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Yesterday (Sunday) morning, I dropped off a friend from out of town at San Francisco Airport at about 8:00 a.m. After we get his stuff out of the trunk, (I love how big the trunk is for a 2 seater), I get in the car and am putting my seat belt on when there is a knock at the window. I look up and see one of San Francisco's finest motioning for me to roll down the window. I'm wondering if I parked in the wrong place or if I've violated some new TSA commandment? I roll down the window and the cop asks: "does this have an 8 cylinder engine? I've never seen one of these and I thought the '8' in '968' might mean a V8". I told him it was just an in line 4. He asked if it was turbo'd and I told him no, just normally aspirated, but it was a 3 liter. He was impressed with the size of the engine and then proceeded to pull out his cell phone and show me a pic of his late 60's Shelby Mustang 350 GT which he's bought as a teenager. I had thought I was in trouble and instead it turned into the best exchange I've ever had after a cop approached my car! Thanks, Porsche!



Bill

Sounds like a nice experience Bill. I too like the occasional opportunity to meet someone over an interest in the 968.



I had one funny experience a few years ago, I had the car for a few months already. An acquaintance heard me drive off in the car. When I saw him a few days later he told me I better get the engine checked because it sounds like it is running on only 4 cylinders and I informed him that it IS a 4 cylinder engine. But no, he insisted I better double check what engine I have in it because he can hear it missing and it probably is a V8! Oh my... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

nice <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I tell people it's a small block V10, and you'd be surprised how many actually believe that..the hood profile is long enough to cause just enough doubt.. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

I had a similar experience a few months ago. A cop pulled up next to me and motioned for me to roll down my window. He asked what it was, because at first he thought it was a 928. After I explained to him that it was a 968, the last evolution of the 944, he said 'I dig it', gave me a thumbs up and sped away.



-Austin

Every once and a while you do meet cops who are humans. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

I just love all the stares I get while I drive.

I should make a video <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

Interesting. Austin must just not be a sports car kind of town, as I've owned the car for seven years, and in all that time, I could count on one hand the number of comments I've gotten on it. Now, when I had my Austin Healey BJ8 (I lived in Phoenix most of the time I owned that car), it was a constant barrage of questions, and nonstop stares. In the 968, I feel like I'm driving around in the cloak of invisibility, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I suppose.

I agree, most of the time my 968 seems to go completely unnoticed on the road. Maybe it looks too much like a Boxster (and there's a Boxster everywhere you look here in SoCal) to non-Porsche people.



I used to have a candy apple red '68 Dodge Charger and even little old ladies would give me the thumbs up in that thing!



-Austin

I parked at a local hardware store last year and while walking away, a gentleman commented on my car. He stated that it was a 944. He then proceeded to ask about my modifications because it had a different front end. When I told him it was not a 944, he was adament that it WAS a 944. When I proceeded to inform him that it WAS in fact a 968, he seemed somewhat puzzled. Anyways, we sat and chatted for a bit about cars. He was a corvette guy.



I have found myself explaining the origins many times to car guys.

Went for a drive yesterday and at the Cypress Mountain lookout we came across a 968 coupe. As we were discussing our cars, others gathered round and made comments about the looks of the Cab vs Coupe. Now I know you Coupe owners don't like to hear this, but IMHO the 968 Cab attracts more attention than the Coupe. This was evident again yesterday, based on the comments from the bystanders. While driving yesterday I even had a Boxter owner at a stop light take a long hard stare and then give me a thumbs up! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



[attachment=9141][attachment=9142]

As someone who dislikes pretty much any convertible ( regardless of make and model ) I will agree that 968 cabs might indeed attract more attention than the coupe, because IMHO, they do not look dated. The cab can easily pass for a just released model Porsche. You can probably fool a lot of the people that the cab is a 2011 car. Not so much for the coupe...in spite of the fact that half of the new sports cars out there have been coming out with hatchbacks in the last couple of years, and that trend seems to continue..

Having said that, I like the looks of the coupe from the front and the side far more than the cab, but prefer the looks of the cab from the back far more than the coupe. Don't ask me to explain that, I can't.. it's just that way to my eye.

Since I bought my cab last August, I've been asked at least a couple of times if it's the new 2011 model. IMHO I also think the cab has a timeless elegance that will still look good decades later, not unlike my all time favorite car, the Series 1 Jaguar E-type, (the one with the curved glass over the headlights). The coupe is no slouch either, but I think it looks more familiar to the public with it's resemblance to the 944. Thinking about it, I don't remember ever seeing a 924 or 944 cab.



Bill

Langley, is it a supposition or based upon numerical fact that more people like a cab? Your car looks great in the picture by the way. I think more people like coupes. But I am somewhat biased and this is no supposition but rather pure guess! No offense intended.



Bob

4 out of 5 dentists surveyed recommend convertible 968s for their patients who drive 968s.

That's only because driving a cab exposes your teeth to the elements and they can charge you 3,000 for a root canal

I have gotten out of at least 3 tickets because the cops who pulled me over wanted to talk about the car. Never had that experience with any other car!

I agree with Ds968 on the looks of the car. The back of the cabs sure looks cool, but I like the coupe from the other angles. One of the things that attracted me to the 968 coupe in the first place is the sort of odd melding of retro lines with newer styling. The tub shape of the car is almost identical visually to the 924, which came out in the mid 70s. My car is red so if I get a comment in normally has something to do with the 944 from sixteen candles.

Can't say I liked the 924's shape, even when I owned it.



I liked the 944S, although I always wanted the S2 or the Turbo S because the front bumper was so much cooler.



Now, I have exactly what I wanted all along.

I must say that while I have grown to love the front of the 968, my S2 still has a nicer front bumper.

Once the 944 Turbo came out, the front end of the n/a cars looked immediately dated. The p/o of my '87 944 n/a actually had the front bumper moved in so that it was almost flush with the nose of the car, to make it more like the turbo. Then when the 968 came out, I had a similar feeling about the 944 Turbo, but moreso with the back end looking dated compared to the 968. You just can't "unsee" the 968, and I think that it immediately dated everything else....

Bill, thats a great story that seemingly would only happen in San Francisco, considering your personal plates. When I lived in San Francisco in the late 1970s and early 1980s both my 1976 BMW 2002 and 1981 VW Jetta always had a red/white/blue SYF logo. Never got pulled over despite some spirited driving in either San Francisio or Marin County. Fast forward, a few years ago here in Illinois, driving my 951 and my 993 with the same red/white/blue SYF logo, a few times have been pulled over for 'spot checks' and 'would you mind getting out of the car and opening the trunk'. Maybe I will just ditch the SYF logo and simply go with the personal plates - my 993 has SMNYRDS and my 968 will have PLAYDE.