Da Hapa

I have to admit, I'm a car enthusiast first and a Porschephile second. By that I mean that I readily appreciate great cars produced anywhere and by any company/country.

My Dad and his dad were/are both gear heads. My grandfather was more into motorcycles and classic American cars (maybe a generational thing) while my Dad had Corvette's and an original Datsun 240Z but always pined for a 911.

I consider myself to be very lucky to have owned some interesting cars but my path to Porsche started through Japanese sports cars. I've had a Miata, an original Acura Integra GSR, two Honda S2000's (2001 and 2002), a wonderful Acura NSX, as well as several more pedestrian cars. When I sold my NSX, I originally thought I was going to replace it with a then new Cayman S. I loved the feel of a proper mid engined car but I thought why not at least drive the 911... I was hooked. The steering feel, weight transfer, sight lines, and unique way the 911 accelerates out of a corner sold me in a second. The Cayman S is very, very good (and I would never question someone for owning one) but the 911 was just more me.

Ironically, I just sold my 997s as the recent birth of my son has made a third, pleasure car impractical. I was on the fence for months about selling it as I want to expose my son to cars like my Dad and grandad did for me, but it's just not reasonable (for my family) to have a car like that sit in the garage, hooked up to a battery maintainer, and maybe get driven 2,000 miles a year. So I find myself someplace where I thought I'd never be... contemplating buying a new Cayenne S. We'll see where the journey takes me next but thus far, I'm very, very sold on the Porsche way of building cars.

Mike in CA

If you make it that far, you won't regret the decision. I really like my new Cayenne S. We actually took both cars to Rennsport IV because I wanted to park my Carrera in the paddock, and bringing the dog, luggage, and some stuff to our place in Monterey required the Cayenne. My wife drove it extensively for the first time, and absolutely loved it (unfortunately ). As long as one needs an SUV why not one that drives like a Porsche?

Jay H

Your reasoning is one of the reasons Porsche is building the Cayenne. They wanted a vehicle that is useful for hauling children, pets and cargo along with towing ability so that the sports car people stay with the brand and not leave "the fold".

For hauling stuff of all kinds, the Cayenne is fantastic. I actually prefer it to the Panamera since it's a bit more useful and I like how the Cayenne is a bit less insulated (and you can order it with a manual transmission in V6 or V8 configuration).

My wife loves the Cayenne and we'd have one, but we need room for 7 a lot of the time...

Best,

Jay

Keadog

My first car was a 1969 GTO Verduro Green over Black new at 16 (I think my father thought buying that and me killing myself in it would be cheaper than paying for college). After wrecking that (non-fatally, for those who might be slow to catch on) and driving it to death in 4 years, I traded it on a 1970 E Type Roadster Regency Red over whatever they called Biege leather and Biege leather soft top plus Black hard top, using the money I had made working in U. S. Steel mills summers in college in 1973. I loved that car as much as anyone can love an inanimate object. Sold it in 1975 to help fund Grad School in Hawaii. Flash forward 16 years of grad school, med school, residency, a series of **** cars and two kids, almost all in relative poverty. It's 1991 and I finally have enough money to get another E Type. It turned out one of the Recovery Room nurses was married to the president of the NE Ohio chapter of the Jaguar Club. I got to know him and was seeking advice on finding a replacement Jag. After telling him I wanted to actually drive the car, he said "you should get a Porsche 911". Soon after I bought an '88 Turbo Cab with 8 K miles from Stoddard and the 993 in my Avatar is my 4th 911. Great cars and I'll probably keep buying them till I can't.
If I could afford it, I would still like an E Type Roadster. I loved that car like no other vehicle I have driven. Simply lovely. But I digress...

RF5BPilot

In 1962 my Dad bought a '59 1600 356 (I was 11); followed by a '65 356 SC with an "airport gearbox."

I was imprinted at an early age. Later, I had to kick his a$$ with a '69 European version 911S. And so it went.

