Reputation of "Porsche Drivers"
 

Hey. This is no more off-topic than all those "show me your 911 doing back-flips" posts :)

I've long been aware that "they"attribute all manner of negative qualities to "Porsche drivers." Kind of the same negative qualities associated with "lawyers."

Got a twisted sense of humor? Check out this blog post referencing "Porsche Drivers" -

Doggone it I can't even post the URL because it has a naughty word in it. If you click it and get the error page, just go into the URL and swap **** with the 4-letter word for sexual intercourse which starts with an F. The whole website cracks me up!

Interesting. We had a similar discussion over on Bimmerfest. Seems BMW drivers are classified as pricks, too.

It would be interesting to find ou what the folks writing the comments drive. :)


A bit jealous, maybe?

I sometimes hesitate to tell people that I drive a Porsche, because I get the: Oooh, a Porsch-A! response most of the time.
My wife drives it to school sometimes (when I need 4 doors instead of 1 and a half). She bumped into a fellow teacher that commented that "somebody at the school drives a Porsche" as if it were a Nobel Peace Prize. She admitted to holding the keys to said car and got the: Oooh, a Porsch-A! response.

So you really don't know if they're mocking you or praising you. I would much rather have them ask for a ride and get chat about the technical bits of the car.

Here's a question about attitude towards us and our cars: Do you find that most people behind you in traffic, regardless of what THEY drive, are always trying to push you to go faster? My wife, who is a conservative school teacher that normally drives a 2002 Civic well below the speed limit, mentioned this to me the other day. It seems that the expectation from other drivers is to drive them fast and hard. And when you don't, other drivers assume that is either something wrong with you, or your machine, and usually neither is true. We just want to enjoy our cars.

What I've noticed is if you even make a slight aggresive move like pulling ahead of someone and turning in just a little tight.. you get the finger.. if I was in my truck it would have been no issue.

So now I just drive super aggresive so rather than finger me they are so scared they just white knuckle the steering wheel. So in other words, Im the problem here. :)

I think most folks think owning a Porsche says something about us (in addition to the fact we like our cars).

They're just not sure what it says: crazy driver? (I usually think of that when I see a riced-up car); rich and wants to show off? (gee, some folks I know fit that stereotype); likes really nice machinery and can afford it; not practical (how am I going to fit the kid's soccer team into that?); fun loving (awww); sexy (of course); on the make, perhaps in more ways than one; etc, etc.

So it is complicated. My other car is a Toyota Yaris (no joke) and sometimes I wish I had a bumper sticker for my Porsche saying that to take the edge off of people's imagination of who I might be and what I might be trying to say about myself.

Cars do reflect things we want to say about ourselves, but they're also things we enjoy for differing reasons. For me, my car is relatively cheap entertainment, fast and fun, and the source of hundreds of projects to keep me out of trouble. I also like the way it makes little kids point and wave :)

I sometimes try to relieve some of the guesswork when other folks comment on the car by asking if they've heard about the difference between Porsches and porcupines (pricks on the outside). That usually puts them off balance enough that their preconceptions don't get too much in the way.

Most Porsche drivers, myself included, are very courteous on the road... possibly to avoid attracting the negative attention described above.

The worst, most aggressive drivers on the road bar none are the clowns in their 3 series BWMs! I've seen more Top Gun moves in traffic by these jerks than any other. Pontiac Grand Am drivers are almost as bad in their wannabe Bimmers. Must be something with those twin-kidney grilles...

I definitely get some attitude, but it depends upon where I am driving my car. In Vail, which is defined by third and fourth homes priced in the multi-millions, no one cares. Ditto for Denver's Cherry Creek area.

But in Boulder (defined by rich white liberals), people seem to think I'm a spoiled prick. (although I'm in my early 40's I look ten years younger, which adds to their "impression" of me).

What they don't understand is that the car was purchased on Craig's List for a mere $3000. :D

Yes, "stinky" is a ratty beast! But unless you know these cars, the people in Boulder who look at it from ten feet away, think, wow, that "kid" is driving a Porsche! What a rich, spoiled jerk!. That being said, I've exchanged a few waves with other P car owners in B-town.

