Today was a first....
 

So today my wife decided to go through her shoe collection today, so we could take some stuff to Goodwill. While my daughter was sleeping, I grabbed to garbage bag full of shoes and clothes, stuck in the frunk, and drove to our local goodwill in the Boxster. As I pulled up behind an old dodge caravan, the donation guy came out and states, "wow!! That is one awesome Ferrari". I explained that it was actually a Porsche. He then proceeded to say, "are you sure? It has a horse on the hood.". I stated that I was pretty sure it was not a Ferrari, but thank you for the compliment. We had our poor FJ Cruiser confused for a PT cruiser by the loan officer at the credit union, when we first purchased it, but I have never had a Porsche confused for a Ferrari to date.

Just curious if others here have experienced similar situations of confused identities.

While my wife and I were out shopping we got separated. I came up behind her and gave her a slap on the rear...yea you got it...it wasn't my wife:confused:. She was the same hight, wearing the same coat, hair color and Levi's. I was mortified and totally apologetic.

I quickly found my wife and made tracks outta there. Come to think about, she did have a smaller butt.:matchup:

That made me laugh so freakin' hard. Thanks guys.

Happens every time I take the polished guard red 986 on the streets here in Shanghai. I get to roll right next to hundreds of people and I'm near-to-fluent in Chinese. The comment that I've heard most frequently is the girl saying to her bf "when are you going to buy me a Ferrari" (Whoa Ferrari ni mai yi ge gei wo hao ma!)

Cars were introduced only ten years ago in China so. I mean by cars... Buicks and Vw Santanas only. But given the population here, the group of car lovers (porsche aware) is possibly twice bigger than the whole Canadian population! So on that, were okay ;)

"Ferrari... wroum wroum wroum" a guy told me at the petrol station a week ago I think. Had a spontaneous burst of laugh... mean I know but it was funny you have to admit

Yeah, it happened once to me.

As I recall, I went to some place that sold & repaired vacuum cleaners, to pick up some part or other to fix a vacuum of ours. There was a good-sized window in front, and the guy behind the counter saw the Box sittin' out there.

"Is that your Ferrari out there?"
"The grey one?" I asked.
"Yeah"
"That's mine." I replied. :D

Yep, had something like that happen to me too. Was parked at a drive-in burger stand in some little town (Carmen actually), scarfing back some onion rings. An obviously rural lady came up to me and said that she and her husband were admiring the car and wanted to know if it was a Porsche or a Ferrari. She seemed like a nice person so I resisted the urge to make some smart-ass response and just answered the question and told her a bit about the car.

It isn't even Ferrari's family crest, the insignia came from an Italian world war I Ace. In Germany the horse represents Stuttgart.

People always get my vehicle right . It's me that they're usually confused about. I'm always being mistaken for a young Robert Redford . It must be the pockmarks on my buttocks ?

my wife works at a hotel and 75% of the time people dont even know what they drive! One lady called a convertible a top go down lol

The way I saw it before I bought my Boxster, any fancy car seemed an exotic whether it was a Porsche, Maserati or Ferrari. Now I own a Porsche, anybody looking for a sugar daddy would not care if they snagged one with a Ferrari or a Porsche. They are perceived as exotic, that is the car not the owner. :)

Ah, innocence. Here in self centered, show off Miami everyone, especially women golddiggers, is intensely familiar with the years and prices of exotic cars. I wouldn't get a second look from a babe because she would immediately peg me as a loser because I wasn't driving a brand new Porsche.

It's the Alfa Romeo part that scares them away ! :)

No way :) Alfa Romeo's are beautiful cars (I'ved had a 156 and most recently the GT). Not enough of them over here -- plus you get to be real good pals with all the mechanics in your area ;)

Back in 1994, I purchased one of the last of the 190 commemorative spiders. I'm lucky that I'm not in prison for having ax murdered everyone at Alfa Romeo North America. :mad:

+ 1.. !

I drive a 3.0 Milano Verde and I love it..

.

No one mistook my car for a Ferrari, but in the past 17 months of ownership, I have had at least 5 people ask me if it was a 911 Turbo, including a mechanic.

Some people don't realize Porsche makes other cars besides the 911 Turbo.

I can see people thinking that if their only source of information was Panorama.

Good for you. When I sold my Alfa, after the new owner drove away I changed my phone number and painted my house a different color . :cool:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1331588224.jpg


Yeah, I could see how people mistake a Boxster for a Ferrari , because of the horse , that's why I put a "Maui turtle" on the rear bumper - that and it
hides a scratch.

The way I see it you qualify as a sugar daddy. Most people dont differentiate between an old Porsche and a new one. Perhaps the more sophisticated might spot the old versus the new. Just dont drive too far from Miami and then u might be safe!:):dance:

San Rensho, You are not a loser. A Porsche owner is "Admired by all, owned by few" Keep your chin up...always.

