This of course filters down to one of my favorite subjects, Porsches. Many people who don’t drive a Porsche make some pretty erroneous assumptions about those of who do. Things like people who drive a Porsche have loads of money, those behind the wheel of a Porsche are jerks/drive too fast/have no regard for others, and insuring a high performance sports car like a Porsche is off the charts expensive (good thing all of us have “loads of money”!).

What recently got me to thinking about this was an article I came across on an insurance site. It was talking about the costs to insure various cars. According to the research, which is a couple of years old, the Subara Impreza WRX held the title for most expensive to insure after the studies found drivers of the souped up mini sedan are more likely to get into accidents causing injuries such as whiplash claims. Interestingly enough, the Porsche 911 Turbo and 911 Coupe were at the other end of the spectrum with owners holding a significantly lower chance of injury claims compared to other policyholders.

One site had this to say:

For example, the Porsche 911 has a 67% less chance for injury claims than the norm. Go figure. The Mitsubishi Lancer has almost double the injury claim rate over the norm. [Source: CarInsurance.com]

I’m sure much of it has to do with the age and driving habits of Porsche 911 owners compared to the same of WRX owners, but that kills a couple of big misconceptions people have about the Porsche brand.

Even when you’re driving an older model that costs half as much as an average family minivan, people still look at you like you’re a rich snob and think you’re going to drive like a maniac. I even had a guy cut me off on the freeway this last summer, then flip me off even though I was doing the speed limit while passing him. I assume it’s because I was in a sports car and that somehow upset him.

I love the Porsche brand and the cars they turn out. I’m not a fan because they represent some status symbol in my mind. I simply love the cars and the experience of driving them. It’s icing on the cake to read things like the insurance articles that talk about how safely the drivers of our beloved brand conduct themselves behind the wheel. Course I’m sure there’s a lot of injury lawyers out there that wish that weren’t the case!

That and two bits will buy you a cup of coffee as my Dad likes to say.

A few nights ago, I was sitting at home, a little bored. It was nearing 10pm and I decided we needed to do something spontaneous. I loaded the family up in the car and set out to do something I used to do at least three or four times a week for most of my high school and college years. We went to look at Porsches.

This may sound a little ridiculous and boring, but you should realize that I’ve likely spent more time sitting in my car (or my parents’ car) looking at Porsches than I have actually IN a Porsche. I used to drive nearly an hour each way to visit several used and new Porsche dealers in the Portland area when growing up. I’d also drive that same distance to visit magazine shops that carried Porsche related magazines not available in the Salem area.

This is a long standing tradition that has not died out.

Our first stop was a place named Northwest Investment Cars. Typically you can count on them to have not only a great selection of Porsches, but other exotics as well. On this particular night, there were some a few gorgeous late model 911s to be seen from the window. A solid start to our little late night Porscheventure.

The second location was a local Porsche dealer: Sunset Porsche. They always have nice cars on display and I was REALLY excited to see two cars in particular. The first was a 911 GT2. You just don’t see too many of those out and about, and this was a great example. Black with cool white lettering down the sides.

The second car was a first in person for me: a Porsche Boxster Spyder. I couldn’t believe they had one! I was so pumped at the sighting, I drove my wife (who had no intention of getting out of the warm car) over to the window to see it. I love the look of the car, especially the interior color.

My son really liked the white Porsche Cayman pictured above.

Of course I didn’t have a decent camera with me, so the only way to document the moment was with the iPhone. Sorry for the terrible picture quality.

All in all, a great night and a sure cure for boredom! Man I LOVE Porsches!

Dwight over at Carsinpedia.com (a site you should check out if you haven’t already) sent me a link to a Porsche 911 up for sale on Pelican Parts he found recently. It’s a 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 (964).

Here’s the thing, it’s got 521,000 miles on it!

Sure it’s had a majority of it’s mechanicals rebuilt or replaced over the years, but that is a heck of a lot of mileage for a Porsche. Helps bolster Consumer Reports putting the Porsche Boxster at the top it’s list of cars with the most longevity (Porsche Boxster Tops List of Cars That Won’t Die).

Check out the LONG list of Major Repairs:

Flywheel replaced at 41,991mi
Distributor replaced and ventilation kit installed at 82,120mi
Ignition lock replaced at 92,030mi
O2 Sensor replaced at 96,720mi
Both rear calipers upgraded with larger 4 piston 928 calipers at 96,720mi
Windshield replaced at 106,241mi
Clutch and rear main seal replaced at 135,242mi
Rear blower replaced at 141,234mi
Engine reseal at 150,194mi
Spoiler drive replaced at 159,020mi
Rebuilt transmission, replaced pressure plate and pilot bearing at 180,258mi
Replaced both rear wheel bearings at 220,242mi
Rear CV boots replaced, joints repacked at 251,341mi
A/C compressor and receiver drier at 275,676mi
Replaced both blower motors at 291,749mi
Front crank, intermediate shaft cover seal, and chain box covers replaced at 297,952mi
Right rear CV axle replaced at 315,774mi
Right rear wheel bearing and hub replaced at 322,742mi
Engine carrier and both motor mounts replaced at 324,620mi
Replaced alternator, fan hub, and fan housing at 326,540mi
Oil cooler replaced at 328,530mi
Evaporator replaced at 334,869mi
Shift rod bushings replaced at 334,879mi
Carpet replaced at 345,419mi
Front and rear calipers rebuilt at 359,947mi
Power steering pump replaced at 365,664mi
Fuel pump replaced at 395,042mi
Engine Converted to 3.8L by Andial and auxiliary oil cooler installed at 400,000mi
Rear blower motor replaced at 409,913mi
Clutch master and slave cylinders replaced at 413,368mi
Front bumper replaced at 414,560mi
Left front wheel bearing replaced at 452,326mi
Windshield replaced at 454,514
Replaced front swaybar links, front lower control arms, and ball joints at 454,514mi
Rear spoiler replaced at 460,308mi
Starter replaced at 480,772mi
Spoiler control unit replaced at 483,528mi
Updated fan and pulleys installed at 495,566mi
Clutch kit installed at 495,566mi
Engine rebuilt at 496,197mi
Driver side window motor replaced at 497,370mi
Right rear wheel bearing replaced at 510,032mi
Washer pump, idle valve, and left inner CV joint replaced at 519,540mi
Car painted and all body seals replaced at 519,540mi
Front hood struts, defrost motor, and fresh air motor replaced at 520,561mi
Engine reseal and bottom end bearings replaced at 520,561mi
A/C compressor replaced at 520,750mi
Odometer rebuilt at 520,800mi