----

Tom '75 Targa ("stinky")

I find that I am extra courteous when in the 911 or the BMW. I figure that if the other person has a notion about the driver I can show them that we are not all bastards.


Somebody said recently that we(Porsche enthusiasts) are more aware of OTHER drivers as we tend to be more into the driving enjoyment and not into "posing".

That said, I do drive my cars in a fun manner when I can.

God, I guess I'm a super-dick, then, having one of each SmileWavy. Wait, my 3's a wagon, do I get a pass?

Welcome to the super-dick club.SmileWavy



Wait, mine's a 5 series AND a wagon.






I'm confused now.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...leys/smi10.gif

Hmmn,

I do get a lot of people wanting to race me it seems. Recently I was cruising along on the highway at 75 or so and a young guy in a Camry pulled up alongside and looked over at me like "wanna go?" I was thinking, "are you serious?" Our cars may be old, but they can still stuff a Camry. Usually I will just ignore this sort of challenge but sometimes I can't help myself. Guess that makes me a prick:)

As others have mentioned, I have also noticed a propensity for 3 series drivers to display some crazy "hi-performance" driving skillz. But, it might just be New Jersey motorists are the world champions of offensive driving and a 3 series lease is practically mandatory here for recent college grads getting their 1st paychecks.

Must be a Pelican thing ....

the wagon thing, not the dick thing ....

see my sig

As the Wall Street/real estate collapse proves: most people out there are morons. Some of these morons even drive Porsches and BMW's (but probably don't hang on the Pelican boards). Who cares what they think about us?

For the record: I'm a lawyer; I own an '88 Porsche, an '04 BMW 3-series Sport Package, and an '06 BMW SAV (although through savvy shopping my total investment is less than the price of a new Cayman S). I guess that makes me a mega-dick. I also always try to treat every person courteously and respectfully on or off the road, even if that person is a card-carrying Left Lane Bandit member of the Anti-Destination League (apologies to David E. Davis).

For the most part I have to fit the pelican mold. I am a pretty conservative driver, but then my commute doesn't really lend itself to high performance high jinks.
I have noticed other drivers who seem to feel that they need to prove something when I am around. I can follow them for miles and they are happy. But if I change lanes and wind up in front of them, suddenly they remember that they have to get to a fire or something.
The only time I've bothered responding is when a bimmer boy pulled up next to me at a light a couple of blocks from my house. I had only had the car for a little over a week so was still figuring it all out. Light changed and he actually stayed with me through second gear then my engine started cutting out. It took me a second to realize I was banging off the rev limiter. Third gear made him a very small speck in the rear view.

after I got out of high school I quit worrying about what other people thought of the car I drive.

I refuse to concern myself with "opinions" from non-Porsche people. Who cares what they think or say. If they wanna be rude, I gots plenty of rude to share with them but prefer to enjoy my car the way I want to. I've never understood the way many people look at skateboarders, rap artists, base jumpers and/or democrats for that matter. Again... who cares?
Just think "NO PORSCHE FOR YOU!" and move on...

I've noticed the exact same thing, and that's pretty much how I deal with it. I figure if I'm already down the road a couple hundred yards, they can do anything they want with their fingers. I drive my 911 fast, and that tends to freak people out.

I had the glorious opportunity to take my Uncle's 911 out for a work out on the country roads around his small town last summer. I was booking down a straight road and there were a couple pedestrians on the side of the road. I drove all the way on the other side of the road when I passed them, but I still got the finger. We had a good laugh about it.

All that said, if I'm in traffic, I go out of my way to let people into my lane, etc. on the off chance it might create a little goodwill.

When I acquired my 911, one of my British car "friends" told me, "buying a Porsche makes people pricks". He was dead serious. I've since come to the conclusion he simply projects his own personality flaws onto others. I don't speak to him much any more.

I'm glad to read this discussion - its been one of the more perplexing issues surrounding 911 ownership. I try not to let it bother me.

