This first year of the 997 is just looking really scary.

Perhaps the C4S will make an appearence in the 997 and I will scoop that when it arrives instead. The 996TT is a respectable enough widebody for me at this moment. But, I have to admit the Aston Martin DB5 (AMV8) is starting to really draw my attention away from Porsche. This time next year I may be driving my last Porsche if things don't change for the better with Porsche.

They may be selling a lot of cars this year but they are starting to lose me as an interested loyal customer of 15+ years.

Billy Bob Dibble

equ, please, if someone posted the 330i is faster than the m3 on a BMW board people would be all over it. Not because they believe it, because it is wrong. That is what a troll post is.

I wish the article would have classified the Boxster S. I don't know if it is just me but since I saw legally blond I have always thought of the Boxster S as a girl car.

On the SLK maybe Top gear got it wrong there too. That would be pretty sad if the regular SLK beats the Boxster S. It looks like the AMG version most certainly will *frown*.

Moogle

yes, be it naturally, or artificually induced, porsche would never let this happen.

why do people kid themselves...

DoubleNutz

Nope, it's definately not you alone dude...Boxster is definately a Chick Ride.

Sorry, but I just can't picture Vin Deisel, Nicholas Cage, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, or John Wayne stroking the shifter **** of a Boxster in high speed chase flick (perhaps that guy Steven Kojocaru <sp> or George Michael, or that Hot looking chick in Moogle's avatar).

Nope, Nope, Nope...no machismo in that ride or the SLK...definately a chick ride.

designman

Yep, the genius factor is starting to kick in now.

DoubleNutz

Yep, the Wall Street Journal genius factor. Even a business page as conservative as the WSJ believes the Boxster to be a "chick ride" (Zilch in the Juevos image).

I guess this thread should not have been started on a 911 board. Now you get to take the the abuse you trolled for.

A Boxster faster than a a 415HP AWD 996TT... my god that is true genius posting trash like that here.

smshirk

You know, I always looked at the Boxster as somewhat of a chick ride myself, until my wife got one, now I find myself wanting to drive it more and more all the time. It just plain handles and drives great! Hopefully the coupe version will drive just as well, without the stigma