Eh. I have two cars that are basically commuters, and one that is a fun weekend car. If I got another it would be a commuter for a third person. I’ve received some push back on the idea of owning 4 cars, but…really if I sold one it would have to be the Porsche, and that just seems ridiculous.

Yeah…….I cannot say it’s rational. And the limit for me personally is going to always be 3-4 because it’s my thing. It’s the one thing I’m passionate about. And yes, to your point, historically the cars are spread out across houses which solves the storage issue.

The ND is appealing because so much engineering has gone into it and it is reliable. I could not —for example -trust a preowned 3 series or 1 series to be used sparingly because in my experience, if they’re not driven regularly, they can be a disaster. But when we are talking about newer cars or Japanese cars, I have less anxiety about leaving them on a battery tender and firing right up and running smoothly after weeks of non-use.

I think you're asking quite a few questions. This is just the central part. The answer for me is "All of them." Well, not all of them, but I don't know if I can count as high as all the ones I would like to own...given limitless space to put them.

Where to put them is a limiting factor for me and many other people, but perhaps not everyone? Use cases or needs dictate a portion of it. I own five right now...four of them have different primary drivers and one is decorative in nature (and, possibly, becoming part of nature). I would add a pick up to in a heartbeat if I could figure out a way to make it work, but I can't. If someone gave me a free Blackwing (either kind), I would figure out a way to make it work. I'd also like a fully electric car in fleet.

This is a totally different question. I think a car person can enjoy more than three at a time, but I'm not sure how many more than that. Depends on how much opportunity they have to drive them, in what circumstances, etc. In most cases for most car people that are attracted to different cars, the best path is one long term keeper and a bunch of short term samples.

I don't understand this. :dunno:

1-2 per person is fine

I guess it also had to do with the timing. Even if you want to keep 3 to 4, do you want to buy 3 of them around the same time or sequence/stagger a bit? I would not even have time to go through manuals, set up nav/audio etc. for all of them. It would be hard for me to think about (at least seriously) ND's when there is a new turbo S and a trusted 987 in the garage.

I don't know what would replace the 987. For me, if for some reason my 981 went poof, I could see myself getting a 911 coupe (likely 991). If I wanted to continue the drop top, the ND would be at the top of my shopping list, if the drive and feel made the cut, I don't see why I would bother with porsche. Not that they are a bother but when an oil change is half a G and then you have to drive 40 minutes to that special shop etc.. I certainly see the appeal of Japanese ease and cost of maintenance (not to mention new price of purchase).

I think if someone put a gun to my head and said 'buy a new sports car', again the ND would be my first go-to, though I would have to see/feel the engine and chassis and accept that in some ways it may improve on the porsche and in others it would not measure up.

I haven’t spent any serious time driving Miatas since my mother sold hers 20 years ago, but yeah the ND would be top of my list too if I were buying a new sports car.

As for number of cars…. We’ve only had one time where we had 3 cars for a few months. My wife was pregnant and decided the ‘02 Mini was too small for mommy duty, so she leased an X3. The Mini was paid off and we decided to private party it, but we didn’t get around to listing it for about 5 months. I had the E39 at the time.

The Mini mostly sat and it was more of a chore to drive. I drove it to work about once a week for a while, but it was noisy and not a good commuter for a 50 mile round trip….

But we will have a 3rd driver soon, so a 3rd car is likely in the next year or so…

I don't mind 3 or even 4 cars as long as the mileage makes it such that you have basically one year oil change. That also means bigger services are spaced out pretty well. Frankly, my biggest annoyance is washing the and detailing them (even if it's once a year). But my kids will soon be able to do that or I can always just pay someone to do it.

back on topic, as I've mentioned many times, the ND has a lot of appeal as a weekend toy car when the alternatives are grossly overpriced used Boxsters. I could add that as a 4th car. I drove a coworkers mint 2016 ND and it felt amazing compared to my high mileage NC.

What are the three biggest differences when you compare the ND to your NC?

Power? Gotta to be, right?

Suspension tuning is same-ish?

Well, the biggest thing to me was the size, chassis rigidity, and just general quietness. I would say refinement, but would not be the right word because I feel like it implies softness and that wasn't the case at all. It could well be the fact that the car was much newer than my NC, but still, it just felt more upscale, cleaner, tighter, etc. Sounded good too. It was at least as fast, though I didn't push it. Steering felt better, suspension was good though being stock it did have more lean than my NC with aftermarket sways.

I guess for me the point was that, unlike many current instances with other models, the ND is equal or better than the NC in every way. In my case, the NC was not a mint, low-mileage sample. Not upgrading is simply a matter of $. All I have to decide is if I want a pristine/new ND or add a bunch more $$$ and consider Boxsters instead. I'm perfectly happy waiting until next year to decide. I also want to know what shakes out with the next gen Boxster first.