Merry Christmas
Nathan

There's a joke to this effect. What is the difference between a porcipine and porsche? In a poricipine the pricks are on the outside.

Anyways, I live near the University of Michigan, and here in Michigan you can get your state school "brand" on your tag. It seems that the big blue "M" is on every frickin BMW in Ann Arbor, and they are not the most courteous folks. I am a EMU grad (not the best school), and I have an big green "E" on my 993 just for a retort. My wife is a two time grad of the UofM, and there is no blue M on her Saab 9-3.

If you want a great car that has no negative reaction, buy an Audi.

Good job.. took me till I was 36. I was a pathetic multi-bmw driving yuppie. Sad.

Funny.

You know here is my observation.. I almost NEVER see a Porsche guy driving agressively.. in fact, I normally see them driving the speed limit and cautious.. almost like.. hey I own a Porsche so I dont drive fast cuz I got nothin to prove.

Im out there to change things.. I drive the speed limit usually but getting to it and around corners is another thing.

People's reaction to what you drive is always going to be different. Some people give me thumbs up and wave, others give me dirty looks. The point being is we all love the car (911) we are driving and who cares what other people think. Not everyone has a passion for cars and some people just don't understand (they have no idea what they are missing;)) how some one could feel for a car, those people i will never understand


Driving a 911 is one of the most rewarding experience's in the world that many people don't get to experience, Porsche owners aren't Pricks, they just have better taste than most people..:D

I got a nice wave the other day from the driver of a red 928, which of course I returned. Neither of us were driving all that quickly. This was on an major highway (Rt. 287s, in the vicinity of Morristown, NJ).

Most of the time, I and the other Porsche drivers I see on the highways don't drive stupid, to avoid expensive tickets, and to avoid expensive accidents. Unfortunately, there are also those who are driving not that quickly because their newer 911 or Boxter is a fashion statement.

Empty back roads - well, they may be approached a bit differently.

I've encountered the occasional young 'rice burner'/new Mustang drivers who have a bit of "show me what you've got" attitude.

Amusingly, I had an encounter with a nicely built replica (I assume) Cobra back when the weather was warmer. He was a few cars ahead of me, waiting at a stoplight to turn onto a local main road. After we both turned, I caught up to him and then something interesting happened. We were both "pushing it" a bit, but not all that much, but it was much more that we were checking out each others cars, especially how they sounded at/near full throttle upshifts. Like: "here, listen to this...", "ok, how about... this..." and passing each other a few times along the way down the highway in a "looking at the details" kind of way.

A rolling car show, in which both participants liked the look of, and respected, the others' wheels. Driving quickly, but not stupid, and not really caring about what the great unwashed masses, i.e. non car guys, thought.

OK, my point:
I, and I think many of us, have our cars for US. Because WE find them interesting, and so do other car people. They're also extremely well-built, reliable if maintained well, and challenging to drive well. They also hold their value better than most other cars. They're expensive (or they were when new), and so will garner the envy of others. So does M-B & BMW.

And, to quote Wikipedia:
"Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport, scoring a total of more than 28,000 victories, of which most have been scored by the Porsche 911 series over five decades."

I have a Porsche, a BMW and a Mercedes. I get the dirtiest looks in the Benz because it's by far the loudest and most obnoxious (open exhaust, 8000 rpm redline, low gearing). I get thumbs up in the M6 because it's an older car and unique/handsome. The 911 is a dime a dozen in CA.
In the 1970s and 1980s if you owned a Porsche it might have been because of status but surely involved some cash in purchase and maintenance. New Porsches nowadays are the same. It's only the glut of midyear cars (that makes this board run) which is unusual...ie DIY enthusiasts. The public in general have no idea that the ~1970-1998 cars are owned by people who could care less what people think about our cars and who probably aren't willing to blow obscene money on cars (unlike the to be seen Panamera crowd [in general]).

I was *this/close* to getting "PINTHEP" on my license plates.

