[CJFusco]

" I thought the 928 in that movie sounded more like a Ferrari than a Porsche. Anyone know whats up with that?"

Yeah, it's a V8. You are used to hearing a large-displacement four, or an air-cooled flat six, when you think of Porsches.

"i never new there was a 928 that didn't have to "old" standard 924/944/928 body."

Are you thinking of the 968? The 928 was released in 1978 as the intended replacement for the 911, and was priced accordingly. It was the first sports car to ever win CAR AND DRIVER's Car of The Year award, and in the middle of a fuel crisis, nonetheless. The 928 is bigger, more powerful, and MUCH heavier than a 944 series car. It was much more "luxury GT" than "sports car", kind of like the modern Astons, or the 456-series Ferrari. Not surprisingly, then, 60% of 928s were sold with automatic gearboxes.

That being said, the 928 was the Porsche that got me interested in Porsches. I actually thought that 911s were ugly, at one point!

The way I see the 928 now, and I think most Porschephiles would agree with me, is that it was a fantastic car brand new, but not so great a buy on the used market. The 928 seems a bit of a trap because you can buy one that seems pretty solid for 944-like prices, but the maintenance alone would cost much more than the buying price. Why? Parts are more expensive than for the more-plentiful 944; a new 944 radiator costs less than $200. The same part for a 928 costs over $1000. And apparently they are sort of a pain to work on. Get the picture?

Some people don't get the design of the 928. The car looks fantastic from the front and side, but the early cars look a bit strange from the rear... almost like some kind of submarine. Obviously, by the time the GTS came out, Porsche had ironed out the design and the rear of the car was decidedly sharp. Even the new Carrera 4S rear reminds me a lot of the 928GTS. Personally, if I could design a "perfect" 928, it would have the pointed snout of the 928S and the rear of the GTS.

I love the 928, but I don't think I'd ever own one. To me, the 944, 911, and Boxster-series cars just seem more Porsche-like: nimble, sharp-edged, and a bit more serious than the 928 luxo-barger.