CAR AND DRIVER.....50 yrs of porsche

[T77911S]

i use to read car and driver when i was a kid but soon got bored with it. mainly because i loved porsches and older cars. i did not care for what was rolling off the assembly line.
but, somehow i have been getting C&D lately and the new issue has "50 years of the 911". GREAT! something i can relate to instead of an ubber million dollar Bugatti.

so the very first thing i read is this:

"THE NAME GAME
a 911 is a 911,
except when porsche geeks use an internal product code to denote its generation.
911
930 (turbo)
964
993
996
997
991"

hummm, a 911 is a 911......
i always thought the only real "internal" code was 901 because that was suppose to be the name of the first 911.
if he wanted "geek" talk then
"long hood", "short hood", "LWB", "SWB" might be better geek talk.
i have not read the article yet, not enough bathroom time yet, but i am expecting him to say, "a porsche is just a souped up VW".

[ZAMIRZ]

I agree with the writer and can't figure out what your hangup is.

[GH85Carrera]

That very subject confused the heck out of my wife. She heard us at a recent PCA breakfast discussing one members 964 and another guys 993. On the way home she said I thought Chad had a 911. I said he does but it is a 993 model.

It turned into a "who's on first" conversation. It is confusing to newbies to the 911 to hear guys call a 911 a 997. Of course now there is the new 911 the 991.

[gacook]

If my memory serves me correctly...I read that article, and it wasn't bad.

[URY914]

I remember the issue when is was the 25 years of the 911.....

[motion]

Yeah, and where's the 928 in that list... it was supposed to replace the 911.

[onewhippedpuppy]

It's car geek language, no doubt. Most know cars by the badge on the rear deck. But we know an entirely different language of numbers and letters. If you talk about a 911 by model designator I know exactly what model you are talking about, simply saying "911" is pretty vague. Similarly I have an R53 and a D2 in my garage.

[T77911S]

so is calling a ford an explorer ford geek talk? are all BMW's just BMW's and the geeks call them 325's or 528 or a 740?

i guess i dont consider a 996 a 911. is a 996 titled as a 911 or as a 996?

[David McLaughlin]

I get just as confused when talking to BMW geeks. At the last shop I worked for, we repaired a lot of Bimmers. My boss and co worker would refer to the designations, I would refer to the deck lid. After E30 and E36 I get lost. E39, E46, E28 Hike!

[herr_oberst]

No mention at all of a 4-door 911?

[weseeeee]

I read the article and it was okay. It's kind of basic, but it was still nice to have an article about the Porsche 911.

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by David McLaughlin

I get just as confused when talking to BMW geeks. At the last shop I worked for, we repaired a lot of Bimmers. My boss and co worker would refer to the designations, I would refer to the deck lid. After E30 and E36 I get lost. E39, E46, E28 Hike!

now THAT is geek talk. that is how the dealer and BWM refers to the cars. same with mercedes.
dont go to the dealer and ask for parts for an E320, its w211 or w210.

i still dont see how calling a 996 a 996 instead of a 911 is geek talk, thats what it is.
not mention, i would not put the 996 in a class with a true 911. same goes for the 997.
oh im gonna stir it with that one.

[onewhippedpuppy]

The point is, non car people have no idea what a 996, 997, or 964 is. But if you tell them that you have a 911, they'll know what you are talking about. Like I said, it's car geek code.

[gprsh924]

W211, E39, 993

All exactly the same type of model designation by the different brands.

The 911 versions seem less geeky or coded only because you are into Porsches more.

[creaturecat]

It's part of the deal.knowing the numbers.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by T77911S

so is calling a ford an explorer ford geek talk? are all BMW's just BMW's and the geeks call them 325's or 528 or a 740?

i guess i dont consider a 996 a 911. is a 996 titled as a 911 or as a 996?

No, geeks call BMWs E39s, E60s, E24s, etc. Calling them by the trunk badge number is not geeky.

Porsche has never marketed a model called the 930/993/996/997 or any other internal number, you know this, right? Right?

[intakexhaust]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

The point is, non car people have no idea what a 996, 997, or 964 is. But if you tell them that you have a 911, they'll know what you are talking about. Like I said, it's car geek code.

Sure they do The first thing us smartazz do when they ask about our porch, is correct them.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by T77911S

so is calling a ford an explorer ford geek talk? are all BMW's just BMW's and the geeks call them 325's or 528 or a 740?

i guess i dont consider a 996 a 911. is a 996 titled as a 911 or as a 996?

Huh?

Ford is the make, like Porsche

Explorer is the model, like 911 (in my mind, 911s have been in constant production since 1964)

Most (probably all) manufacturers (Mercedes, Mazda, BMW, Toyota, etc) use similar designations. They only really come into play when you have a model of vehicle that is around for several iterations.

Toyota Corolla
Toyota Corolla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
First generation (E10)
Second generation (E20)
Third generation (E30, E40, E50, E60)
Fourth generation (E70)
Fifth generation (E80)
Sixth generation (E90)
Seventh generation (E100)
Eighth generation (E110)
Ninth generation (E120, E130)
Tenth generation (E140, E150)
Eleventh generation (E160)

And to directly address your silly comment about BMWs all being BMWs and the geek talk being their models 325, 328, etc...

No, this is the geek talk version of the BMW 3 series


BMW E21 – (1975–1983) 3 Series
BMW E30 – (1983–1991) 3 Series
BMW E36 – (1991–2000) 3 Series
BMW E46 – (1999–2006) 3 Series
BMW E90 – (2005–2011/EUR, 2006–2011/US) 3 Series saloon
BMW E91 – (2005–2011/EUR, 2006–2011/US) 3 Series Touring (Sports Wagon)
BMW E92 – (2007–2011) 3 Series Coupé
BMW E93 – (2007–2011) 3 Series Convertible
BMW F30 – (2012–) 3 Series saloon
BMW F31 – (2012–) 3 Series Touring (Sports Wagon)


THere is a similar but different set of names for the 5 series.

The 911s made between 89/90 and 93/94 are 964s, except that they aren't all 964s. Just like a 70s or 80s 911 turbo is a 930, a 964 series turbo is a 965.

To step outside of the 911 range, there was a 924 and a 931 (924 turbo) a 944 and a 951 (944 turbo).

The numeric designations that we use 964, 993, 996, 997, 991, etc... are internal codes, just like 915 is a transmission, and a 936 is a spyder 935, I believe. THere used to be a thread on the technical board with a huge list of the internal codes.