Owning a Ferrari is a disappointment. Is owning a Porsche one, too?

John V · 12-10-2014, 07:12 AM

http://jalopnik.com/owning-a-ferrari...ent-1668355120

This article got me to thinking about Boxster ownership (take 2). Not that it's been disappointing; it's actually been quite nice. But some of his observations got me thinking.

1) People don't like this car. Let me be clear: Maryland drivers are, by and large, terrible and discourteous, but also oblivious. When I had the BMW, their obliviousness meant I could make pretty rapid pace through traffic without really getting noticed. Nobody cared. That doesn't work anymore. Come up behind someone doing the speed limit in the left lane? They won't move over. Go around them on the right? They'll speed up until they match your speed.

2) Every Mustang will try to try to get you to race them. Every single one.

3) Come to think of it, every vanilla-mobile driver will try to race you, too. Camry, Accord, Altima, Fusion, Malibu, doesn't really matter. If you leave a traffic light at anything faster than a crawl, they will match your speed or get their nose just ahead of yours. If you leave a traffic light at a crawl, you'll get honked at.

4) A guy in a slammed Honda Civic with one functioning brake light will call you a "faggot."

5) No matter how courteous you are, you will get the finger, or get tailgated and high-beamed, or get blocked. I use my signals, I give people plenty of room, and I generally try to drive in a courteous manner. I don't drive abruptly, I don't go significantly faster than the speed limit and I certainly don't weave in and out of traffic. But try to merge onto I-95? The guy you pulled in front of - the one that was a hundred feet back and dawdling along - will rapidly accelerate the minute he sees your signal, so he can slam on the brakes, high beam you, and act like you cut him off.

6) The best one so far: A guy at work who drives a $70k+ Ford F-350 King Ranch DRW 6.7L Powerstroke will come up to you, scoff, and say, "Man, they pay you guys too much."

ZBB · 12-10-2014, 07:32 AM

When I had my Boxster, I worried about the asshole perception -- and observed some of the same behavior you describe. But it wasn't that frequent...

For the F-350 guy, I had comments like that from coworkers when I had my E46. All were from people with $45k+ SUVs (and my E46 was $35k including sales tax...)

equ · 12-10-2014, 08:25 AM

Owning a porsche has not been all that different from owning a bmw in these parts... I never got stopped or got negative attention with the atlas gray cayman. The red one, umm, not as much. It got more positive attention it also seemed to personally piss off a cop once.. Yours is yellow, no? If it were silver/black/gray, the experience would be quite different.

John V · 12-10-2014, 08:51 AM

It is yellow. I do think that has something to do with it. In the Jalopnik article, he indicates there are two kinds of people who buy a Ferrari. Those that want to be noticed and those that like the experience of driving. I think that's true for more than just Ferraris and the assumption may be that someone driving a yellow Porsche wants attention. In reality, it was a color that was available that my wife and I both liked.

In retrospect, I guess I understand why people buy gray and black ones (really, I wanted white).

bren · 12-10-2014, 08:54 AM

Yep. You just had to get Yellow.

I've found that driving a large, noisy, diesel truck is pretty much the solution to all of your traffic related issues.

dan · 12-10-2014, 09:13 AM

Porsches are so dime-a-dozen around here that I can't imagine getting singled out on any kind of regular basis with these kinds of behaviors.

JST · 12-10-2014, 09:16 AM

Yes, I haven't really noticed much negative attention in mine, despite it being bright blue. I think yellow or red might be more noticeable.

JST · 12-10-2014, 09:20 AM

I have had people say snide things to me about it. I can usually defuse that by telling people (accurately) that a) it's used, and b) it cost less than my Volkswagen.

I do get positive attention occasionally, mostly during the summer from tourists.

But the attention the Porsche gets is nothing compared to the Tesla.

Biggins · 12-10-2014, 09:22 AM

#2 is always accurate.

I hear the #6 scenario a lot, but I usually would have to remind them of the cost of their car of choice. I still remember when a friend from my hometown bought the top-of-the-line Durango a couple years ago and said the same thing to me (it was ~$20k more than my FRS).

John V · 12-10-2014, 10:02 AM

There are so many Teslas around here now I don't even really notice them as much. They're also fairly anonymous looking - I've mistaken some of the newer Lincolns from Teslas. Porsches are a dime a dozen as well, but presumably yellow cars are not.

Bren, when I drive the truck to work it's a completely different experience. People generally leave plenty of room for me to merge when driving that thing.

