Cars X Girl

 

Cars & Coffee, 3rd Edition

March 13th, 2012 · Cars & Coffee, Photos, Porsche

While the weather predicted some rain, it thankfully held off until the day after and we had an absolutely beautiful Saturday! It was absolutely spring-like, even though I’m not sure whether to believe spring is actually here or not… If all it does is rain now, I’ll be more inclined to believe it.

Even when I have a full day of fun ahead, getting up early isn’t easy! Thankfully the coffee part in “Cars & Coffee” helps! ;)

Enough blabbing, though….. There’s not much to say without the pictures!

Anybody want to buy a Cayman S? She's for sale! ;)

I'm about 99% sure this is a 964 911. Which 100% means I'm getting better at telling the differences. (Really, I'm working on learning as much as I can about the 3.2 Carrera, and part of that is telling them apart from other classic 911s.)

Q: Does this make me miss the soft top in the S2000? A: Nope!

Finally got a friend to come out! Success!

The 911 SC was what I originally looked into as my first 911, but after really getting into it, I decided the 3.2 Carrera would be a better fit for me & my goals. I still love them, though!

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2nd Cars & Coffee

March 8th, 2012 · Cars & Coffee, Photos, Porsche

After the first week of Cars & Coffee, I was pretty excited about having a weekly meeting to talk cars for a couple of hours. The winter here is so boring as far as cars goes, and I’m really ready for summer. (Last Saturday was my last trip for snowboarding this season. I’m ready for the warm weather again for sure!)

However, the weather refused to cooperate the next week. That day we got a really nice snowstorm. Boo!

I was worried about this past weekend, but thankfully the weather held out. Thanks, my love, for not washing the STi and making it rain or snow! ;) (I promise you he controls the weather that way. No lie. It’s uncanny.)

The Cars

Sadly, it seems that not all of Spokane is ready for car talk so early in the morning. Hopefully they realize it’s worth getting up for, and it might help when the weather starts to get better and warmer.

It’s rather nice having it at the Porsche dealership though, because no matter what shows up there’s guaranteed to be some nice cars to see! ;)

I didn’t take many photos, but here are the ones I’ve got…. It’s what you want to see, right? :D

Another 991 911! Haha. This was my first shot testing out my new 35mm lens.... Which I love! :D

One of the cars that showed up was this very nice VW Corrado.

I rarely see these.... Wish there were more around. They're pretty nice.

The green Work wheels that the Corrado was on were pretty nice -- the black and green worked for me.

I really really really want to get an M5 someday. I love them.

The badging threw me off at first, I've never seen a Dinan badged BMW before. Always something new to learn, right? ;)

This wasn't hard to understand, though! ///M power!

The beautiful 911 GT3 Race Car was still there, so I took the chance to snap this photo of the interior. Crazy, no??

I've shared this car before, but seriously.... How beautiful is this 997 GT3 race car??

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First Impression: Porsche 991 911

March 6th, 2012 · Cars I want..., Driving, inspiration, Photos, Porsche

I already know I want a Porsche 911 — I’ve wanted one for quite some time now, especially after I realized just how affordable they can be. I’m very eager to continue saving up for my own 911, I’m about 25% of the way there! The day I really start searching for mine is going to be great.

I figured some of the first 911s I’d ever drive were from the ’80′s, since that’s the years I’ll be buying from. I don’t think I ever expected to get the chance to drive the brand new 991. Why would I? I certainly can’t afford her! (Not that I feel buying an older 911 is settling AT ALL. The Carrera is really the one I want!)

The first 911 I've ever gotten to drive -- The 991 at that!

Funny enough, the first Porsche 911 I’ve ever gotten to drive in my life is the brand new 991. Crazy. Never in a million years would I expect it to happen like that!!

First Impression

If you told me that I would have not only gone to a launch even for the 991 911, but get the chance to drive the car a month later, I’d probably have laughed and called you crazy. But it happened, and I’m all the more in love with Porsche and the people around Porsches for it.

