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It was early in the spring and the weather was just starting to turn warm. Naturally when this happens, people’s thoughts tend to turn to convertibles and sports cars. At least my thoughts do. I guess that is what you tend to think about before you have kids.
Now I was faced with a choice, what do I get? There are certainly a lot of cars to choose from. I must have tried every car on the market that I could think of in my price range. I tried the Mustang, TT, Corvette, SL500, 3-Series, Z4 and even the 6-Series. Somehow none of them had the right feel or just did not look right. The closest I came was with the Z4, I was at the point of working out a deal with the dealership but something told me not to do it and I walked away.
Getting a bit down about the whole convertible thing I gave up on the idea for a while. One day several weeks later I was getting the snow tires taken off of my daily driver and I happened to drive by the local Porsche dealer and I thought, “why not?” I had never considered a Porsche before, I guess they were out of what I thought of as my price bracket but, nervously, I went in to talk to the dealer. There was the usual friendly sounding questions they ask to size you up as a potential customer or if you are just wasting their time. I guess I passed the test as they allowed me to look at the cars and even let me take out a shiny black on black Boxster with red seat belts for a test drive.
Even from the short test drive I was already hooked. I finally found what I was looking for in car. Somehow the way it feels and drives is just right. I am sure everyone reading this knows exactly what I mean. I had driven a lot of cars up to this point and I was impressed with the build quality of the car and the way that it almost sensed what you wanted to do and was ready to react to the smallest driver input. I know a lot of other cars that have a delay between the steering input and their reaction time.
Unfortunately, I was not able to buy a brand new Boxster so I went on the hunt of a good previously loved one. After much searching I found a dark blue 986S with sport exhaust for the price I was looking for. Sold. Done.
It was a fabulous summer with the car, a hot dry summer which is perfect for any convertible owner. I had to quickly get used to people staring at my car when I drove by or people almost hitting me on the highway because they are looking at the car and not the road. Of course it was always parked at the back of the lot to avoid the dreaded door ding.
Luckily we were introduced to the PCA UCR by a couple we happened to meet when we were out for a drive one sunny day. I signed up and have not looked back. I have met many wonderful people and had a great time at the social events.
The dual trunks are a great advantage. You can use the heat from the engine to keep your picnic lunch warm in the rear trunk. Just remember to put your drinks in the front so they stay cool. Other people tend to look at you funny when you open your hood and put the groceries in. Isn’t there an engine there they ask? It has even been used a delivery vehicle on occasions. No, as fun as it might have been, I did not drive with all those balloons in the car, they were all safely stowed. The balloons were supposed to pop out the front when I opened the hood and surprise someone but they got wedged in, but it was still a fun surprise.
I have been lucky to drive almost every vehicle that Porsche currently sells through various means and am always looking for my next one. I have also considered a Designated Track Toy for the weekends. The biggest question I guess is how important are those back seats anyways? I quite liked the Panamera, but a 911S with PDK is very nice machine as well. It is good to have too much choice.