996 HAZ ARRIVED?

[SealGrauWailer]

I have observed a notable change in the perception of 996s since entering the fray in early 2016.

Excellent chassis

Engaging cockpit & analog controls

Low cost of entry & healthy aftermarket/indy market to service enthusiasts

Tawk amongst yawselves. My main interest mirrors that of Fredo Corleone - respect. But if I can roll into cars & coffee & make the coeds nibble on their lower lip, I won't complain.

[Dr_Strangelove]

That's the feeling I've had since being an owner as of April 2016 as well. Not a single person has spoken a negative word to me about the car. Though, to be honest, tough-guy talk is more of an internet thing. Even if they're feeling it most people will not be rude enough to point out to me in person that I've got a stupid car. (I don't.)

That said; just a few weekends ago I had a 991 owner chase me down so that he could be next to me at a light. When I gave him thumbs up he rolled his window down and asked me as many questions about my car as he could in 90 seconds, the final one being "is it for sale?"

At C&C I'm flabbergasted at how much attention my car garners even when it is parked in a row of cars that can often be 2 or 3 times more expensive, the general public doesn't care. They want the 996! Two weekends ago a kid asked me if my car was "the new 911?" So, first off, he was a kid. When I was lusting after these cars in college this kid was a mere twinkle in his mothers' eye. But thanks to the timeless design of these cars it's only the most stubborn of purists and enthusiasts who can really single out this car and poo-poo it.

I bought my 996 because I will own ANY 911. For that matter - any 912. I love the shape, the style, the attitude, it's my favorite car. I bought my 996 fully ready to be the only person that celebrated it - and to my surprise and delight - I have never been more wrong.

[SealGrauWailer]

Your is a rare color and spec sheet, so it's not surprising a 991 owner was interested

[DTMiller]

I told this story before but last summer I was at a light with the roof open and just generally enjoying the world and a dude in a GL Mercedes looked over and said "man, I wish I could afford one of those...."

I just smiled and rolled away.

[5chn3ll]

Having an aero car turns off some percentage of people. The rest of them - the ones with good taste - LOVE the aero.

[Dr_Strangelove]

I'm convinced that for a lot of folk it's just politeness born of a face-to-face conversation, but a comment I get a lot is; "Normally, I think wings are just for ricers, but on your car it looks like it belongs there."

It's a nice effort and I happen to agree whether they're full of it or not.

[SealGrauWailer]

"THAT car is 15 years old?"

"It's beeeeeeautiful"

[FRUNKenstein]

I told this story before but last summer I was at a light with the roof open and just generally enjoying the world and a dude in a GL Mercedes looked over and said "man, I wish I could afford one of those...."

I just smiled and rolled away.

Probably thought it was a turbo.

[B-ran]

When the 996 came out, I was a wee little lad of ten, and I still have the 99 model year brochure from the Chicago auto show. At that time, if my knowledge is correct, they were selling like hot cakes, a metric shit ton more than the highly sought after predecessor, the 993. The 986 Boxster and the 996 definitely saved Porsche from the ruins of bankruptcy, at the cost of the famous reliability and build quality they were known for in the past. Then the 997 came out and everyone decided to take a collective shit on the 996. Then the 991 came out, and the collective shit got even bigger. Why? Because asshats love to shit on things. All the magazines that reviewed the 996 when it came out loved it. It was more powerful, lighter, better handling, and more comfy than its predecessor. Would I like to have an air cooled 911? Oh hells yes I would. But the pricing of a decent example is much more than the 20 Gs I spent on my car. And the performance would be nothing like what my 996 has. Would I love a 997 or 991? Duh! But the 991 will need to drop about a gazillion percent more for me to think “yes, I should do this.” And the 997 while closer in price, is not that much better and cooler and more amazing that I could justify selling my car (most likely at a fair loss) and spending more money. Personally though, I sort of hope 996 prices stay where they are. If my car goes boom (like all the experts tell me it will) then I can just buy a somewhat cheap cab with a tip, transplant the engine, and part out the other car to recoup some of my costs.

[B3DAWG]

That's the feeling I've had since being an owner as of April 2016 as well. Not a single person has spoken a negative word to me about the car. Though, to be honest, tough-guy talk is more of an internet thing. Even if they're feeling it most people will not be rude enough to point out to me in person that I've got a stupid car. (I don't.)

That said; just a few weekends ago I had a 991 owner chase me down so that he could be next to me at a light. When I gave him thumbs up he rolled his window down and asked me as many questions about my car as he could in 90 seconds, the final one being "is it for sale?"

At C&C I'm flabbergasted at how much attention my car garners even when it is parked in a row of cars that can often be 2 or 3 times more expensive, the general public doesn't care. They want the 996! Two weekends ago a kid asked me if my car was "the new 911?" So, first off, he was a kid. When I was lusting after these cars in college this kid was a mere twinkle in his mothers' eye. But thanks to the timeless design of these cars it's only the most stubborn of purists and enthusiasts who can really single out this car and poo-poo it.

I bought my 996 because I will own ANY 911. For that matter - any 912. I love the shape, the style, the attitude, it's my favorite car. I bought my 996 fully ready to be the only person that celebrated it - and to my surprise and delight - I have never been more wrong.

Even though it's an old ad campaign and not a 996, it's still of the best ads ever...

porschead.jpg (317.45 KiB) Viewed 3491 times