One of the interesting things to me about this car, which will likely be tough to sell due to the mileage, is the asking price. It’s up for $16,000. Personally I wouldn’t spend that much on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone comes along and snaps it up for somewhere near the asking price.

You can check out the car here: 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.

The first is How to buy a Lamborghini on a used Porsche budget. This may seem really out of place, but you have to check out the details of this post and additional picture they have up on the site. Here’s one I snagged from the site to give you a taste:

Get this…this car started life as a 2000 Porsche Boxster S! Sounds crazy, I know. Check out the full post along with some details and another picture at the link above.

The second post is one that completely caught me off guard. Yes, even more so than the Porschini. It was We travel to Dubai to test the new Michelin Pilot Super Sport. The reason this caught my attention was the first photograph:

Holy crap…and you can barely make out the Porsches clear down at the end of the row. The fact that Michelin called up the people at Porsche Purist and asked them to come to an all expenses paid event in Dubai really got me to dreaming. Course I have no expectation that would ever happen to me, but a fella can dream can’t he?!

Definitely worth the read and some great pictures of the event.

I came across this somewhere a month or so ago. Porsche has set up a live webcam aimed at the Porsche Customer Center with a stretch of the Porsche circuit behind it. A novelty, but pretty cool. I’ve already hit it a few times over the last day.

Refreshes every 5 minutes, so you can just hit refresh on the web page to see a new image. Check it out here: Porsche Leipzig facility.

Should the term “truck” also apply to SUVs?

* Yep: 21% (50)
* Nope: 38% (92)
* Come on, let’s focus on Porsche CARS here!: 41% (98)

Total Votes : 240

Personally, I feel a bit victorious here. Throw out all the indecisive answers and clearly a Porsche Cayenne should NOT be referred to as a “truck”!

That’s a heck of a a string of simultaneous job titles!

Made me think about what a huge wealth of opportunities the merger with Volkswagen has opened up for Porsche employees and more specifically its executive team. This is the third or fourth executive, that we know about, who has moved on to “bigger and better” things over the last year. I suppose it speaks highly of the talent Porsche has cultivated in its executive pool over the years. Hopefully it’s not all robbed for the mother company.

Is the move for Dürheimer a move to better things? That’s tough to say. Porsche die hards will probably say no, but in reality, it at least sounds more impressive.

That and two bits will buy you a cup of coffee as my dad likes to say.

Feel free to comment or vote with you mouse. I added a new little short term poll around this topic.

This is a teaser video for the Porsche DNA site. Short, but sweet, although most of the footage we’ve seen in other Porsche videos. Just never gets old though.

To go along with it, check out the Porsche DNA web special. It’s not new, but I hadn’t been out there yet. I love the loading screen. Feels Matrix-like. The site is pretty cool, although there’s not a lot of depth to it. Answer 9 questions and Porsche will decode your “Porsche DNA” for you. Turns out mine was a Porsche 911 Carrera 4. Guards Red.

Some interesting facts in the questions and nice pictures as always on a Porsche Web Special site.

You can view it here: Porsche DNA Web Special.

[Source & Image: Porsche.com]

I came across a great post on PorschePurist.com this past week titled 10 Tips to Carve Your Own Porsche Pumpkin. To be honest, I don’t think I have the patience or skill to do something amazing like this. I can barely eek out the triangle eyes and nose and a mouth with a few teeth. I usually end up cutting into half the teeth or breaking them off while punching out the mouth (not literally punching out the mouth…I’m not a pumpkin abuser).

The post is worth the read, even if you just check out the pictures. If anyone ends up carving something Porsche related into their pumpkin this year, take a picture and send it to pictures @porscheperfect.com. I’d love to see it.

He started messing around with the Porsche Boxster and ended up adding options until he had this entry level Porsche starting at $58,000 up to a decked out $128,340 pimp daddy ride! Here’s a picture of the inside and outside of his customized Boxster S:

I’ve done this same thing in the past with 911s and other cars. It’s pretty fun trying to figure out the most expensive combination of options on the various cars. I have to say I love the look of this car and would proudly drive this Boxster S.

In case you haven’t experienced this for yourself, you can check it out here: Porsche USA. Once there, select one of the Porsche models, then click the Build Your Porsche button.

And ENJOY!!!

[Image: Porsche.com]