[RickC]

I was a Ferrari fan and lusted after one when I was young. I dismissed Porsches as "too sensible" at the time, even though the car magazines almost always showed that they were more capable. I gloried in the stories of Ferrari - the sounds, the styling - even in the difficulty of keeping all those carburetors running properly! I loved the fact that the engines screamed at 7,000 or 8,000 rpms, and didn't care that they didn't last, that they had electricals worse than English cars, that stories of rusted panels being cleaned and painted on one side and then put together at the factory seemed to be true. They were beautiful, and I was a card-carrying romantic about them. But when I finally had enough money to buy an old Dino or 308, I found I wanted a Porsche instead.

What happened? A Ferrari is everything now that it was then, but I guess I've changed. A Ferrari is too obvious for me now, and I no longer appreciate it's virtues. Sure, Ferrari wins Formula 1 consistently - a hyper expensive, short duration form of racing. But Porsche excels at Le Mans - a very expensive, endurance form of racing. I have kids, I have a life, my grandfather just passed away last year at 101. I am in this life for the long haul, and aren't interested anymore in short-term anything. I want consistent pleasure, not dizzying highs and terrible lows. I want to turn the key and have the car start every time. I want to never worry about rust. I want to enjoy the car, use the car, abuse the car, not treat it like some object d'art.

What was it Jerry Seinfeld said in his Automobile magazine article on the C-GT? Something like "there are fantasy cars and there are real cars. A Porsche is a real car." A couple of issues later, David E. Davis said that Ferraris are increasingly expensive and spectacular cars that don't get driven.

I still appreciate Ferraris for what they are - I mean, let's face it, other than the Porsche 904 and 917, Ferraris are more beautiful in general. i suppose that they are still the "best" cars for occasional use - if they are on perfect roads on a perfect day, or shown off on a Saturday night cruise, or parked at sunset to be stared at. But Porsches are better day-in and day-out - I mean, jeez, you won't damage anything just driving up the ramp from the street to the gas station.

Let's get literary for a moment. Ferrari's are like Daisy in the Great Gatsby (a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his 20's) - stunning, but temperamental, ready to turn on you, and thus ultimately disappointing despite their obvious allure.

Porsches are like Kathleen in the Last Tycoon (Fitzgerald's great, unfinished book written in his early 40's) - beautiful - but also rugged, tough, free or pretence or illusion, and able to stand on their own merits rather than be eye candy. Over a lifetime, A Porsche is a much better and more noble thing to covet.

If you can buy both, do so. But I suspect that over time you'll come to appreciate the Porsche more....