Mspeedster

Jay Leno says "Porsh", he knows cars, but speaks with the good old American accent. Guess even PCNA hasn't had the guts to tell him his pronunciation is wrong.

LlBr

Yup. Fear of Money involved, prolly.

Then there's a former president who says "nook-ya-ler" and nobody got thru to him in eight years.

My rule: anybody like us who OWNS a Porsche and says "Porsh" should be corrected every time they say it wrongly.

ajayabb

I wonder if sometimes people call it a "Porsch" for short but know full well that it is pronounced "Porsche"

Edgy01

Many simply shorten it. Unless you are speaking to an immediate member of the Porsche family it just doesn't matter!

LlBr

No big deal BUT I try to imagine the family's preference for the pronunciation we use when referring to their cars. That's the one I go with and promote. Even if it sounds imperfect German accent-wise, the effort is what counts.

Kuhan

I grew up calling it a Porsch - that's simply how the word is said in England. Of course, I now know better but old habits die hard... Porsch-uh...

What I really hate is when someone calls it a "Porschay"

TheMethLab

I was talking to a client about cars and he mentioned he had a Porsche 911. We got into details and I asked if it was a 996 or a 997 and he looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "Um... I said it was a 911."

Edgy01

Well, that fairly well narrows it down to ...
1964, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83...

TheMethLab

It was a 2003 996.

Edgy01

Then he really doesn't know Porsches!

w00tPORSCHE

Nice thread. The "average person" does not have a clue about 911's period. Time and again I have corrected people who think Boxster is the name given for the soft top version of the Carrera. Many do not know that a Carrera is synonymous with a 911 and have no clue about the price difference between Caymans, Boxsters and 911's..to them Porsche equates to "a very expensive sports car".

arenared

What a funny thread with some great stories in it!

I would agree that the average person does not know a 911 from a Boxster from a Cayman, and many owners don't know their own numerical model designation. I'm still working on learning the early 911s, myself. Don't feel bad, though. My wife commented a few years back that she didn't really care for the look of our neighbor's new red Ford Mustang. Problem was, it was a red Ferrari 360.

In a few years, when you start getting your cars smog checked, you'll shake your head when the "technician" pops the front hood and looks all befuddled when there is no engine there to check.

Boeing 717

The gray one on the left is an S-UV, sheez it even sais so right there you guys dont know anything!!

jumper5836

I have a 996 C4S a few comments I've received.

Is that the new Cammero - I guess they read the logo Carrera as Cammero

Out on a drive with a 993TT, 997, 996 Targa and a 964 and we park together. A lady asks which one is the fastest the 993TT driver goes which one do you think. She points to my car and says the new one.

Gas attendant says that a weird place for a gas tank.

I send a photo of my car to my Dad after getting it. He replies what kind of car is that. We don't see anything up here like that.

At the gas station, young guy asks if it a Porsche. I say ya. He then asks if it is a GT3, I say no.

At the gas station filling up the Cayenne S. Older man and his wife pass by and the man says. If the small one is over 100k (CDN) how much is the big one?


So to answer the question I would say most people don't know the difference between Porsche and Ferrari or a 911 and a Boxster let alone different models of 911's.

vman4639

I just had a moment that reminded of this thread. I took a friend for a drive in my base 911. He sees the "Sport" button and remarks, "what does that do? Turn on the turbo?"

Also - as for the side thread of "Porsch" vs "Porsch-uh" - as a kid I said "Porsch" and it stuck. In my head, "Porsch-uh" sounds pretentious - certainly if you are correcting someone who pronounced it "Porsch".