Where you going in any relationship forged on someone thinking you would drain your resources attempting to keep them happy anyhow? It's likely the key reason I can afford a Porsche is the fact I did not settle for a candidate from the wrong choice parade.

Iz zat won nem nair Fee-rar-eeze?

I get that more times than I can count, makes me laugh every time.

Back when I was a junior in high school, I had a group of seniors gathered around my car. At first I was worried about vandalism, but as I got closer I realized that they were trying to identify it. One girl questioned "OMG is this a Ferrari? Looks so cool!" And a guy next to her replied "Nah, it's a Porsche." And of course, they debated about the horse on the badge. I don't think they realized I was the owner until I unlocked the doors and got in. Good times.

are you on f-chat?

So tell us if you got her #?

I have a question 'bout your red horse (308?). I notice Ferrari doesn't incorporate a rear spoiler like others do. Are they not worried about planting the rear tires at high speeds? I find it a major safety factor.

The 308 doesn't go fast enough to need a spoiler :p.:p

Remember that the 308 GTS was sold from 78-84 when aero downforce effects were often ignored. Ask Dan Gurney about the Porsche 917. He said it was more like flying than driving.

1970 Le Mans Winner of Attwood & Herrmann | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The 308 is one of my all-time favorite cars. Tell us some more about yours.

My brother had a 2002 Carrera and I had a 2004 Box S at the same time. About six years ago we were driving in the North GA mountains, or maybe we were in N. Carolina by this time, but we stopped for gas at a pretty large station that was busy. I had to park over to the side, while he got a pump right in front of the door.

As we were paying the lady looked out and said, "That you on Pump 3?" Jim nodded. "That's a beautiful car. That the new Camaro?"

Needless to say, I've never let him forget that. Unfortunately, he sold it soon after and bought a C6. :(

Mark T

The 308 isn't mine, I was just sharing a friend's "man cave" I've driven a couple
of Ferrari's, that 308 and a 330GT. The 330 had a 4litre V12 and the most amazing
sounding exhaust , not to mention the instant high rev's.

The fellow with the 308 is looking for a Boxster after driving mine as his DD.

My last "exotic "was a 190SL

I think I'd do that trade.

Be fun to drive the Box out there and come back in a 308.

Sorry Mark , he's not looking to sell the 308 - just doesn't want to drive it to work.
The car was a "barn find" a few years ago with only 5K miles on it. It had been sitting in a warehouse for about twenty years. The car now has about 30K miles
on it.

Regarding a rear spoiler , with a mid-engine V8 I don't think the rear end lifts at speed - I had the car up to 140 klms on the island highway and it was firmly
stuck to the road. Wonderfull car to drive - my only complaint would be the
transmission is slow to shift - very "notchy"

Mark T,
I looked hard at getting a 308 GTS before getting my Boxster. I agree it is a most beautiful car. I really wanted a car to drive though and there is a reason most Ferrari 308s don't have many miles and sit under covers in barns. They are a maintenance nightmare that makes Alpha Romeo's look Honda reliable. Flukey carbs, finicky fuel injection in later models, needs a new clutch every 5000 miles, pull the motor to change spark plugs, and Jaguar quality electrical are just a few of the joys of ownership with a 308. The are as high maintenance as a runway model in Milano.

Mark the 308s are actually fairly reliable but only if they are driven hard and driven very frequently. The people that just let them sit to cherish them are actually just letting them rot.

If I were ever going to consider that model I would search for the fiberglass edition. I saw a very nice one once, the metal looked far too reminiscent of dead Fiat for my liking.

Sorry Highlow missed your question about F-chat - interesting site but no
I'm not on f-chat.

Just remembered the other thing I don't like about the 308's - the lack of luggage
space - it's about the size of two lunch box's and it gets hot in there.

I have never had my car confused for another brand yet, but I get mixed reactions to it. The most common being "YOU HAVE A PORSCHE" and then the least common of you should have bought something faster. One time at autozone I went to pick up a trunk light and some **** in the line for the register told me "if your going to drive a porsche at least learn to drive it." I was perplexed by what this guy said. My first thought was what do you know about driving a porsche, and second was how can you judge my driving ability from watching me perfectly put the car in a parking space for three seconds. I told him ok buddy smiled and paid for my bulb. When I step outI saw he was driving an old lexsus IS and thought man people are jealous.

On the other hand today I went to the post office and when I went to my car there were these kids looking at it. The told me i had a nice car and asked if they could take a picture in it. I said sure and they took some pics and asked me how much was it and insurance. I told them 10k, Im 20 and insurance is less then for me owning an SUV. They were going nuts, saying things like your 20 and sporting a nice porsche, man thats cool. I honestly had to say it felt good. Bringing smiles to other is pretty good.

This is my friend's 308...

Summer Cruise - Ferrari 308 GTS on Vimeo

5-year (major) maintenance you're looking at about $10k...

Just like having your IMS bearing seal go bad every 5 years! :eek: