French Countryside or Porsche 911S?

Hard choice really.

I’ve driven a couple of Porsches and they handle so beautifully. I also couldn’t really floor them because they weren’t my Porsches to begin with.

@ManchuCandidate: I had a high school friend with a 914. After one ride — seated, in effect, on the floor, legs straight ahead — I just didn’t get it.

@ManchuCandidate: The 911’s engine is in the wrong place, and Porsche engineers have spent nearly 50 years trying to engineer around that. Depending on the Porsche you were in, had you floored it and taken it into a corner, you’d likely have seen the tail passing you as you hit the apex – because the weight of the engine is out behind the back wheels it’s early to lose it and bring the back end around. I drove a late seventies 911 and remember feeling the push as the car cornered and shifted to oversteer. The problem has been solved mostly by the application of fancier suspension parts and, in many cars, all-wheel drive. Even in a modern 911 (here a rear-drive GT2) you can still see the nose twitch a bit in the curves as the car oversteers and the driver corrects.

@nojo:
It’s more fun as a driver, not passenger.

@blogenfreude:
A 2000 Carerra S and a 2004 Carrera 911 4S with the all wheel steering.

@ManchuCandidate: They’re all Volkswagens to me.

Speaking of which, said friend’s parents also had some kind of VW sedan, with a four-track tape player. I’ve never seen or even heard of one before or since.

@nojo:
Heh. Although don’t say that around any Porsche enthusiasts as they might be tempted to hit you with any handy Porsche parts.

Also, I annoyed them greatly when I called them Porsh. I was told (in exasperated tones) it is pronounced Por-sha, not Porsh.

@ManchuCandidate: It’s pronounced “my dick is even smaller than you think”.

@ManchuCandidate: Why did they name her after a car?

@nojo: Jeremy Clarkson calls them “Beetles” … and here’s an extreme example of Porsche tail-happiness..