My 1st dozen cars were 67-74 Firebirds with 400-455ci engines that I rebuilt. Never cared for the "glorified VW's" due to the low torque engines & spartan interiors. Finally drove 2 '86 Turbo "look" 911's that confirmed my dislike & added shift action to the list. 7 years later in 2000 I got a job prepping & test driving new cars, before delivering to automotive journalists. After about a week a Arena red 996 returned from loan. I liked the color, the silhouette, smooth body line & seams. When I got to the front I loved the integrated light modules, minimizing interruptions of the beautifully painted body panels. Sitting inside I liked everything I saw. Took it for a little longer than usual test drive & was pleasantly surprised by everything about the 996. Days went by quickly at the best job I ever had, & soon a Boxster returned home. I liked it's look more than the 996 & it was fun to drive, but the 2.7L engine left me preferring the 996 overall. Finally the time to test a Box S came, it had just debuted 6 months earlier & was one of the most popular cars that year. This was more like it, adequate power & easier & funner to drive than a 996! (My DD was a 67 Firebird 400 with 100 HP more & 150lbs more & drum brakes) Well 2 yrs went by quickly & my favorite day of the year came, Porsche's transporter truck arrived with the new 2003 Porsche cars! (Cayenne debuted later) I liked the changes to the Boxsters & got to know them well during a stock footage video shoot I prepped the cars for & drove for the photographer from Motorweek.
Well driving 30+ hours a week in LA traffic makes you a better driver & you also gain a keen insight of the positive & negative attributes of all the various vehicles from long test drives.
All the other company locations across the US started losing clients & money so naturally the owners decided to take it out on the employees. My General Manager quit & her replacement soon changed my accounts into her accounts, so I quit soon after.
Firebirds didn't do it for me anymore, especially the new ones I had driven thru work, so I bought my own Boxster S off E-bay with 15,400 miles & 9 months factory warranty remaining. Flew up to Portland OR & drove home down the coast, blissfully ignorant of IMSB or any other issues since I had not encountered any during my 2.5 years of testdriving 2000-2003 Porsches. 103,000 miles later I still believe the only device funner than a 986 S is mine with it's 3.6L!
