OMG JUST A THOUGHT! IMAGINE THIS

[LS1Leader]

If I could afford it, I would keep something like that around... I'm not very fond of Boxsters in particular (I call them baby Porsches), but they are very fun to drive, and I wouldn't mind taking one along for a relaxing weekend drive in the canyons or along the coasts.

My friend, this is why we have rentals.

You would probably have enough money to buy one outright if you could spend about $249/day for the rental.

I think I'll rent a Viper for my wedding night.

[P911C4]

Porsches are my favorite cars - ever. I know a lot about them, and I have driven two in my lifetime. My uncle used to own an extremely rare model until it was involved in an accident a few years ago.

They are some of the best handling cars in the world, considering the 911's have upwards of 65% of the total weight at the rear end of the car. With advances such as Porsche Stability Management (PSM) and all-wheel-drive on a few select models (mainly the 911 Turbo and the Carrera 4/4S models), handling has improved, even for the novice driver.

The Boxster is mid-engined, which makes for perfect balance when cornering. A former teacher whose father-in-law owns one described its cornering capability as "the ability to take a 20 mph turn at about 80." It by no means is a drag racer, its true performance can be found in the twisties, not a straight line.

The Cayman is a new model, just recently developed. It is basically a hard-topped Boxster with slightly more power (roughly 295 hp). I have a link with some really good pictures at the bottom of the post - one of the first off the line, sighted right outside the factory in Stuttgart. I think it's a very attractive car, and I hope it sells well.

I won't get into the Cayenne since it's a tragedy that it was ever developed.

Are Porsches expensive? Yes. Could you find a more powerful vehicle for less money? I'm sure you could. A better handling one? That's a little tougher. I think these cars are special and offer some things that a Corvette cannot. They're not inexpensive initially, and maintenance is not cheap either. Like others have said, it's better that you wait until you have a steady and very good paying job until you make the decision to buy one.

Regards,
Rich

Here's the link with the Cayman pictures.
http://www.flat-6.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14935

[Johnf514]

I think I'll rent a Viper for my wedding night.

Will you marry me?

[LS1Leader]

Porsches are my favorite cars - ever. I know a lot about them, and I have driven two in my lifetime. My uncle used to own an extremely rare model until it was involved in an accident a few years ago.

They are some of the best handling cars in the world, considering the 911's have upwards of 65% of the total weight at the rear end of the car. With advances such as Porsche Stability Management (PSM) and all-wheel-drive on a few select models (mainly the 911 Turbo and the Carrera 4/4S models), handling has improved, even for the novice driver.

The Boxster is mid-engined, which makes for perfect balance when cornering. A former teacher whose father-in-law owns one described its cornering capability as "the ability to take a 20 mph turn at about 80." It by no means is a drag racer, its true performance can be found in the twisties, not a straight line.

The Cayman is a new model, just recently developed. It is basically a hard-topped Boxster with slightly more power (roughly 295 hp). I have a link with some really good pictures at the bottom of the post - one of the first off the line, sighted right outside the factory in Stuttgart. I think it's a very attractive car, and I hope it sells well.

I won't get into the Cayenne since it's a tragedy that it was ever developed.

Are Porsches expensive? Yes. Could you find a more powerful vehicle for less money? I'm sure you could. A better handling one? That's a little tougher. I think these cars are special and offer some things that a Corvette cannot. They're not inexpensive initially, and maintenance is not cheap either. Like others have said, it's better that you wait until you have a steady and very good paying job until you make the decision to buy one.

Regards,
Rich

Here's the link with the Cayman pictures.
http://www.flat-6.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14935

I like Porsches, but particularly dislike the Cayenne and Boxster. Further, I think that too many people (not you, and the real diehard fans) like them only because of their name. I understand why Porsches are such good cars: their handling is superb, and that handling makes them extremely fun cars to drive. But they are not necessarily fast cars (not all Dodge cars are fast, just because the Viper is). I've been pondering buying a 968 or 944, and I know that if I were ever to drive around in it, people would definitely overestimate the car's quickness, simply because it's a Porsche. In addition, the AWD and electronic controls have made the 911s a little less of a driver's car, as, like you say, even a novice can drive one very quickly

I have predujices towards the Boxster based on aesthetics and its consumer demographics, but I still respect its capability, depsite being underpowered IMO. On the other hand, I really like everything that the Cayman appears to be (hardtop, more power, stiffer), except for its name.

[LS1Leader]

I think I'll rent a Viper for my wedding night.

Will you marry me?

If San Francisco and Utah somehow merge, I wouldn't mind a polygamic same-sex wedding!

[VTECaddict]

i would sell it, and depending on my financial situation, save/invest the money, or buy a different car. i dont really like porsches (no offense to the porsche guy). the only euro brand i really like is BMW.

btw, how do you guys pronounce it? "Porsch" or "Porsch-uh"
i say it the second way.

[P911C4]

btw, how do you guys pronounce it? "Porsch" or "Porsch-uh"
i say it the second way.