12-10-2014, 07:12 AM	#1
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	Owning a Ferrari is a disappointment. Is owning a Porsche one, too? http://jalopnik.com/owning-a-ferrari...ent-1668355120 This article got me to thinking about Boxster ownership (take 2). Not that it's been disappointing; it's actually been quite nice. But some of his observations got me thinking. 1) People don't like this car. Let me be clear: Maryland drivers are, by and large, terrible and discourteous, but also oblivious. When I had the BMW, their obliviousness meant I could make pretty rapid pace through traffic without really getting noticed. Nobody cared. That doesn't work anymore. Come up behind someone doing the speed limit in the left lane? They won't move over. Go around them on the right? They'll speed up until they match your speed. 2) Every Mustang will try to try to get you to race them. Every single one. 3) Come to think of it, every vanilla-mobile driver will try to race you, too. Camry, Accord, Altima, Fusion, Malibu, doesn't really matter. If you leave a traffic light at anything faster than a crawl, they will match your speed or get their nose just ahead of yours. If you leave a traffic light at a crawl, you'll get honked at. 4) A guy in a slammed Honda Civic with one functioning brake light will call you a "faggot." 5) No matter how courteous you are, you will get the finger, or get tailgated and high-beamed, or get blocked. I use my signals, I give people plenty of room, and I generally try to drive in a courteous manner. I don't drive abruptly, I don't go significantly faster than the speed limit and I certainly don't weave in and out of traffic. But try to merge onto I-95? The guy you pulled in front of - the one that was a hundred feet back and dawdling along - will rapidly accelerate the minute he sees your signal, so he can slam on the brakes, high beam you, and act like you cut him off. 6) The best one so far: A guy at work who drives a $70k+ Ford F-350 King Ranch DRW 6.7L Powerstroke will come up to you, scoff, and say, "Man, they pay you guys too much."

12-10-2014, 07:32 AM	#2
ZBB Relic Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: A very fast golf cart Location: The Valley of the Sun Posts: 12,821	When I had my Boxster, I worried about the asshole perception -- and observed some of the same behavior you describe. But it wasn't that frequent... For the F-350 guy, I had comments like that from coworkers when I had my E46. All were from people with $45k+ SUVs (and my E46 was $35k including sales tax...) __________________ ZBB

12-10-2014, 08:25 AM	#3
equ Alphanumeric Join Date: Aug 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: 981S, 340i Posts: 9,586	Owning a porsche has not been all that different from owning a bmw in these parts... I never got stopped or got negative attention with the atlas gray cayman. The red one, umm, not as much. It got more positive attention it also seemed to personally piss off a cop once.. Yours is yellow, no? If it were silver/black/gray, the experience would be quite different.

12-10-2014, 08:51 AM	#4
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	It is yellow. I do think that has something to do with it. In the Jalopnik article, he indicates there are two kinds of people who buy a Ferrari. Those that want to be noticed and those that like the experience of driving. I think that's true for more than just Ferraris and the assumption may be that someone driving a yellow Porsche wants attention. In reality, it was a color that was available that my wife and I both liked. In retrospect, I guess I understand why people buy gray and black ones (really, I wanted white).

12-10-2014, 08:54 AM	#5
bren lawn boy Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: e46m3, f25x3,C5 Z06, C4 Vette, 06 CTD Ram, and a trailer Location: Maryland Posts: 14,029	Yep. You just had to get Yellow. I've found that driving a large, noisy, diesel truck is pretty much the solution to all of your traffic related issues.

12-10-2014, 09:13 AM	#6
dan redefined Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 14,903	Porsches are so dime-a-dozen around here that I can't imagine getting singled out on any kind of regular basis with these kinds of behaviors.

12-10-2014, 09:16 AM	#7
JST 195 Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 24,628	Yes, I haven't really noticed much negative attention in mine, despite it being bright blue. I think yellow or red might be more noticeable.

12-10-2014, 09:20 AM	#8
JST 195 Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 24,628	I have had people say snide things to me about it. I can usually defuse that by telling people (accurately) that a) it's used, and b) it cost less than my Volkswagen. I do get positive attention occasionally, mostly during the summer from tourists. But the attention the Porsche gets is nothing compared to the Tesla.

12-10-2014, 09:22 AM	#9
Biggins Crotchety Join Date: Aug 2007 Carmudgeonly Ride: 22 Tiguan, 11 328i Posts: 912	#2 is always accurate. I hear the #6 scenario a lot, but I usually would have to remind them of the cost of their car of choice. I still remember when a friend from my hometown bought the top-of-the-line Durango a couple years ago and said the same thing to me (it was ~$20k more than my FRS).

12-10-2014, 10:02 AM	#10
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	There are so many Teslas around here now I don't even really notice them as much. They're also fairly anonymous looking - I've mistaken some of the newer Lincolns from Teslas. Porsches are a dime a dozen as well, but presumably yellow cars are not. Bren, when I drive the truck to work it's a completely different experience. People generally leave plenty of room for me to merge when driving that thing.