The answer is... A Porsche Family Station Wagon!

[jluetjen]

The question is -- what did Butzi prefer to drive in 1966?

[azasadny]

John,
Thanks for the interesting article!

[cegerer]

Could somebody quickly dispatch an ambulance to the osidak residence. This article may be the one to finally put him over the edge .....

[Jim Garfield]

Thanks John, interesting perspective. Obviously Road & Track, what year?

edit : I just reread the heading... duh.

[osidak]

I have only skimmed the article so I do not know much of what it has said but I will say I love station wagons.

My wife drives a Subaru Outback. Wonderful car. Will do everything 99.999% of what SUV drivers will do and does it in a more efficient manner.

Seems to me Butzi thought Porsche should build sports cars and if you needed something else well then you should buy something else as well.

Now for the targa comment I haven't read it so I am not sure of the context. That being said I like my targa and heard it was originaly done for safety. I also like the looks of targa outline better

[Randy Webb]

To steal Tyson's comment from another thread, "What kind of pink panties" did Butzi wear?

Remember that there was genetic disjunctive event in Dr. Ferd's progeny:
the engineering DNA went thru Louise Piech....
and the design DNA went thru Ferry and down to Porsche Design etc.

[cegerer]

"I have tried one [a Porsche wagon] on a Porsche basis, but it would be difficult with our customers. We would't build a real four seater. There are so many things we couldn't do with it. You would need a larger engine, the car would be heavier, and the trunk would be insufficient for four people. We are a sports firm." ???

Exactly. Things COULDN'T be done with it back in 1966. Now? The Porsche "station wagon" will run rings around many a 911.

I guess we could all cherry-pick quotes from that article. Such as,

"Keeping the 911 a Porsche was their final wish. "But I'm not 100% convinced this was right. Must you build a new Porsche just like the old one?""

BTW: Butzi has made many a favorable comment recently concerning the Cayenne.

No matter how you interpret it, it's an interesting article. Thanks John.

[CarreraS2]

Originally posted by cegerer
"I have tried one [a Porsche wagon] on a Porsche basis, but it would be difficult with our customers. We would't build a real four seater. There are so many things we couldn't do with it. You would need a larger engine, the car would be heavier, and the trunk would be insufficient for four people. We are a sports firm." ???

Exactly. Things COULDN'T be done with it back in 1966. Now? The Porsche "station wagon" will run rings around many a 911.

He may still be right, i.e. that a big fat heavy 4 seater is "difficult with our customers."

We'll see what the customers really think (i.e., sales numbers) in two or three years, I guess.

[emcon5]

Tom

[K. Roman]

is that a suicide door? Very cool.

[pwd72s]

Me? I keep trying to convince Cindy that we "need" the latest Dodge wagon as a daily driver...you know, the one with the "hemi"?

[jluetjen]

Ah yessss... Mrs. Dick's 4-Door 911. That car must still exist somewhere.

[cegerer]

[Paul491]

Thanks for the great article. I guess it's okay to come out of the closet now... I've always had a soft spot for nice wagons. Growing up on the West Coast, wagons were a practical choice for toting surf boards to our favorite beaches and they were cheap, because nobody wanted them. I’ve owned my 1966 Chevy Malibu Station Wagon for almost twenty years. My family/kids have all grown up and it's become my Porsche's support vehicle.

After many years of packing it with everybody's vacation "stuff", it's semi-retired and helps me run errands and does some parts chasing. Now, equipped with a high performance V-8, Muncie 4-speed, Hotchkis racing suspension, 12" disc brakes and 15x8 Corvette Rally Wheels shod with 245-60's on all for corners... it’s ready to play. Although nice handling and in some circles "cool", bottom line: there is no substitute for THE Porsche... heh heh

It's been a real trip discovering the designer of our 911 rides also fancied American Station Wagons! Wow, I’m feeling pretty vindicated for hanging on to the ol' family wagon... Thanks again for posting the article!

[cegerer]

Nice car, Paul! I think you would be justified in putting a Porsche sticker on her now too .....

[Jgordon]

Paul, sweet car. Is that a two door?

[MRM]

Wow. Am I the only one to think that Ferry III had some issues?
I bit of chip on his shoulder for someone who was born at the top and proved himself worthy of the peak - by the age of 30. I guess that's the point.

[Paul491]

Thanks for the nice comments. Actually, it's a 4-dr with the rear handles "shaved". The rear doors still function and are opened from the inside. The last year 2-drs Chevelle wagons were produced was in 1965.

egerer, I really like your idea of "putting a Porsche sticker on her ". Which type and where would look "right"?

Just for grins, here's a front shot...

[Series900]

Image is/was everything, the 73 ford country squire woodgrained was not the ride of choice in school, but man that 351 and the low center of gravity made for some great driving lessons, try those moves in todays SUV and you are a cockroach on your back. I saw the wagon leave the back forty to the crusher not long ago, fondly I admitted, that was a cool car, many features that simply worked well, seating for six, fold down for full rear use, a roof rack that you could reach, and a decent ride. GM has another wagon concept brewing, Nomad revisted, which spelt backwards=