[dd74]

The problem with buying an old car, a Porsche in particular, and driving it in traffic, is the stick itself. The 915 box has to be shifted, in most cases, more slowly than an automatic shifts. As an owner of an old Porsche with a 915, I sometimes find newer cars in traffic nearly rear-ending me as I shift from first to second, and in some cases, second to third.

Also, with Schwarzenegger threatening to reformulate fuel, who knows what that will do to the octane of the gasoline our old cars need to operate on. I use premium without the aid of knock sensors, computers or what-not. But if the fuel falls one or two points lower, my car would need a race gas mixture or twin-plugged, etc., etc., which would be, quite frankly, a huge financial pain in the ass.

At times, I drive my old car thinking how it conceivably could out live me. The problem is my old car can't out live government decisions about the gas it uses or the fact that SUVs threaten to mow it over with their super-fast-shifting six and seven speed computer controlled auto transmissions.

So one day, I'll probably park the 911, buy a Prius, and become one of the dreaded flock of uninvolved motorists. I can already see that begining to happen.