On the virtues of driving a Porsche

I warned you that this column would drift away from exclusively weather topics from time-to-time, and this is one of those times.

I was reminded on a long (650 mile) road trip last week (see my previous blog) how much I enjoy driving...when I'm in my Porsche 944.

Like most, I've owned a number of different marks over the years, from a Renault LeCar (boy, was THAT a mistake), to Oldsmobiles, Plymouths, Subarus, Toyota's, Saturns and Nissans. They were just cars. They got you from one place to another, usually not usually very comfortably, and were interchangeable pieces of transportation.

That changed a few years ago when I picked up my 1985 (late) Porsche 944. A German mechanic/friend put me on to it, I took a test drive, and was hooked. $3500 later, I had my very own piece German driving technology.

On the down side, they're not cheap to maintain. Something or other always needs repair, and as you might expect with a car that's over 20 years old, I've been through clutches, seals, various electrical relays, injectors, the shift boot is held on by Gorilla tape, and it leaks like a sieve. ("When a Porsche stops leaking....it's out of fluid").

So why do I still drive it? Let's look at the positive side of the ledger.
It was built with that precision the Germans are famous for out of real metal. When you close the doors, it feels right (and sounds right). The seats are the most comfortable of any car I've ever driven. (After my 9 hour trip home from Utah the other day, I was tired, but not crippled, like I usually feel after a long journey in other cars). The handling is phenomenal, and you can really feel the road (not uncomfortably, but you're not disconnected from it as you are in so many newer cars). It turns in a VERY small circle, and the visibility is good. The heater is outstanding (because, I suppose, it gets cold in Germany in the winter). The air conditioner...not so much.

I averaged 33 mpg on the highway....not bad for a semi-performance car, huh?

So while I'd like the gas mileage of my son's 1997 Saturn sedan (38 mpg on the highway), or the fewer visits to the mechanic that come with a Honda or Toyota, thanks just the same, I'm sticking with the Porsche. I'm currently at 198,000 miles, and when the time comes, I'll have the engine rebuilt and keep going because this isn't a "throwaway" car, it's a driving experience.