Naturally, it's for "Prick in the Porsche". I figured it would go over well with maybe 1 person every week, and fall flat on it's face with the other 1,000 driver per week.

My red 300hp 996 is my daily driver (lucky me). Most of the time, I drive with the flow of traffic and never tailgate. I have ZERO tickets and want to keep it that way. However, every once in a while, I'll be in a rush to get home (like tonight) and will drive a bit faster (maybe 85) - and will change lanes as needed in order to maintain pace (however, still never getting on any other car's a$$). At these times, I'm sure the other drivers think I'm a Porsche Prick, but so what? With that said, however, I will NOT engage anyone in the merest suggestion of a "race". When someone seems to want to do that (happened twice to me tonight - one guy in a Nissan riding my ass and then blowing past me as soon as he could, and the other guy a BMW 3-series driver who had to blow past me just to show me what his little thing could do), I back off and chill out. I in no way want to be involved in some sort of "race" with another car in front of the whole world, only to have something bad happen and then have the witnesses say "those two cars were racing". NO WAY do I want to be involved in that.

Empty backroads:D - Wow!

I had one fun experience once - I was driving in town and there was a line of people (I assure German tourists) that was walking in the middle of a side street. As I came rumbeling down on them (I was carrying out some exhaust experiments at the time) I saw the oldest of them starting to raise his shoulders and starting to turn to give me a scowl (I think). When he had turned to me, his scowl "lit up" in a wide grin and his usherd his "gathering" away from the street. It was really a bit funny to se his expression change like that!

And kids always put up a smile and points at the car.:D
Even women takes notice... But then there aren't many old Porsches around in my corner of the world.

Low key
 

I just took a 1400 mile trip from S. Fla. up through N. Georgia and back. My '85 911 is in storage in L.A. so I was driving Mom's Lexus whatever. Anyhow I saw precisely one older Porsche and it was a 928!
Really astounding to me. I see old 911's in Los Angeles though not daily. I figured they would be far more prevalent down here?
I was really missing my old girl on those Georgia backroads though I did see a deer roadkill that would have ruined somebodies "spirited" driving day.
My car is a low key color and I drive the same way. I like it that way. No tickets. I do push the envelope and pick my spots both on the Fwy and in the canyons just not as a rule.
I really like my insurance rate and the lack of damage history on my car.

Scott :cool:

Just the other day I was exiting off the freeway and got behind this late model Porsche turbo.
You have to merge onto another freeway where the speed limit is 55mph.
This guy stabs it and is swirving through traffic as if I'm supposed to be impressed.
Only thing I was impressed with was what a dick he was for the way he was driving.
I can understand where this prick label comes from and what the other motorist thought.
_____________
1981SC Coupe

The first time I stopped to get gas in rural Tn driving the porsche home a good old boy casually said from across the gas pump..

'Whats the difference between that porsche and a cactus? With a cactus the prick is on the outside. "



Never take yourself too seriously!

I had an experience like dw1 did with the Cobra only mine was a sweet BMW 2002 ex-race car.

My son and I were heading to the store and I could hear something a few cars ahead of me in the left tuen. It didn't sound "ricey" but had a deep rumble and a crackle as he let off.


We make our turn and I see what the source of the sound is. cool car. I then see an MG next to him and they are playing around. I watched them for a few blocks, giving them a bit of room. I se the MG driver look in his RV mirror and motion to the BMW like" look what's coming". As we apporached the next light, the MG falls in line behind the BMW. Now, we are at the light side by side. We both look over and almost at the same time, "nice car". As the light changed we took off together but not fast, just revving the cars a bit more than normal. The he hits it. I do the same and left him behind. I turned into the store and we gave each a hearty wave as he blasted off with the exhaust rasping away.

Nothing too crazy but one car guy acknowledging another in a unique way.

I live in El Aye, you can't swing a dead cat here without hitting a Porsche. I used to get a lot of stares when I drove the DB4 before I sold it.