The 991 is every bit a 911 — I love her. She fits in the family perfectly well in my eyes. I wish I have driven more 911s so I could make an accurate comparison, but I can’t. There are plenty of magazines that have done it, though. And from what I understand, the general consensus is that the 991 is a fantastic 911.

I may not have driven many 911s, but I have been around them. My favorite thing about them? Listening to that amazing flat six engine. They just sound FANTASTIC. The 991? AMAZING. That flat six just purrs. To me, it’s one of my favorite sounds in the car world ever.

Hiding in here is one of the best sounding engines ever, I think. :)

Of course, part of what makes the 911 so magical to me is the sensation you get when driving or riding in one. There are very few rear-engined cars out there, and you can definitely tell the difference. Not only do you get that fantastic sound from behind you, but the combination of that and the RWD makes it feel different. It’s like you’re being pushed around — that’s the only way I can put it.

It’s really hard to describe, if not impossible to relay how it is. All I can really say is you need to ride in one at the very least. They’re incredible.

The 991 is a very stable car. The engine, aside from sounding amazing, is great. Acceleration is not a problem in the least, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll find yourself going a lot faster than you think you are.

The PDK

If I’m not mistaken, most 991s in existence right now are PDKs. Porsche decided to release the 991 in the PDK only at first in order to get more attention and orders for the cars with these transmissions.

The interior of the 991 911 -- Very comfy!!

Yes, the PDK is an automatic. There is no clutch pedal. If you want to, you can put her in drive and just go. When she’s like that, she shifts flawlessly and smoothly and you can barely tell she’s doing anything at all.

Then there’s the manual mode, which gives you use of the paddles on the wheel as well as the shifter in the console. Adding in the sport button makes her even better — More response and noise. Of course, if you don’t, say, downshift when you stop the car will do it for you.

To me, it was odd but really nice not having to take my hands off the wheel to shift, but trying to shift when turning was weird because I’d lose the paddles. (I mean like shifting from first to second turning from a stop sign, I didn’t drive her crazy in any way — Just a little gas to see what she had to offer.) It’d take some getting used to, but that I didn’t mind.

No issues braking with her either -- These are just awesome.

She didn’t seem to have any issues with me downshifting to higher RPMs for acceleration, which was nice. She really seemed to hold gears and wait for me to change, save for the stopping and the downshifting for me. (Which happened in my first few minutes of driving, so I was still sorting it all out.)

Missing a Piece

I do miss the clutch pedal, though. A LOT. I’m not sure what it was, but downshifting seemed less effective without the clutch pedal. I was missing that feedback. Though I did downshift a lot because the nice rev matching made her sound great. :D

But I want to learn to get her to do that on my own. I can do that. As great as the PDK is, it is still an automatic…. You take your foot off the brake and the car moves forward. She doesn’t depend on you for driving like a manual does.

Really, I’m eager to see how the seven speed manual turns out. I’d really like to drive that one and see the difference. I loved driving this 911, but I want my traditional gearbox…. I need my three pedals.

All in all….

She’s amazing, period. PDK or not, the 991 911 is an awe-inspiring car. She’s insanely comfortable and quiet and seemed like the perfect road trip car to me.

I really can't wait until I get a Porsche key of my own.....

I really can’t wait to start the search for the 911 that will become mine. I love the 911; all of them. I’m especially excited about getting one in the years that I am — No computers, no electronics, not even power steering. Just the car, the engine, the gearbox and you. I’m looking forward to my first track day with the rear-engine layout and learning to master the art of racing a 911.