(btw, driving up to Stoddard from central Ohio was almost a spiritual trek....)

Da Hapa

Thanks Jay. I agree.

I mean no offense to anyone but I've tried and tried to like the Panamera based on how well it drives but I just can't get behind the looks. It's not my cup of tea. Plus the door apertures for the rear seats aren't as car seat friendly as the Cayenne and the shape of the cargo hold in the Cayenne is much more dog crate friendly than the Panamera.

I appreciate the argument about diluting the gene pool but I, for one, am grateful that Porsche is presenting us with more and more choices. You want a hard core track car.. look at the GT3, you want one that's mid-enginged... look at a Cayman R... Maybe you need a car to shuttle clients around, we have that to.

Jay H

Porsche even went "the other way" with the 2011 Cayenne by making it lighter, more nimble and more fuel efficient than the typical trend of making the next generation model bigger and heavier. They focused on the sport aspect of the truck instead of turning it into a Suburban. Hats off to them for that way of thinking.

Marine Blue

I was 10 when I really became obsessed with Porsche's. My dad was buying a gray market Mercedes and the importer had very strong connections with the Porsche factory. Every time we visited he had several really cool Porsches at the facility but the one that really captured me was a factory made street legal 935. It was a light metallic blue and absolutely breathtaking. I wanted and still want that car and I'll never forget it. Sadly the guy sold it in 1985 so he could use the money to buy a 959. He showed me a picture of it before it was ever introduced in magazines. I remember him telling me that he was sad that he wouldn't be able to import the 959 into the US due to import laws and that he regretted selling the 935. At the time I had no idea what the 959 was so I didn't think much of it but it certainly all came together when the 959 was introduced the following year.

Porsche has had a place in my heart since that time.

Edgy01

Was always a car guy--starting at about 3-4 years of age. Then in 1973 a buddy dropped by the driveway with his new 914. I bought it from him one year later and have been addicted to Porsches ever since. Have never even driven a BMW--why bother?

SDD

This is fun, thanks for the thread.
I've always been a car guy. One of my earliest memories is from 1st grade, I remember I got sick at school at my teacher drove me home, since my parents had only one car and my dad was at work. My teacher's car stayed in my memory; I realized some years later that it was a Ctiroen DS19. This was in the early 1960's. After a diversion to American muscle cars circa '68-'69, reading Road & Track, Car and Driver, I discovered Porsche. And then, to cement things:
Steve McQueen.
Le Mans.
The movie.
A drive in the country--at 200 MPH!
So said the ads of the time.
The mighty 917--and Steve's green 911S--hooked me.
Ahh, the memories....
thanks!

Mike in CA

I bet that movie, and McQueen's beautiful S, are a big part of the Porsche mystique for almost everyone, like you and me, from that era. Cheers!

Edgy01

What also helped cinch it for me was watching the first of the IROC series on tv one afternoon--everyone was driving identical Carreras!

JohnnyBahamas

One day I hit bottom.

I broke the cycle of denial by admitting to the world that ... my "sports" car had leaf springs. I couldn't go on living like that so I reached out and got the test drives that I needed. Porsche was there for me.

7 years without a single leaf spring.

ADias

It's actually gray.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2011...NEWS/110819862

db

Great topic. For me, it was the unveiling of the 959. As a grade school kid at the time, it planted the seed that Porsche could legitimately take Ferrari's F40 head-on as a supercar contender. Around the same time, my uncle sold his 308 for a 911 SC, and I remember how cool his black-on-black 911 looked pulling up to my parents house. It's amazing how these memories burn into one's mind and have such an impact.

When it came time for my first car, it had to be German. The understated looks, hard-hitting performance and perfectionist engineering approach resonated with me. From beginning with VWs, to Audi, to BMW and now my first Porsche, it's been a life-long love affair that's just been fully realized.

And yes, Rennsport Reunion IV was UNREAL.