About once a week I see a black Cayenne on my way to work (in my Toyota). The guy drives like a jerk, cutting in and out of traffic and making life miserable for the rest of us that have to slam on our non-big red brakes when he cuts in front of us at the last minute with less than a car's length of space. If he were driving a less obvious or more common car...I would not realize that it is the same jerk every time. Since he is likely the only Porshe that many folks see on that commute, I am sure that many just associate Porsche drivers with jerks. The fact that there are so few on the road means that it does not take too many to give us all a bad name. If your car stops in half the distance as my daily driver...it is foolhardy to cut in front of me and slam on your brakes...just to gain a car length at the red light. When you drive a high performance car, keep in mind that most folks simply cannot... or at least struggle to dodge your antics. They do not make you look the least bit cool...and cause the rest of us to get our 911s keyed. Having a cool car does not give you the right to endanger everyone else. Save it for the track...or at least keep it out of rush hour traffic.

I'm really enjoying the responses here.

A couple of things -

On my maiden voyage home with my 911 from Houston, TX to Tuscaloosa, AL, I was a bit hypersensitive, I think. I had this "HELLOOOO EVERYBODY I AM DRIVING MY (MY MY MY!) NEW PORSCHE! WOOOHOOO" sensation 100% of the time. I was just getting used to the car, so I was not doing anything but keeping close to the speed limit, and watching the road closely for holes & crap I wanted to avoid, really keeping my distance from everyone and everything. Yes, of course, when the opportunity presented itself, I did a little leg-stretching. Plenty of opportunity for that on an 850 mile drive!

However. I did notice that certain cars wanted to "play" with me a bit. I just let them do their thing. Except every time a BMW or a Mustang passed me, I just could not stand it! They would whiz by and I'd be all, "HEY! HEY HEY HEY! YOU? PASSING ME? IN MY PORSCHE? I DON'T THINK SO!" and I confess, I played back with a couple of those along the way. I have since calmed down considerably and no longer react to those internal alarms (they do still go off.....).

Now, what I really love is when a car pulls around to be next to me wanting to communicate some admiration for my car. The funnest experience of this kind ever was on my way home from an autocross a couple of months ago. I was on the interstate, and a couple in a white Honda Civic kept playing with me, in front, behind, one side, other side. I was not paying much attention at first, but when I finally looked into the car as it slowed on my left side mid-pass, the woman in the passenger seat started literally jumping up and down in her seat, maniacally waving and thumbs-upping me vigorously, smiling ear to ear, and mouthing the words, "LOVE YOUR CAR!"

I love my car, too, so I was totally ok with that reaction!

One last thing - there are two Boxsters which are regulars in my office parking lot. I have met one of the guys, the other I've never even seen. One day I pulled into the lot and saw that Boxster had just pulled in. I whipped into an empty space beside it and was looking forward to saying hello to my fellow Pcar person and having a little chat about our cars. Or at a minimum some type of Porsche-fellowship-acknowledgement.

Well! I looked over and caught his eye and waved as I was gathering my things to get out.

HE IGNORED ME.

DISSED by the Boxster! Whattup with that? I won't tell you what I thought, as I would risk pissing off the entire world of Boxster owners......

I have never in my life cared what someone else thought of my car.

I have friends that couldn't tell you the difference in a Porsche and a BMW. Not all people are gearheads.

Lawyer? "Crime does pay, ask a lawyer". ;)

I don't have much challenges to race (maybe because I am a woman) but I did have some woman in a Prius make some snide remark about driving something that uses so much gas. I in my sweetest southern drawl I pointed out my 20 year old Pcar gets better gas mileage than her hybrid. Not to mention a whole lot more fun to drive. There was no response after that.

The average number of posts by the posters here is under 500. :D

I drive a 911 and a 325 and yes, I am a total jackass.

What hybrid? If it was not a SUV your Porsche doesnt get better mileage. So if you were comparing yourself to a truck thats sayin much.

However.. Porsches get pretty damn good mileage if you drive them conservatively.

Welcome to the jackass club.

Because anyone who owns a boxster knows its not a real Porsche. It's more or less a miata.