well this was certainly a surprise: i just drove up for spring break to visit my parents, and i couldn't believe my eyes:

a black, fully loaded, ceramic-braked 997 carrera S, replacing his 996 C4S!!

dad handed me the keys; he took my M3; and we drove back to marin from silicon valley.

all i can say is WOW: the improvements between the 996 and 997 are ... day and NIGHT. not only the power, but even the interior build quality, the comfort, and, for me, a 6'4" guy, the headroom!! the thing is soooooo much roomier inside!!

from a dyanmics standpoint, i especially like i how there's a lot less bobbing from the front of the car, something we both hated about the 996 C4S. Also, having RWD again is especially nice.

Anyway, i'll post a more thorough review later in the week along with some pix.

Can't wait to see some of you at Santana Row on Saturday!!

Cheers,
--Marc

 

Congrats, I'll try and make Santana Row... hard waking up early on Saturday though

BTW you got a cool dad!

 

Very cool, it's a lovely car.

On another note i noticed the other day that you have listed your parents car in your sig. Am i the only one that thinks this is slightly odd considering your age?

Josh.

 

i guess "odd" is that which is different from what one considers the norm. if it is "odd' to you, then yes, i suppose it IS odd.

but to more directly answer your question, i never thought twice about it: growing up with no siblings, i grew up in a very close-knit family. we never had individualized possessions: whatever my parents owned necessarily also belonged to me, and of course vice versa. and it continues to this day. i never once heard my parents say something to the effect of "no, that's mine, you can't use/eat/touch/play/have it."

so in fact when i say "my M3" i really mean "OUR" m3. same with my dad's porsche. or my mom's benz. or anything else in the family for that matter. perhaps it's the influence of my mom's persian culture? most (all?) of my persian friends and my persian gf would agree with how i've explained this.

and finally, i also listed them because they are -- for the foregoing reasons -- cars that i have regular access to and therefore regularly drive whenever i'm visiting them up here in Marin.

savvy?

 

Ha, wish i could say that about my dad's cars!

 

haha, yeah, my dad never ceases to amaze me, esp when you consider he's 69 yrs old; an ex-marine; a phd; an ex lotus super 7 race car driver; and still wants to go do some more track events with me and drive circles 'round me

btw, as far as your decision on which car to get ... wow that is a VERY tough call.

i'm guessing it's not going to be your daily driver? if not, then i say go with either the 996 GT3 or Z06. If quality/prestige > raw performance, then go with GT3; and vice versa if performance > quality/prestige obviously.

also, i don't know if you're planning on doing a lot of track events, and if so, how accomplished a driver you are. have you driven a porsche before? if not, i think you'll find the z06 INFINITELY easier to drive than the GT3. that said, they're both designed to do one thing very well: go round a racing circuit very very quickly only real recurring criticism i've heard of the Z is that the steering is a bit vague and makes it kinda hard to listen to what the car's telling you at the limit. personally, that would really bother me, but then, i've never tried driving a Z before so i don't know from first hand experience.

i CAN say i couldn't stand the 996 at thunderhill ... it REALLY intimidated me. even during spirited mountain runs i didn't like how the 996 felt. the 997, so far, inspires FAR more confidence, which to me, is the trademark of a well-designed sports car.

seeing as how you're currently driving an S2K, i've never driven one, but i know they are FANTASTIC driver's cars, and really confidence inspiring (at least the later models). so that's something to consider too. also, if you're tall (6'4"+ like me) you will find the 996 interior TERRIBLY cramped. with a helmet on, i could not find a good seating position -- i finally had to make do with a compromise that i really didn't enjoy for track.

however, if it's going to be your daily driver, i say definitely go with the 997 S ... i cannot beLIEVE how amazing they are now that i've enjoyed over an hour behind the wheel of my dad's.

it is a RADICALLY different beast to the 996, 200% better in EVERY quantifiable (and qualifiable) way.

gluck, and lemme know how it goes!!

p.s. where in LA are you from? i'm often in westwood and beverly hills with my girl

 

Marc, sounds like fun...TJSL ripping you a new one these days or what? It'll pay off...

 

Congradulations to you and your family on the Carrera S.

 

haha ... i'm just glad i'm in the final semester of 2L ... i can't wait till my 3L year come fall.

thanks!

 

Is nice!!!!!

 

I agree!!

On the note about the 996 vs the 997, I also concur with your summary of the differences. Day and Night between the two.

Congrats!!

 

Well...congrats to your new car!
Come on post some pics now...

 

Congrats. What a great Father. My Dad is gone now, but if he were around I could hear him say "you don't NEED that car" Meaning it is a waste of money. He would be right, I don't NEED it, I WANT it.

 

OOPS: accidentally posted this response under my dad's username ... lol i didn't even know he was a member on here!! reposting under my username

 

k here we go:

thanks guys... as for this "father" discussion which has spawned more of a response than i thought, you may be interested to know this background bit then:

a HUGE reason why my dad has always been so generous with me is because when HE was growing up, his father was VERY selfish with him. in fact, it was BECAUSE of that selfishness, apparently, that my dad went out and finally treated himself to the 996 last year and IMMEDIATELY allowed ME to drive it to my heart's content, and even take it to Thunderhill with him.

the story, as i was told, was that my dad's father used to have one of the original 911s back in the day (1950s?) and ... IF MY DAD WAS LUCKY, he would be "allowed to wash it" for his father.

hence my dad's 180* flip to be so generous with his only son, me.