Why "p-car"

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering where the term "p-car" came from. Did that originate with bulletin boards, or does it come from something else?

I think I have too much time on my hands...

Cuz it's easier to spell & type than Porsche?

It seems to be a popular expression with the Speedvision guys but I don't know if it started there.

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Allan Broadribb
'70-911E, 2.2l with Webers
http://www.cheaterswayside.com/uploads/Mvc-002s355.jpg

Porsche is a two sylable word.

People get sick of hearing "Porsche" out of the owner's mouths. Especially people who know the f'ed up hombres here, most of whom probably sleep in the garages with their cars...


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Kurt B
'84 Carrera Cab.
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

Only because I can't get the car in the house.

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Robert Stoll
83 SC
83 944

Hahaha rstoll

May seem a bit less pretentious.

It seems to me it came up with the rise of the internet. I don't recall hearing it before 1995. But, I think its used in a pejorative way by fans of other makes, like Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, etc. The joke being that "Porsche" is like a dirty word that you don't even want to say, so you just say "P-car."

Its also sometimes used for modesty reasons. I've seen it used mostly by people that have Porsches AND some other car. Like in the MB club, a lot of people will jokingly refer to their porsche as my "P-car". Just kind of as a joke, acknowledging that there is to some extent a little silly rivalry. Mostly just a little modesty and self-deprecation when in the company of enthusiasts of "other" cars, is how I see it most commonly used.

(For example, you would almost never see it used at a Porsche club event or at a site like this, when modesty or self-deprecation is not required!)

Another take: I think that some adopted the term "p-car" after Porsche began aggressively guarding its trademarks and copyrights. This may be related to the start of the WWW in 1995, as Jim says, as lots of folks tried to use "official" Porsche names and phrases in their domain names and web sites.

Rod Walter
'88 911 coupe

First heard it in Hollywood in the late seventies from an actor friend of mine who used it probably in a modesty way like Jim mentioned. It was the time when the yuppie flaunted his "Porsche" cause that was the epitomy of their success. While we liked the cars for their handling and mechanics, we weren't enamoured with the status B. S. that made it tougher for us to buy them. We shared a loathness for yuppie status symbols.
Now I have P cars again and they are the ones the yuppies had and have passed on down to a grateful enthusiast.

Because it goes with my C-truck and my H-car...

Sounds like an agressive move from the PCNA legal team perhaps? Not that I don't already have a drawer full of friendly letters from them.



-Wayne