Porsche pecking order
 

I went to a PCA weekend getaway last weekend and one of the members who I've never met before approached me and introduced himself to me and asked which car I have. I shook his hand introduced myself and walked him over to my car. He said a few nice things about the Boxster and he walked me over to his new to him 996 911 C4S. He went on to say prior to this car he had a Cayenne.

As he continued to talk about how great the C4S is compared to his Cayenne he asked me if I was aware of Porsche's pecking order. I replied and said YES I'm aware of the pecking order and your 996 is the bastard of all 911's and I walked away. Note I'm not bashing 996 at all. He asked for it and got what he deserved.

Ouch. You really gave it to him.

Now that was weird... What was the tone of his voice when he asked you about his belief of a pecking order?
What exactly was the context? That the C4S is superior to the Cayenne? That comment seems like a non sequitur.


I happen to think that the 996.2 C4S is the nicest looking Carrera since the 964. But nowhere near as nimble.

gratuitous RS clone photo
http://www.zercustoms.com/news/images/Porsche/Porsche-964-911-RS-Conversion-1.jpg

996.2 C4S with nice wheels
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads20/C4S+Right1328659243.jpg

Was he being rude to you or implying the 986 was inferior? In any case, there really is no reason to put down someone's car. I would have just walked away

I can tell you that at the PDS I did a little while a go, I was crawling up the ass of a few 996/997/991 including a brand new C4S in some of the exercises, especially the slalom and having to slow down in the AX so I would not get too close

Our little Boxsters are at the top of the pecking order when it comes to handling. Yea, sure we have less power, but anyone can be fast going straight

Ouch is right. Was he really going there? Smh

Like I said I'm not trying to bash 996 at all. It was the only response I could think of at that time. There was no need for him to mention pecking order.

We all know our low place on the Porsche pecking order. He certainly does need to remind us
I will compliment that individual that he is at the top of my 'Pecker Order'

I can understand the desire to put a pompous ass in his place, but on a good day I hope to be humble enough to let it roll off, smile and say something nice. Its a better outcome.

edit:
And besides, your Honda CR-X Si has been rated one of the best cars of All Time! Honda CR-X - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I'll always miss my old Rex :cheers:

I never understood this "pecking order" mentality. Who cares ? Who cares what some other Porsche owner thinks of my car ? I mean, seriously I could care less than Less. I like my car and that's all that matters. With the 1998 Boxster 2.5 liter, 201HP engine I probably have 1 of the "weakest" Porsches around but it handles like a dream and that's perfectly fine with me. If someone wants to give me a Boxster S with 250HP I would take it with a smile but until that day I will be just fine. :):)

Exactly. Enjoy what you have!

+1 Couldn't agree more!! What someone else thinks of my car never matters to me!! However I haven't had a negative word said to me about my S.

Porsche's marketing department has done a great job in creating an artifical pecking order that only the foolish fall for. Especially when it comes to the Boxster/Cayman/Carrera. These three cars have more in common then not. Just look at the part numbers and the fact that most of the water cooled Carrera's orginal development/engineering work came out of the Boxster.

+1 Yes! I love my Boxster and really don't care what others think.

Funny how things go. 912s were looked down on for a while and look where they are now. 914s were damn near ostracized unless you were an autocrosser and today they are fetching $$& for good ones. Our 986s will have their day....

Maybe he was just having a bit of fun with you, but then again maybe he's just an ass-clown. As others have stated why be concerned with what anyone else thinks of your car? Either way, unfortunately your response to Mr. 996 just perpetuated a stereotype.

Huge plus 1 on this. Just based on how most people react to mine I have no doubt. Just the other day was going down the my street and about 12 kids halted their game of ball and just watched the car drive by doing a full 180 with the heads while giving approving nods. Same thing I did when I was their age and these are still the same cars I lust after and in some cases have owned (the 1989 C4 that ripped my buddy's brand new 5.0 Mustang while I was in the passenger saying "Do you have the pedal to the floor").

It's basically something that evolved in the 1980's, really got going in the 1990's.
Even though Porsche as a prestigious sports car brand is much older than that. It really boils down to guys who learned to drive in the 70's and 80's. They see Porsche in the post 1964 era, or the Porsche = Carrera mentality. The clever guys at Porsche latched onto this generational change and made sure to milk it by upselling the Carrera and marketing all their other Porsches as "stepping stone" cars.

I really can't think of another brand that is so effective at getting its fans to believe all of their marketing. Like for example the Cayman being a better handling car than the Boxster. Porsche sold this idea at the time of the Cayman launch and there have really been few instances of journalists or blogger taking this marketing idea to task as it eventually becomes the common belief. For instance most people were surprised when Johannes Van Overbeek proved that the Boxster was the more nimble car in an Excellence Magazine piece. Meanwhile folks who know that the quickest cars are those with the most neutral balance and least amount of weight on top, were not at all surprised. Which tells us that we will see the 981 Cayman GT4 climb up the "pecking order" but similar power and weight trimming treatment will probably not be given to the 981 Boxster. Or maybe Porsche will surprise me...

Farging Iceholes ALWAYS need to be put in their place, of course it is a dark, stinky place with no sunshine. Right on OP, thank you for not taking that shiite from anyone. BRAVO!:cheers:

I agree he should be put in his place (however, I am unsure of the other drivers intent and hope that you were, some people are just bad with words, poor man may have been about to whine about how he wishes he could've gotten a turbo.) but instead of putting him in his place with words, why not simply show him how capable the boxster is, it feels great to show up someone like that, but the last thing you want to do when you meet a sub par person is to drop yourself to mimic their behavior.

Journalist take on a porsche pecking order
 

Article is about the Spyder however there is lots of good commentary on Boxsters and their percived place in the Porsche world. See link below.

Boxsters are nearly universally praised by auto journalists as some of the best sports cars made. Don't get caught in the pecking order trap - those guys are never happy - no matter what they get is not going to be good enough - there will always be something better.

Cars are meant to be driven. Porsche makes great sports, Boxsters are among the best.

Enjoy your awesome car and set a good example when talking about cars with other people.

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder: First Drive