The 991 911? Yeah, I think she fits right in. She just makes you smile…. Though I’m pretty sure that the biggest smile a 911 will ever give me is when the one I get to call mine is sitting in my driveway….. :)

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Cars in the Snow

March 1st, 2012 · Driving, Video

This past Saturday, instead of going out to Cars & Coffee I got to sleep in courtesy of a nice snow storm. While we didn’t get much, it still seemed to cause a fair amount of chaos… Including some downed trees when we tried to go boarding. (Lame! :/)

There were enough accidents that the police department advised that people not go out unless necessary. But why not? We were fine — Our STi is aaaaaaaaaaaaaamazing in the snow. :D

It made me think of the great videos I’ve seen of cars people wouldn’t really expect to be driving in the snow driving in the snow. So, in true lazy fashion, today’s post is all about my favorite snowy car videos! :)

All I can say is, enjoy! ;)

Audi R8 Snow Day

Not bad, eh? ;)

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Cars & Coffee, Week 1

February 28th, 2012 · Cars & Coffee, Photos, Porsche

I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of Cars & Coffee by now, right? Well, there’s an effort to bring these nationwide events to little Spokane now! (Though I still really want to go to Seattle’s Cars & Coffee when the Ferrari dealership sponsors it!)

There’s a joint effort going on, and the Porsche dealership has stepped up to give us the space to meet! The BMW CCA has been working to pull it together, and perhaps the Corvette Club will show up if we get a cloudless sunny day. I’m hoping to see it grow, as it’d be a great thing to have every week.

In the mean time, I will be there to give my support. Even though it requires me to get out of bed when I’d rather pretend the world didn’t exist….

This particular week was also the monthly Porsche Club meeting, so that was fun. We had to leave earlier than I wanted to to go and sell the Miata, but as everything went well with that I can’t really complain. They definitely understood that it had to be done! ;)

I mean, it’s all their fault I’m going to buy a Porsche now….. :D

Photo Time!

I appreciate any time my camera and I get to go out and play! Especially with nice cars and somewhat empty spaces!

Loved this little 911 GT3 RS model! In flat black no less. ;)

This may be the only Porsche 918 Spyder I ever get to see! :P

I'm really hoping that I'll be able to buy one of these Club Badges to put on my 911. I have a feeling I may end up with more than one region's badges someday!

Still planning on having an M5 of my own someday. I love these cars!

Yup, more photos of the 991 911! They look fantastic, no? And this was my first chance to really get photos with my dSLR with no crowds!

Another 991 911! =3 Though I think I've posted photos of this particular one before. All the shades of silver make it somewhat difficult to tell them apart!

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Step Two, Complete

February 23rd, 2012 · About Me, Cars I want..., My Cars, Porsche

Step two of the Porsche plan? Sell the other car, whichever sold second. In this case, it was selling the Miata.

Parting wasn’t easy, to be honest. I did have a few tears over it… Leaving her in the parking lot and saying a brief goodbye were hard. It’s not easy to part ways, especially with something that was such a part of me for so long.

But it’s done, and now I’m sorta recovering and trying my best to focus on the new task at hand: Saving up the rest of the money I need to buy my Porsche 911.

It’s a step I had to take. And, by the time this is published, I hope that I’m feeling better about it.

I get to spoil the S2000 a bit with coilovers and brand new tires, and I’m looking forward to having some fun with her. It’s the step I was ready to take, it just sucks saying goodbye.

I hope she has the best life she can. She was special to me and my first Miata, and now she gets to be somebody else’s first Miata… I hope she’s as spoiled as she deserves.

But focus, right? Time to move forward…. The Porsche 911 is one step closer.

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Spokane International Auto Show 2012

February 21st, 2012 · Car Event, Photos, Porsche

Last year was the first year we got to go to Spokane’s version of an Auto Show. It’s not really that much of an International Auto Show, and we miss some of the cars I’d really love to see, like the Ferraris and Maseratis and such.

But it is a car event to break up the monotony that is winter around here, so it is very welcome! And last year was kinda special too — We were first invited to hang out at the Porsche dealership with the Club at the Show last year, as well as seeing the 2011 STi sedan for the first time. :)

This year wasn’t all that exciting, and my photos kinda reflect what we did there — Mostly hung out with the Porsches and tried our best to keep them company among the insanity normal people apparently bring. (Like a lady who, for unknown reasons, was grabbing the bumper on the 991 911 like she expected it to open…. I kid you not.)

