gtv6 vs 911 (long)

[Tessie McMillan <tessmc@domain.elided>]

Hi Pat!

GTV6 vs 911? That's one h*ll of a comparison there. I'm going to jump in 
just because my Spider is sitting broken in the garage and that makes me 
kinda grumpy &:-) &:-). ON Goes the Nomex!

No offense intended, but has your wife actually ever *driven* a 911? Any 
kind, any year? I don't believe you can even compare the two cars -- sorry 
Michael, not trying to be rude -- just by quoting 0-60 times. If your 
wife wants a "whale tail", she's talking about the mid 80s (3.0, 3.2L) 
Carreras, or, horror of horrors, a 930 Turbo, which I think are quite 
beastly to drive for the uninitiated (at least for me when I was 
uninitiated, which is, like... always...)

Don't get me wrong, if I had $24,000 just hanging out of my pocket 
waiting to be spent, I'd spend it on an '84 - '87 911 and not a GTV6 (I'm 
a GTV-girl, myself &:-)). Then again, if I had $50,000, I'd be looking for 
a '92-'93 RS America... &:-))) But I don't, so I just dream. I think 
dreaming keeps people out of trouble, anyway. &:-)

I went through this with a co-worker who's wife said "she wanted a 
911". I helped him scour the earth to find a nice used SC targa, which 
he's now taking to the track and having a ball with. He's tuned it, and 
done the tensioner upgrade, and oil cooler, so he's hooked! But once she 
actually tried to drive the car, this fellow's wife decided she really 
wanted a BMW convertible! Now let me get this straight....

Pat, tell your wife she's asking for a beast! A rear-engine, RWD, very 
high torque, manual steering, cr*ppy heating (using old-fashioned heat 
exchangers), cr*ppy air-conditioning, hard-to-get-in to, 
can't-hear-the-CD-or-radio, incredibly poor visibility, genuine muscle 
car beast if she wants the 911. This is a sports car through and through. 
Very harsh. Road translates right into your bottom -- it has none of the 
emotion and elasticity of the Alfas. It instead has grit and guts. You've 
got to grab the steering wheel and hold it or it gets yanked right out of 
your hand when you go over a bump, dislocating your thumbs (AMHIK)! 
You've got to use what is sometimes violent force to drive it, but on the 
other hand you need to modulate your foot-touch way down to delicate to 
match RPMs (the transmission complains loudly if forced). It also attracts 
attention like Fly Yellow attracts flies! Most of all, it is a TOTAL 
waste of car driving it to the store; you don't even get out of 2nd gear, 
and it's no fun at all! Oh, and where do you put the groceries? And did I 
mention that with the high torque on the low end, you can swap ends just 
leaving a stop sign at a corner? (BTDT, very embarrassing)

On the interior, I've gotta say the 911 wins hands-down. No offense to 
anyone, because I like the way the GTV6s handle, but I would much rather 
be inside an airplane cockpit (911) than a pimp-mobile (GTV6). I guess you 
need all that extra room in the GTV6 too, because your arms are always 
see-sawing back and forth... &:-))). This is one of those times I wish 
NWARC stalwart Dave Kingstone were on the digest; he'd REALLY give me hell 
for that last comment! 

Now if your wife is a hard-core track slut and she says she wants a 911, 
I'd advise you to put in your order on a Dansk SS exhaust ASAP (and then 
buy a 911 to fit.)

Tess
in Seattle -- hopefully soon to be Bellevue -- WA USA
2 dead cars & 1 limping

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