This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the movie Top Gun. It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since many of us “strapped in” our movie theater seats for the Hollywood ride of our lives. The movie easily makes my Top 5 Porsche movies list (Top 5 Porsche Movies of All Time). I would say the movie has been responsible for causing a lot of people to fall in love with the Porsche 356 Speedster (despite the fact that the movie car was a fake) and the Porsche brand overall. I can still picture the blond bombshell blasting down the road in that open top beauty.

Given my sentimental feelings about Top Gun, I was excited to see a copy of the book TopGun Days show up for me to review. Even though this may seem like a strange place to read about a fighter pilot biography, the strong ties Porsche has in many people’s minds to the movie make it fitting.

TopGun Days is the memoir of Dave “Bio” Baranek. What’s cool about this book is Dave was one of the Topgun instructors (yes, an instructor at the actual Topgun in Miramar) who participated in the aerial moves used in the movie. He writes not only about his experiences as a fighter pilot, taking readers through a first hand look from the cockpit, but gives a behind the scenes look at how the scenes in the movie were shot.

As you can imagine, Dave had a pretty distinguished career as a fighter pilot. This definitely comes out in his writing and you get a sense of what life is like from the cockpit of a plane rather than just the cushy seat of a movie theater. I’m anxious to see the movie again after reading the book. It certainly feeds my imagination.

The book is worth picking up, even if you just read the Top Gun movie related chapters. Now if they would have mentioned the Porsche, the book would have been off the charts!

For those of you with a Kindle (or Kindle app on your phone or tablet) or a Nook, you can pick this book up for just $4.99. The publisher is running a Top Gun 25th Anniversary special, so the special price is for a limited time. You can access the special pricing through the following links:

Kindle: TopGun Days Kindle
Nook: TopGun Days Nook

Total 911 always has great information on various Porsche models, gorgeous pictures and great editorial. Even though the cars you will see in the magazine are by and large UK destined rides, the information and experience still applies. Definitely in the upper echelon of Porsche specific magazines.

Total 911 just released was the first 50 issues of their publication on DVD. I personally LOVE this idea. Sure you can’t replace the “experience” of a printed publication, but the convenience, consolidation and searchability of 50 issues on DVD is simply brilliant.

The cost is £19.99 (about $32.00) for the DVD plus £3.60 (about $5.70) for shipping. That’s a bargain for 50 issues. You can jump over to Total911.com for details here: Total 911 DVD.

Now you may write this off as not applicable to you unless you’re in the market for a used 911. Before you do that though, consider buying this book for these reasons:

1. It will educate you about the 911 series and offers great buying advice that is non-911 and even non-Porsche specific.
2. The more you’re aware now of what to look for when buying a used 911, the easier it will be to go through the process when the time comes that you’re ready to start looking. Also if you happen on a deal you can’t pass up, you’ll be more prepared to truly evaluate the car.
3. Come on, it’s a book about Porsche 911s! It’s interesting, has lots of pretty pictures, and is worth your time.

Before I get into what I thought of the book, let me give you a quick summary of what the author was trying to accomplish. He put it best at the end of his introduction:

“…to make the car shopping, examining, and purchasing stresses manageably low, so the driving and pleasure quotients remain very high.”

Leffingwell (sorry, we’re not on a first name basis) lays out a heck of a process to go through when evaluating a used Porsche. He guides you step by step around each area of the car and takes you through a detailed evaluation. So detailed is the process that I found myself wondering how anyone would get through this with a seller standing over you.

Next he goes through some of the specialty cars or the cars with special concerns such as Targas and Cabriolets, and Gray Market cars. The rest of the book is dedicated to each year, a synopsis of the year’s cars, specifications and specific problems, benefits and things to think about with each year.

I liked a lot about the book and found a number of things beneficial about the read. Here are my highlights:

• Pre-purchase inspection chapter. It’s by far the most detailed inspection I’ve ever seen. It’s especially helpful for a non-mechanical guy like myself. I’ve even started looking over the Giveaway Porsche and evaluating it for practice. Some of the stuff is a bit lofty if you ask me, but it’s an excellent standard to evaluate a car by.
• Year by year synopsis of each vehicle. I found this very helpful not only in determining what model year(s) I might want to buy, but evaluating a particular year as I found cars I liked. The specifications and rundowns were a nice summary and primer.
• Parts lists for each year. Helpful in figuring out what potential costs might be like.
• Garage watch for each year. It’s helpful to see the overlay of potential problems, features and benefits on a picture of a 911. Made it easier for me to remember things to look for when I went out to test drive and look at cars.

All in all, this is a great book for anyone interested in any Porsche models. It’ll prep you to be ready for the purchase process. I highly recommend this book. Buy it from Amazon.com here: Porsche 911 Buyer’s Guide

This is the third post in my blast from the past found in an old box of magazines in my garage. It’s been fun to glance back through to see what was being reported 20 years ago in the car world and about Porsche specifically. Some great articles to re-read. If you want to catch up, see the first two installments here: Memory Lane #1 and Memory Lane #2.

