[oldE]

Let's see:

The old E is a piece of history. A special memory of my youth. I cared enough about the car that the advertisements were carefully removed from magazines and fastened to the walls of my room.

The automobile is different. A 911 is the opposite of the unidentifiable generic car. From the air-cooled timing chain cacophony emanating from the rear(!) of the beast to the fantastic shriek of the engine when it 'gets on cam', there is no mistaking this for any other car on the planet. Seldom do people come up to your 911 and assume it is a Mazda or Nissan.

In stock form, the suspension (at least of my older example) is designed for real roads, with frost heaves, pot holes and cracks. The engine and gearing will allow you to leave it in high gear on most hills, if that's what you desire, or will goad you into downshifting, 'just because'.

I fit into the car. I am 6'3" and, with the Recarro all the way back, can't get the clutch fully depressed. I have headroom, even with the sunroof, not something I could say about the MR2 and a Honda my wife used to have.

The Old E is a car I can contribute to in terms of upkeep, not just by writing cheques, but by inspecting, wrenching and maintaining (with the help of this board) in my own garage. There is a fine sense of empowerment and accomplishment in being the sole provider to the needs of an automobile such as this over the span of nearly a decade.

I like to look at this car. I have seen examples of 911s made ugly as the result of another's vision, but the car, as it came from the factory is a form of which I have yet to tire.

How could you not want to posses one or at least be near it?

Les