Hey Elliot,
I’m not so much a 911 fan that I keep track designers at Porsche, but it sure feels like they’ve rotated a few through this model line. I’m glad they’ve come back to a more traditional 911 iconic look. The 993 is probably my favorite, though. Have you driven any later incarnations? What do you feel are some of the drawbacks with water-cooled vs. air-cooled?
Yeah, the Mark I Audi TTQR was a special car. I’m not all that keen with the design path Audi took with it. Part of me wishes to pick up an old but well cared for example of the original (maybe a 2004 model) for a splash of nostalgia. But my present situation has me relegated to 1 car. Yeah, 18 years sure says a lot about devotion. I traded in my TTQR for an A3 “mini wagon.” While a little less power, it shares very similar torque and somewhat similar handling (it’s FWD, not Quattro). Everything about that car just fit me so well. It’ll be year 16 this August. 98k miles. https://i.imgur.com/pfOsmob.jpg
Bud, it’s hard to tell tone over a forum post, but I have to assume you’re joking around since scrutinizing photos is the name of the game here - pouring over pencil pics, looking at every detail… mister 911 on the wall.
I also noticed your TT is a stick shift! I actually have my MT Preservation Society t-shirt on today. Boy they are getting harder and harder to find these days. I’ve always been keen towards Nissan/Infiniti myself - especially the VQ 3.x engines. My current ride is an Infiniti 2013 G37S, 6MT 330hp RWD.
I used to swap summer tires on but these days I just keep the winters on because they are SOOO much more fun to power slide! Plus I don’t have to keep multiple sets around any more. The cost to replace the winters a little sooner than normal is still cheaper than dealing with the annual swapping. Also, with the RWD, the fronts just don’t wear out as fast, lasting for quite a while. Unlike the rears, which tend to only last a few years depending on how heavy my foot is.
Yeah, I was making overreaction a joke, playing off of Atxalias’ “creepy.”
Yep, that TTQR had a 6MT. Pretty smooth linkage. There’s something so enjoyable about that level of control on a car, especially when you put it into action in challenging circumstances. I learned on an old 4MT.
The Infiniti G37S is a sweet ride. Did you buy it used or new? My TTQR was used, but only 1 year on it. Got a relatively nice deal on it. It had textured seats in a “golf ball” dimpled style, with baseball stitched leather edging. Gorgeous. I had sought out some used seats to swap in, when I sold it, expecting to buy another TTQR in the future. But, couldn’t locate any in time. Miss that car tremendously. I took tons of photos before I traded it in. I kept track of the VIN… and hoped one day I could track down the car to see where it went.
haha, I am no car enthusiast, but on the spec list for my next car is top 1: no MT anymore. it feels for me in the meantime like a technology from 18th century, in same league as fax machines.
My A3 has a 6 speed DSG AT. Paddle shifters. So I’ve got manual control when I want it, all through the range. Of course, it doesn’t have the “verve” of foot/hand MT movements. But the ease is much appreciated, especially in traffic. I live in a dense area. And about 30% of the time I’m dealing with traffic. That’s when I loathe an MT.
I always buy used. If I ever paid for a new one I’d be so crazy over people dinging it. This way that’s already done for me and I can relax a little. This is my second - first was a 2009. As it got up there in miles I started looking for another 6MT to replace it with and took over a year to find the 2013. There seems to be a resurgence of folks wanting stick shifts and they would come on the market and be gone instantly.
To me, rowing gears is part of the car driving experience. It’s amazing to have the control and takes a lot of practice to be really good and smooth at it. Frankly, automatic cars just enable lazy and bad behaviors when you’re supposed to be paying attention to driving.
It’s the same with motorcycles - unless it’s needed for an injury or me getting old, I will never put a quick shift on my bike.
I will have to take some exception to that.
Shifting can actually cause you to miss a second or two, when full attention is suddenly needed. True, the motion becomes automatic for most, but you DO have to think about what gear you are in and what TARGET gear you are wanting to select. With automatic, you don’t have to worry about any of that, giving you full ability to be focused on driving.
Plus, if there’s some accident avoidance demanded of you spontaneously, one hand will be LEAVING the steering wheel to move a shifter into a preferable gear. That’s not good.
I will agree that because automatic is easier to drive, you will get people who milk the opportunity to be distracted with other things, like their phones. But there’s really no useful statistics out there to define what’s the percentage.
My car has DSG. It’s an auto-transmission that also allows full access to gears 1 to 6. Plus, I have paddle shifters so my hands do not leave the wheel. I’ve had very rare situations requiring rapid accident avoidance maneuvers, but on the few times they have cropped up, I’m quick to flick my left hand fingers to downshift a gear or two for more responsive torque in maneuvering. Valuable.
I enjoy buying used because of the notable savings in value. At least… until the used car market recently took a massive spike up. My A3 is now 16 years old. I bought it new. My first real door ding was 8 years ago. And then, just 6 months ago, I’d left my car in my assigned building garage parking space, and a new neighbor ignorantly nicked my car’s left side repeatedly. Tiny little indentations, plus one notable one. I was furious. I took photos and also of their door capturing a little bit of my paint on it. I contacted building management and nothing ever came of it. So, I have to purposefully shift my car more to the right side of my spot to avoid further damage. If they do it again, I’m putting duct tape on their door seam. Believe me, I’ve wanted to do more… Somehow I’ve never met them. They never come or go when I’m there.
I upgraded cars pretty much for new tech. But at this point? The only thing I’m missing is a built-in blind-spot alert LED, but my micro wide-angle mirrors mounted inside actually do a better job of alerting me, because I can see further. Oh, and TPMS. I do have to go check my tire pressure periodically with a manual gauge. I love my car. I’ve grown attached to it. It’s like an old friend. And so, I’m keeping it until I really have no choice, like a new job that requires a lot of driving (in which case, I’d get a hybrid).
