Audiophiles and nostalgia,

I had a beautiful example of a 71' Chevelle I inherited as well as modern Porsche. No doubt the chevelle is cooler; it was like driving your own parade float around town, sharing joy with others. A nice guy repairing my garage door stated - without any prompting of the hypothetical - he would prefer to have the Chevelle over the Porsche. Sitting in the garage he is right, but behind the wheel there is a grand canyon of difference.  

I guess some of us are attracted to expensive hobbies. I always have a sports/performance car or two in the garage. My greatest automotive adventure was designing and building (most of it, I wouldn't weld anything critical like suspension parts) my GT-2 race car and racing it for about 14 years. I even won a few races.

Like race car tech advances so does audio tech. I find it a rare occurrence when old equipment outperforms well designed new equipment (within the same price point but "adjusted" to today's dollars). 

Oh yes, my love for cars and driving has been a lifelong journey.  Lotus Turbo Espirit, Porsche 944S2, Formula Fords, a mint 1967 Stingray and '60 Corvette, original Lexus SC-400, Volvo P-1800 modified, BMW 5 series, a couple of Mercedes, and more that are hard to remember.  Because of a business I had there was need for vans and trucks...several.   The driving courses I took at Road America were the best gift I ever gave to my driving skills and enjoyment, threshold and trail brake skills, and aiming for the back of the apex on a curve and more. 

As I may have posted in an other thread...a car joke, "what's the difference between owning a Ferrari and being with a pretty woman,  in the long run the Ferrari is cheaper and more reliable"..  Not politically correct, but............
 

I have a 73 De Tomaso Pantera with many serious performance mods. It's fast and handles great but crude by comparison to new performance cars. Sometimes it makes me feel young, sometimes it makes me feel old. Nostalgia, reality?

Hey Millercarbon.
I have a 79 SC as well --Petrol Blue with black interior. It is my favorite of the half dozen 911s I have owned since then --all of which were a later vintage--none of which I still have.

Nostalgia kills performance.  

I have some Earl Bostic albums. 

I’ve had a 1979 Porsche 911SC for almost 30 years now. In the 90’s it was new enough and looked so close to a new 911 most people reacted to the car, and me, as they would a guy with a very exclusive expensive new car. Money clouds judgment. Flash forward, and for several years now I cannot stop for gas without at least one guy striking up a conversation, and now all of a sudden instead of a BSD barrier its like some kind of mutual universal bond. Its so powerful that when stopped at the border instead of asking me for my drivers license the first thing the border patrol agent said was, "I always wanted one exactly like this." No kidding.

The car has been to Yosemite, Glacier, and Yellowstone, as well as Laguna Seca, and while I would indeed love to do those drives in a new 911 I also know there is no way a new one would ever attract the same warm admiring looks and instant camaraderie I get with the 79SC.

Your Dad is a wise man.
Bob