924Board.org

[staticsan]

I've had two friends separately comment about how I'm now driving a Porsche in a way that suggests they're wondering if and how that "sets me apart". It wasn't with any rancour, mind, more curiousity or bemusement. I didn't know how to respond, though I did point out to one how little I paid for it in the first place. Neither friend is what you would call a "car person".

Has anyone else ever encountered this?

At first it made me wonder if Ferrari or Maserati drivers would ever encounter that. But I thought not, because older Ferraris and Maseratis don't get as affordable as our humble 924. Then I wondered about other older sports cars and how their collectors are viewed. Lotus is the only company that comes to mind that was similar to Porsche (but I'm sure there are more). Sure, Nissan, BMW and others have made sports cars for years, but they also make cheap non-sports cars, too.

In my part of the world, a Porsche of any type is fairly rare. You're more likely to see a Cayenne parked in the local shopping centre than any other type, for instance, which usually suggests a young family that is a bit more well off than average.

I should note that other friends are happy that I've achieved a dream.

Wade.

[924RACR]

My buddy and teammate (and former 924 racer) also has a Ferrari and, now, a Maserati. Again - much cheaper here than in OZ. Both were unintentional lowball eBay finds.

Oh, yeah, got another teammate and bud who has Ferraris and such. Yeah, I'm the poor relation.

They definitely get it from non-car people. Car people just geek out on the car, it's not about the guy...
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[morghen]

If its just a car you drive then it cant set you apart from them.
However..the 924 is more than that...i've had fights about how i love the car more than "her" with every girlfriend i've had since i own a 924.

So yes....it sets you apart from other people/stuff...people become aware or even gelous if you spend your time even thinking about something/somebody else that is not connected to their list of addictions or its not them you're thinking about
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Supercharger and EFI kits
https://www.the924.com

[kcoyle]

"Car people" are generally underwhelmed when I say I have a 924. "Non car people" generally go "Ohhhh, a Porsche. Fancy". (until they actually see it)

I'm this part of the world a new Porsche is pretty pedestrian, so my car is basically invisible. There was one of those Fisker Karmas and a Maybach in the parking garage I was in the other day. The Fisker was really cool. The Maybach was meh. It did have 4 front calipers, 2 per side.
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1982 931- Stock with MBC at 8psi

Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.

[Horizonblue]

The most stupid thing in my entire life I've ever heard, because I have the 924, came from a former working colleague. It was back in the middle of the 90's. He was very jealous because I was driving a Porsche, that was easy to sense. At that time, he was driving a quite new VW Vento 1,8 90 hp(Jetta in the US)

Anyway, this was his comment: "Well, I can turbocharge my VW Vento, and then it will kill your 924"

I have never before, nor later, heard anything so stupid and childish.
(he never did turbocharge it.......)

I was never bragging nor telling anybody about the 924, but it was not easy to keep a secret in a small village....

Today I don't hear any stupid comments about the car. But I don't work or live at the same place anymore.
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Euro 924, 1976

"If you can't fix it, don't break it"

/P.G. Andersen

[staticsan]

I've said before that my friends and relatives almost universally don't care it's not a 911 (my brother would have chosen a 928, but he's unique). And most of those appreciate cars to some extent or other.

I really am not the sort of person to preen because my Porsche is parked outside somewhere. But I know that puzzles some people. Maybe that's a contributing factor. Possibly related is the fact that for many people, a Porsche represents quite silly money. I can appreciate this POV because I used to think so, too, as recently as four years ago.

Wade.

[musicalannette]

I tend to find people fall into two catagories, people who enjoy life and "have a go" and those that don't. Normally you can't afford to do too many things, but with a 924 you can have your cake and eat it. Anyone who who can't see past it being a bit of fun (even as a daily driver) must be missing out on a whole lot of life, and is probably more worried about what is next door (keeping up with the Jones') than enjoying their own life, this is probably a bad example as my next door neigbours are called Jones! Still, it's a funny old world.
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I KNEW white wall tyres were invented by Americans .....just not at Boeing.... to be fitted on the 737.....