Let’s see, interesting things… No Audi R8, which made me sad. But there was an S4 with a roof rack with a snowboard on it! I liked that.

We chatted with a guy around this Evo X for a while. That was, uh, interesting…. Considering we said no, we didn’t want it, we have a 2011 STi and he decided it was more fun to somewhat bash our decision. (Obviously we knew the Evo was faster, but speed isn’t everything. When will people learn?!)

Then he went on to say that he didn’t like factory wide bodies on cars because you didn’t get a choice in the matter and it was just too much on the STi. For one, I LOVE the wide body on the STi — it looks amazing and those fenders are just, well, love. Second, I love wide bodies on almost all cars…. And third, all of my favorite Porsches have wide bodies. (I’m untold amounts of excited for Sebring because of the 911 GT3 RSR!!!)

So, uh, sorry guy, but you were a bit egotistical about it and just kinda dumb, honestly. The entire philosophy of race cars (you know, the cars that go fast, since you care about speed more than anything) can be boiled down to “lower and wider.” Hmmmmm, wider, imagine that!

Anyhow…

After that we mostly hung out with the Porsches all day. Mercedes and BMW failed to intrigue me with anything they brought (the 335i is one I like, and there *was* a 135i), though it was amusing to watch people get all over the SLK convertible Mercedes had. Silly.

The Fiat 500 was there! So cute. There were people crawling alllllll over it though, so no pictures there. And all we got was a damn poster for the Abarth. LAME.

Funny thing of the day had to be going up to the only Corvette at the show, a Grand Sport, only to find the door locked. This was amusing to us considering that the 991 911 S at the Show cost about twice as much as the Grand Sport, yet was completely unlocked for people to crawl into and out of. Hmmmmm. Odd, no?

It was very interesting watching people really. For us, being around the Porsches is old hat. Even seeing the 991 911 was meeting a friend for the second time, though it was nice to see some people really get a good first look and actually appreciate her beauty.

There were some complaints about the lack of the manual in the 991, and that surprised me. Of course there will be a manual (seven speed at that!), but the first few hundred 991s were built with PDKs in order to get that transmission out there a bit more. From what I’ve heard, it’s a fantastic transmission at that, but it was odd for me to hear complaints about it…. I thought I was the only one who loved manuals these days.

Then there was this super adorable little boy, who was so excited to be there and taking photos of everything. He was talking with one of the Porsche guys about how he knew all of the models for the Panamera. He didn’t quite get it, but it was super adorable to watch him. There’s hope for the younger generation after all, as long as nobody crushes his spirit like what happens to so many people.

All in all, it was a really fun day. I’m also happy to find out that we do have the dealership’s support when it comes to finding my own Porsche 911, even though she’s going to be at least 22 or 23 years old by the time I find her. :)

While I do look forward to the Show again next year, I have to say…. I am ready for summer!!!

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Step One, Complete

February 16th, 2012 · 240SX, Cars I want..., My Cars, Porsche

Well, I meant to have the Auto Show photos posted today. Ooops. Obviously didn’t work out for me this time…… Heh.

Instead of putting together my post, I was running around procuring a new battery for the Miata and installing a new battery in the 240sx and otherwise prepping both cars for sale. Still need to do an oil change on the Miata and clean her up…. But there’s time for that yet.

Yesterday, the 240sx was sold. She’s now gone, and that closes out yet another category here on my blog. I took one final photo of her in my possession this morning:

20120215-193223.jpg

And while it seems like it should be a sad moment…. It really isn’t that upsetting to me. Yes, she was a great car and a fun project. But it became a source of stress when she would need things and I never got to them or could find the money to do it.

It was hard with four cars, trying to drive all of them. That’s why we’re downsizing to two while I save up for another third — the Porsche 911 of my dreams.

It’s this dream of the 911 that doesn’t make me so sad to say goodbye. I knew I’d have to learn how to do it sometime, and in a way I wanted to do it before I was forced to do it — I came to terms with it long before the sale took place yesterday. I believe the last time I drove the 240sx was last year sometime.