Today’s magazine marks the first issue published under the name Excellence. Formerly Porsche Magazine. The name change took me by surprise.

I used to drive about 45 minutes to Portland to look at and purchase magazines. Salem, where I grew up, really didn’t have any great places to buy magazines.  Especially some of the more specialty magazines that have become common place today. I had several bookstores and magazine stands that I particularly liked with huge selections. At that point in time, I wasn’t subscribed to any magazines. I bought everything off the newsstand.

I had purchased a couple of issues of Porsche Magazine and knew the latest issue was out, but when I went to look for it, I couldn’t find it at the usual spots I’d staked out. I kind of started to panic as I looked over the magazine stands trying to find this great new publication about these cars I’d fallen in love with.

It took me a while before I finally came across Excellence that I soon realized was indeed Porsche Magazine. Had quite a scare for a bit though thinking my favorite Porsche mag was gone. Needless to say Excellence DID survive and is still going strong today.

This particular issue is on my list of favorites for 2 reasons primarily.  First, the name change.  I thought the magazine editors chose well with the name “Excellence” in the absence of being able to use the Porsche name directly. It embodies the brand and what most Porscheophiles feel about the cars.

Second, I love the cover. Although I’ve never been much of a 924 fan, I think the car set on the checkered ground looks amazing. I have no idea where the shot was taken, but that checkered ground… It has that true car garage feel to it only set outdoors. Very cool.

Some other highlights from this issue:

• 924 Review
• Customized 911 Speedster
• Porsche 962 PDK
• The Slowest Porsche – Actually a Porsche powered blimp
• Driving a group of 356s through the Colorado Rockies

This is the second installment in my little walk down memory lane. You can read the first one here. This all came about when I ran across a box of old magazines about Porsche cars in my garage a couple of weeks ago.

This week’s magazine is one of my all time favorite magazine covers. The slant nose 911 sitting all by itself looking like a bully that had kicked all of the other kids off the cover. The colors and kind of fog just cleared look of the blurred background. I remember looking at this cover over and over thinking this was one of the coolest looking cars of all time. At this point I fell in love with the slant nose and to this day still would like to own one.

To this day I still think about the slant nose 911 on the cover and wonder if it’s still around. This is definitely on my Ultimate Car List. I also still watch out for slant nose 911s. I’m amazed at how many of these I’ve seen for sale in the last couple of months.

This particular issue, from a Porsche perspective, chronicled a couple of great things.  First was Porsche Exclusive, the factory customization arm of Porsche where millionaire’s Porsche dreams were made into reality. The slant nose turbo-look car was one of the many options available. Second was a look at US based Porsche customization shops offering similar treatments to new or used 911s opening the door for more to partake in something like the slant nose 911.

Other highlights from the magazine:

• BMW 850i Review
• Baseball In A Corvette, following baseball driving in a Corvette
• Welcome Back to Baja
• Geneva Auto Show news displaying beauties like the Aston Martin Lagonda and Daihatsu Charade

Although I’ve never purchased a Porsche specifically in the past, I’ve been with several buddies who have and I’ve also looked at a heck of a lot of used Porsches. Picking up a couple of books like this will give you a better shot at finding a solid car that you can enjoy fully instead of a car that more sucks your time and money than provide a fun driving experience.

Porsche 911 Buyer’s Guide by Randy Leffingwell
This series was formerly the Illustrated Porsche Buyer’s Guide by Dean Batchelor. Randy Leffingwell, a long time Porsche enthusiast, took over the series as it changed to a Color Buyer’s Guide approach. Randy states the goal of the book right up front:

“…to make the car shopping, examining, and purchasing stresses manageably low, so the driving and pleasure quotients remain very high.”

One of the reasons I picked up this book is because of it’s continuation of Batchelor’s work in the Illustrated Porsche Buyer’s Guide. That series was one of the best for all around good information and buying process help for both novice and experienced Porsche buyers. This book is a bit old and only covers through the 2001 model year. More than sufficient for my needs since I’m looking for a 911 that’s pre-2000.

Porsche 911 Performance Handbook by Bruce Anderson
This is the second edition of this book I’ve owned. It’s an excellent book and regarded as one of the best all around books on the 911. Bruce Anderson writes the monthly Porsche Market Update found in Excellence magazine and is one of the premiere experts on Porsche cars. I’ve followed him for a long time and he definitely knows his stuff.

Although the title may make you think it’s a book for tuners, it also has great information on 911s that can be applied to the purchasing process. There’s even a chapter dedicated to Buying a Used 911. Definitely pick up this book if you’re looking to buy a used Porsche or already own one and want some project or technical information about the 911.

As soon as I’m done with the books, I’ll post up a more formal review. I’m also working on a summary of the buying process from a non-mechanical buyer’s perspective with a couple of resources to help in the buying process.