[Khal]

I've long said there's nothing as cheap as a 924 that's as much fun to chuck about as a 924. Although these days, it seems that role is being handed to 944, at least up here in North America (the 944 is hitting bargain basement prices up here at the moment and is measurably better in every way, if not quite as cheap to fix, if needs be... although even that is getting closer to parity given that some toofah parts seem to be becoming unobtainium and 944 parts cars seem to be everywhere... but I digress...)

As to the snobbish attitude of the uninformed... well, they're the uninformed. Either inform them or ignore them.

As to the snobbish attitude of the informed, if I'm honest, I've never really found it exists. In my experience, folks who can afford better Porsches than a 924 (and, let's face it, almost any newer Porsche is better... and several of the older ones, too) generally just don't care about 924's, which is perfectly understandable, IMHO.

Most Porsche people -many here, it seems -like all Porsches.

And then there's the vocal minority of hard-core 911 nutters who think they're best car ever made and everything else is shite and will tell you so at every opportunity. Of course, the best way to deal with fundamentalists of any creed is to line 'em up against a wall and... well, I won't digress again...

To a person, everyone at my work seemed astounded to find out I had a Porsche. Of course, then I explained it was more than a quarter-century old and cost less than a second-hand Hyundai and they immediately seemed less impressed But everyone seemed to like the look of it.
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'80 924 Turbo

[Jrboulder]

The only people that I've ran into who like to talk trash about the 924/944 are the type who realized that they are fat and bald and couldn't afford a good 911 so they took a loan out to buy an $8000 911 targa with peeling clear coat and destroyed seats. They're probably just pissed that for their down payment they could have bought a mint condition 924 or 944 with recent service and working AC.

A couple months after I bought my first 944 (I was 17 at the time) I met a guy at a cars n coffee. His first Porsche was a beat up 77 924. After that he owned a 85/1 944 and then an 85/2 944. He was at the cars n coffee with a flawless signal orange 71 911E that he just got done restoring himself.

[CorsePerVita]

No one drives a Porsche because they have to. We drive them because we want to. Everyone has their reasons. For me... I enjoy cars from an era where the owner could easily maintain them, diagnose them, work on them. Man and machine. There's something to be said about cars that exist from a time when with a simple set of tools you could work on and maintain it. A car that required a level of attention that an appreciative owner could give it.

For some of us it may be sentimental. I know for me the first Porsche I ever drove was a 924 and I KNEW I had to have one. Now I've gone through a 924, a 944, a 911 and a 914. The only one I've sold is my 944. If all goes well tomorrow, I'll have another

They are special cars. If people want to hate on something because you enjoy it then they are either jealous or just a hater or mad that they've made their own life decisions that led them to bitterness and resentment. It is feasible to own a Porsche of some kind in a lifetime, it requires goals, setting goals, making goals and determination.

For those of us truly addicted, you just can't shake them.

Cheers.
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- 1977 Porsche 924 2.0 N/A (Trackday Project)
- 1979 Porsche 924 2.0 N/A (The other daily)
- 1980 Porsche 931 (Daily)
- 1987 Lamborghini Jalpa
- 1999 Ducati 900SS

[Khal]

[staticsan]

[SilverGhost]

I suffered some less than flattering comments from family and friends about my state of mind when I bought a Porsche. Then I discovered the solution - lend them the keys. Without exception they returned smiling from ear to ear, and have subsequently not just tolerated but joined in on my enthusiastic ravings.

To me the 924 has such a long list of desirable characteristics its hard to resist. Its a beautiful looking car. Its well designed and put together. Its cheap, reliable, corners wonderfully and the RoW NA has (just) sufficient power. Its mechanicals are understandable. It has no unfixable electronic "magic boxes". The galvanised body means no rust. The non-interference engine (NA) means less risk of engine damage. Most parts are still available. I could go on... (and on and on!)
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"Priscilla" 1981 924 NA RoW auto, metallic blue