Thankfully, it was a goodbye without tears and seemed to be a nice source of closure. She’s off to live in western Washington where I won’t be seeing her either. But I hope she has a good life, and is pampered how she deserves.

This Saturday the Miata is to be sold as well. I’m not sure yet if that will have any tears or not, but it’s the same thought — learning to part ways now opens up the chance to buy my first Porsche 911 either later this year or early next year, and I really want that car!!

I’ll keep you guys posted of course, as always. In the immediate future, part of the proceeds will be put into some S2000 upgrades. My pretty girl deserves some attention again! :)

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My Second Chance Photo

February 14th, 2012 · inspiration, Photos, Porsche

I’m really happy that I get to share this photo. It means more to me than I can express in a way, but I figured I would try. :)

A few weeks ago, we went up to Mt. Spokane to get some skiing and boarding time in. We had just switched to going on Saturday nights from Friday nights, and we discovered that Saturday had more interesting cars to offer. We always check out cars. ;)

Well, it was a few weeks ago that we saw something I never thought I’d see: An older Porsche 911 at the lower lodge. Like wow!

I always knew they weren’t horrible in snow and that they can do it, but I never expected to actually see it for myself! It was a delight to see, her in her gorgeous coat of Guard’s Red set against the white snow of the mountain.

For whatever reason, though, I decided to not snap a photo of it. The parking was somewhat crowded yet, and we were headed to the upper lodge and not parking there. I reallly can’t say why I decided to not have us stop to grab a photo.

The problem became that I was haunted by my choice to NOT get the photo. I mean, who was gonna believe me?! Sure, they can drive in the snow, but who would actually do it? How would I prove how awesome the 911 is when I passed up that shot?

I told myself that if I ever got another chance to take that photo, I would. I didn’t care if it was going to be awkward. Too bad. I’ve been a parking lot creeper for quite some time, it has never really bothered me before. I needed to get over myself and just grab the shot.

Well, on Saturday I got my chance. I had my dSLR on me, too, because we had gone straight to Mt. Spokane from the Auto Show. That was fortunate for me, as I never bring my SLR boarding normally. I also had my kit lens on my camera — not the best lens, but I needed the lower zoom range to deal with the crowds.

As we were passing the lower lodge, there she was! And it was snowing, too, and clear she had been there all day with the snow accumulated on her hood. Yup, I had my husband turn around, he pulled in across from her and I got to snap this photo:

Dreams come true. Really. And I liked how she was parked on the side with the trees in the background instead of the lodge. Bit more pretty. :)

The big lesson for me? Learning that I really need to act on my feelings the first time. If I want a photograph, I just need to take it. I got lucky in this case — I got a really rare second chance at this shot, and I was even better prepared for it than I would normally have been given the circumstances.

But second chances rarely happen. I got lucky, really lucky. I know better than to think this will happen a lot. I’m very appreciative of my second chance for this.

I’m almost positive I’ll print this photo out and frame it. What do you think?

Maybe it’s not the best photo or totally perfect, but I love it and it makes me happy. And to me, that’s what makes it a great photo. :D

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Unveiling the 991 911

February 9th, 2012 · Car Event, Porsche, Video

As I mentioned on Tuesday, my husband was kind enough to take a video of the actual unveiling of the 991 911 at the Launch Party.

The 911 in the video is a base model Carrera, while the black 991 in my photos is a Carrera S. (And was in the shop part of the dealership, away from the action.)

So this is another short post…. I apologize. This weekend is Spokane’s Auto Show, so there should be a post or two on that. Winter here is pretty boring!

I’m also debating on the best way to look for a new job. I had an interview yesterday for part time work that would be an okay job, but not my ideal job. (Work all Saturdays, all day…. Meh.) Not sure if I want to take it if it’s offered. The S2000 needs tires and some other things and there’s saving for my own Porsche…. But taking a job for a few months doesn’t seem nice either. Not sure what to do honestly!

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