I think I’ve mentioned before that my dad drove one of these briefly. I would push both of my grandmothers down the stairs for one now.
Anyway, enjoy or don’t.
Tales of True Adventure for Rugged Men Not Unlike Yourself
Tales of True Adventure for Rugged Men Not Unlike Yourself
I think I’ve mentioned before that my dad drove one of these briefly. I would push both of my grandmothers down the stairs for one now.
Anyway, enjoy or don’t.
I listened to a podcast today where two people pronounced Porsche as “porsh” and it made me approximately as livid as when people say “Ree-sees Pee-sees” for the candy.
It will not go well for many when I am appointed pronunciation and grammar czar.
I still chuckle thinking about a Snickers commercial from a few years ago in which a guy is driving around a friend who keeps pronouncing almonds “ahmends.” Eventually the driver gets so annoyed he dives from the moving vehicle.
Found it!
I remember those Porsches. Seems like they came in yellow, orange and blue. I saw a few around here.
You’d probably prefer your Miata in 99% of driving situations. If you’re ever on a track (probably never), going down a mountain road (rarely), on an open interstate with no traffic or troopers (almost never), or on the autobahn (likely never), you’d prefer the Porsche. Otherwise, the Miata’s a better, lower-maintenance, and more reliable option. And it’s really a tie as far as going down a mountain road; Miatas are really just as much fun there. The difference is power. When a Porsche hits its stride, you’re breaking laws and possibly endangering yourself and others. In a Miata you get the fun and handling prowess at lower speeds. As someone somewhere said, “it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.”
Back when I had my first Miata (’92 – 2002, sold at Brooke’s first pregnancy), a cousin with whom I’m friends had a Porsche 911. We’d insult each other’s cars constantly. He’d call my Miata a poor man’s Porsche, I’d call his Porsche an under-endowed man’s Miata. We’d switch cars occasionally. The 911 was great, but I would find it frustrating as a daily driver to work, grocery store, etc. In that context, it only makes sense if you need people to look at your car and envy you.
My inlaws used to have a vacation home on a small mountain overlooking Greers Ferry lake in Arkansas. I used to love to drive the Miata around there and a bit north in the Ozarks. An absolute blast. My cousin brought his 911 up there a few times, so I got to barrel down some twisty mountain roads in that as well. Good times.
As for pronouncing Porsche, I’ve heard Porsh so much that I’ve gotten used to it and probably even say it sometimes if I’m not thinking. Years ago I had an exchange with a student, something like this:
“It’s Porsche, not Porsh.”
“I’ve never heard it said like that.”
“That’s because you’re from Memphis.”
“What’s wrong with Memphis?”
“Plenty, including people saying Porsh instead of Porsche.”
“Where does anyone say Porsche?”
“Germany for one. German has no silent vowels.”
“What does Germany have to do with it?
“Porsches are German cars.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“But this is America, and we say Porsh.”
“If you want to sound like a hick, go ahead, but it’s my job to correct you.”
And so on.
What makes my blood boil is things like “Supposably,” “vinyls” for lps, “hung” for “hanged,” and “less” with countable nouns. So I’ll refer anyone who says “I’ve seen less Porshes on the road lately” to the grammar czar to spend an afternoon in the stocks.