A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum...

[Mantis]

Okay, this might be just funny to me but it is my first Porsche-related story that has relevance to me since I am now an owner!. I have a friend who bought a new Boxster back in 1999. He hardly ever drives it, and never in the rain, has maybe 4,000 miles on it to-date, washes it even when he doesn’t drive it and he NEVER goes ‘fast’ or will take a turn at any speed which generates a g-force of any kind!! I have been busting his chops occasionally over the years and get pretty much the same response every time, “My car is artwork. It’s okay if it sits in my garage a lot.” Okay, so I guess I understand the collectors of the world, a la the Leno’s who own cars that APPRECIATE. But you guys weigh in here; unless he holds it in mint condition for 60 more years, it’s not going to go up in value anytime soon…right? (but he might want to sell it and it IS in mint condition)

Anyway, I call him Mr. 45. I just picked that number awhile back indicating what I thought his top speed was on the Boxster since he ‘babies’ it so much. So, I bought mine 3 weeks ago – have 1200 miles on it all on 3 weekends, road hard on lots of corners and recent top speed of 134 before I had to back off (she didn’t even sweat).

Back to my story, I had Mr.45 in the car for a short ride; a rather pedestrian ride in city for 10 miles with no surprises and a top speed at maybe 40. With ½ mile to go before dropping him off, I goose it a little and out of the corner of my eye, he is grabbing dash board, door armrests, seat bottoms, whatever, in a flailing arm frenzy to hold on for dear life! It was a very fast and violent reaction and I did not think I was going fast at all so I looked down at the speedometer. 47 !!! I had passed his tolerance threshold – it was unchartered territory for him – and he went into survival mode! Maybe you had to be there....

Well, it was very funny for me. I don’t mean to bust up on a buddy – different strokes for different folks and all when it comes to how you value your car – but had a free moment and thought I would share with others slacking off at work…

Great story. Now you need to call him Mr. 47!!

The post from several days ago with photos of your car were awesome BTW.

[RandallNeighbour]

Mantis, I think you should PM me with his name and address so I can send him a condolence card from a total stranger/Boxster owner.

Art? Art my ass. It's good looking alright, but it ain't art. It's a sports car and it should be driven the way Ferdinand would have wanted it to be driven.

Tell him he's rotting all the gaskets and rubber on the car by letting it sit so much as well, making it a risky buy on resale as an unused garage queen.

Finding another "art" lover like himself won't be easy with a Boxster. Carrera GT? Maybe. Boxster, no way!

[mach schnell]

it's folks like that who perpetuate the reputation of the boxster and the boxster owner as not true sports cars/enthusiasts!

[bigislandboxster]

I was never in that guys league, but I used to baby my car, always shifted at the lower end of the rpm spectrum, and occasionally took it out for a fast ride down the High Road in Hawaii......More recently I've decided that it was time to take the kids gloves off and let this car be itself! What an entirely more fulfilling experience! Just letting a car like the Boxster sit in a garage and putt putt around town is like buying the Stones Sticky Fingers LP, and playing it at 1 ! Whats the point if you can't get the full impact of the experience ????

[denverpete]

Originally Posted by mach schnell

it's folks like that who perpetuate the reputation of the boxster and the boxster owner as not true sports cars/enthusiasts!

So true - but then I feel the same way about those who put their Boxster away for the winter. To each their own I suppose...

[slogans7]

There's a Lambo Diablo owner here in Orange County that got tired of having hte thing constantly towed and repaired. It's now hanging on a wall in his (large) house. He thinks it's art. I think he's nuts.

Mr. 45 cracks me up. Since he believes “My car is artwork. It’s okay if it sits in my garage a lot,” I'm guessing he has no children.

[Ronzi]

If I was Ferdinand, or his heirs, I would say drive the crap out of them, too. Use 'em up, thrash 'em, trash 'em. Then come back and buy another one.

If going out into the garage and looking at his Boxster is what makes Mr. 47 happy, go for it. It's his car, and if he wants to park it at the curb and set fire to it, it's all the same to me.

To judge by all the low-mileage Boxsters that hit the market, Mr. 47s practice is not as uncommon is we might think.