I've seen a T-shirt with the following quote on it, just in case anyone here had any doubt whatsoever:

Front of the shirt reads:
"PORSCHE."

Back of the shirt reads:
"It's a two syllable word."

Porsch-uh, indeed, is the correct pronunciation (remember: it's a German word so the "sche" is its own sound I guess).

LS1, your points are very well-taken. I believe the Boxster is somewhat of a marketing ploy, but not nearly as much as the Cayenne and Panamera (a four-door, four seat sports sedan - yikes - to be produced in 2009) are/are going to be. The Boxster is based on the 550 Spyder from 1960 - Porsche's first mid-engined roadster, but as you're probably thinking, it is a vehicle that allows people to own a Porsche without spending over $60,000 on a 911. The Boxster to me is very overpriced, and I would never fancy owning one, unless I got it second-hand for a bargain. Like you said, these cars present an image of uber-status, and I don't doubt or deny that the majority of people probably buy them for this reason. The only problem is that because of this, these CEOs and lawyers and whoever else buy them as status symbols get them with Tiptronic transmissions because they either don't want to or can't drive a stick. As much as I love seeing a Porsche on the road, it pains me when I see it mated to that awful semi-automatic. It's almost offensive, and it's just not a true Porsche. To me, a Porsche with an automatic transmission is like a Corvette with a 4-cylinder engine in it.

I like the fact they you're looking into 944s and 968s. While people might overestimate their straight line performance, remember, you've got a Porsche, and its handling will be quite awesome.

Interesting fact about the 968: From the time it started production (1992) up to the year 2000 (production ended in 1995), the Porsche 968 had the most powerful naturally aspirated four cylinder engine in the world,
producing 236 horsepower from its 3.0 L I4. The car that beat it: the Honda S2000, making just 4 horsepower more.

[jcprov21]

I always thought that porshe was slang.

[potownrob]

P911C4, you've got great open roads up there where you live. I used to drive all over the place while I was going to SUNY Albany and I had a blast opening it up on the endless backroads (even though I had slushies back then). I saw Maroon 5 up at Northern Lights a couple years back .

[scionkid]

I don't get it. Just because a car is primarily bought by rich snobs, that doesn't make it wrong for you to own one. Porsche did a good job of keeping the car light (less than 3k# is aight in my book) while giving it the power that it needs. Chevy, on the other hand, they slab a tub on a truck chassis and call that, Anna Nicole Smith resembling thing, the SSR. Super Sport Roadster? Which sport, wrestling? That thing is definitely more show than go. If there's no Honda S2k or Lotus Elise, I would go with the Boxster.

This Boxster bashing is just like those who aren't feeling secure about their manhood or orientation calling the Miata a chick car. For the record, I'm a dude who wants the new MX5.

[P911C4]

The new MX5 is an awesome car, I'm not gonna lie about that. I'm a fan of two-seat roadsters that some people consider to be not masculine:
- Mazda Miata
- BMW Z3 (it's too bad that the Z4 looks the way it does)
- Porsche Boxster
I'm in agreement about the Boxster bashing thing; it's not a girly car to me. Many do, however, consider the Boxster as the "poor man's Porsche." I think the source of the bashing comes from the fact that you're paying upwards of $45,000 for a car with "only" 240 hp and that can accelerate from 0-60 in 6.2 seconds, "slow" for some. Someone I know had the nerve and gall to compare a Boxster to a Dodge SRT-4, saying the latter was a better bang for the buck. Sure, the Dodge can accelerate faster and.....that's about it. You have to remember that you're comparing one of the best handling cars in the world to an overpriced Neon. I don't exactly know the weight distribution for the Boxster; I'd imagine it's close to that perfect 50/50; I know it weighs 2855 lbs as scionkid mentioned. What it lacks in the power department, it certainly will make up for in the twisties.

[potownrob]

I love the looks of the new MX5 and also the aggressive-looking Z4

[P911C4]

I love the looks of...the aggressive-looking Z4

It is aggressive, I won't argue with that. I just like the Z3 better. The Z3 is not aggressive at all, it's got really suttle lines with no funny angles. I just think (=opinion) that the aggressiveness added to the Z4 made the car unattractive.

[potownrob]

I love the looks of...the aggressive-looking Z4

It is aggressive, I won't argue with that. I just like the Z3 better. The Z3 is not aggressive at all, it's got really suttle lines with no funny angles. I just think (=opinion) that the aggressiveness added to the Z4 made the car unattractive.

I think that's also why I don't like the looks of the Z3

[WarnerKrause]

Porsch-uh, indeed, is the correct pronunciation (remember: it's a German word so the "sche" is its own sound I guess).

Knowing a fair amount of German, myself, I can confidently say that "Porsh-uh" is the correct way of pronouncing Porsche.

Although I know this, I still pronounce it "porsh", simply out of habit, and the fact that I'm speaking English, so going back and forth between pronunciations just feels weird.