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That’s a purdy sumbitch :smile:

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I was sort of forced into it by the Germans. It was either a way too light interior (tan or white) or pure BLACK. My GTI is all black and it is a cave. But hey, it was all you could get in a GTI for the value it is. The only other color was a red/black combination. The black headliner really helps at night getting rid of reflections in the care. The red is a Bordeaux red, black is in it. The dash and trim is a walnut that adds some warmth between the black dash and upper surfaces that’s good for UV resistance, and the red interior.

I had a silver GTI 6-speed and I sold that one to my stepson. Such a good first cat. Safe, practical efficiency, lots of room, not too boring, and really I liked the silver color. My replacement GTI, yes I bought another one for the same reasons I suggested he buy mine, is chalk color (I call it light blue /gray). No silver, rats.

The E300 was white with the ubiquitous tan interior, but with a black headliner, interior. That’s where I found out the advantages of black up there. I got my silver back with the Panamera. The silver has some blue in it…they have a “white” silver but that’s too bright for me.

Silver doesn’t show dirt that around here is SALT, hides aging paint issues well and isn’t too hot in the summer. The lighter color shows the cars lines far better than the black model I looked at. Lighter colors show the faults, too, so we have that side of it. The new Panamera is a good looking car so we don’t have the faults to hide with black paint. It is nice to look at and see ALL the car’s lines.

So that’s pretty much that. German’s aren’t the best with colors so you make do somehow.

Best,
Galen

Ron,

This is too stupid but…I’ve never heard this Burmester system! I did have a Burmester in the E300 but it wasn’t the “top” model like this one. It sounder really good for a car stereo. It imaged, actually imaged, across the dash in front of you. Not like giant headphones like the Bose system in my 1999 E320.

So I spent, you don’t get discounts on this suff, a bunch on a system I’ve never heard. The reports are that the Panamera is the best application. Makes senses as the other Porsche cars, not SUV’s, are sports cars. This is a touring car and is smooth and QUIET inside. I also bought the insulated glass as why spend 6K on a car stereo and not get the car as quiet as you can. Skip the sport exhaust to pay for the glass!

The Burmester SD input takes FLAC files best case and I have no idea what the DAC does with that…it likely dumbs it down to some bit resolution. It is terribly hard to get data on car stereo’s. I took a 128 Gig SanDisk Extreme Pro SD card and loaded up 105 Gig of FLAC file music. My idea with that this SD cards durability is OK in a hot to cold car’s typical wear and tear cycle. I have one in my GTI and it is three years old and doing OK. Maybe much to do about nothing.

I made a mistake and had a USB 2.0 card reader and needed a USB 3.0 reader. OK, we have 20 MB/sec max copy speed. My bad. I don’t copy stuff too often this large so I wait and wait.

Best,
Galen

Hi Baldy,

The Panamera look better in the flesh as the cars lines aren’t “tight” like some cars (Corvette) but flow across the car in ever changing curves. Both designs work but look better in different colors. The rear, some say the worst angle, view (picture) is far better than before. I like hatch cars and the GTI sold me on that design. Five door hatch cars are so easy to use and LOTS (18 cubic feet) of trunk room. Initially making it a hatch and “fixing” the lines in the later redesign was worth the wait.

Some say this isn’t a “Porsche” and I say that, too. I don’t want a Porsche “sport” car I want a touring car. Drive a Panamera a thousand miles in a day and you’ll understand why it is what it is.

Best,
Galen

OK, OK I didn’t get the whopper engine. Sigh, I can explain. It is $$$10K plus to get JUST that engine. I opted for all the nice stuff inside I use every day and night driving the car. I can chip it if needed for less and I doubt it.

DRIVE this engine. It is PLENTY fast @ 4.8 to 60 MPH. It is into stupid fast territory but at my age I’m seldom that stupid anymore. Better, it is a touring car and I want to hit 30 MPG on the expressway. I have the GTI and it is a full second SLOWER to 60 MPH and feels darn fast in real world use. It edges up to stupid fast. The Panamera crosses into stupid fast.

I bought the magic button (sport chrono package) that turns the car into a temporary leaping lizard for twenty seconds or so. You have more fun extracting the power from a smaller engine than a bigger one. A smaller engine will USE that magic button where a larger engine is already sufficient without it. The Sport chrono package makes more sense in the real world on the standard bi-turbo V6. Push to pass if needed! This button work, too, just accelerate hard and give the button a push and WHOOSH. It adjusts for maximum thrust instantly.

I can see why people get the larger engine but this is a long distance touring car. I need more efficiency INSIDE than more power OUTSIDE I won’t use as a touring car.

Last, I ran out of money and the stereo won over the engine!

Best,
Galen

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Wow, it images–in a car!
And for a car like that, I’m totally with you on the sport exhaust vs insulated glass.
I’m thinking of a new 911—one last new car purchase. And I drove one and was perplexed–not in a good way at the roaring road noise from the Michelins. It’s going to be a daily driver and I love the engine and exhaust sound but not the road noise.

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Ron,

Tires are a hard choice. I went with the 20" rim and MS rated as it is a daily driver for sure. OK, no 1.0G skid pad numbers for me. The E300 AWD had run flat and they are not very supple riding. The E300 did OK compared to some cars but you can’t get around the stiffer sidewalls of the run flat. The Panamera doesn’t have run flat, and it has the air suspension with the other magic button for comfort, sport and sport plus. I love that button on the GTI, too with steel springs. Makes a big difference on the expressway.

The 19" can’t be purchased with MS rating tires, so I had to go 20" to get the MS rated tires and 21" are notoriously noisy and fragile. Face it, I’m in Ohio and the roads aren’t ever going to get better and it snows.

The Panamera is a weird “Porsche”. It was their only “normal” type car. I’m glad the SUV’s took off as the daily drivers allowing the Panamera to still exist. I’m not a “truck” person except if they have a use. I drove a 1985 Toyota hi-lux pick-up that rusted to pieces in 6 years and 1992 Ford Ranger pick-up for dirt bike racing and for that, great. As a car, they were awful.

When we use things as intended we are happiest. Just don’t get a car and “pretend” we are racing it or using it to haul stuff when in real practice we are just driving around. When the last dirt bike was sold in 2009, the Ranger was too.

Best,
Galen

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Galen
All good points for sure.
When I retired a couple years ago, I bought a 2003 996 cabrio to try using it as a daily driver. It’s been absolutely wonderful except for the occasional cobble road in Philadelphia where my gf lives and also that I can’t carry my bike anywhere on it.
So I’m aware of the limitations of driving a sports car daily, but I still love it.
Right now, I’m imagining a coupe with a roof rack.
Ron


Nice!!! Love red interiors (obviously)

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Absolutely love the red interiors!! I bought a used 2017 Macan about 18 months ago and, currently, the only regret is not being able to get a red interior (it’s black). I do have red seat belts and red backgrounds for all the dashboard instruments…but no red interior for me.

Nice looking car! The Bordeaux red is getting more popular, I like it.

I looked at the AUDI but they wanted me to wait a YEAR to get one! I can see barely, a six months wait but a year? That’s an ouchie not an Audi. I think Porsche expects you to buy custom and Audi expects you to buy off the lot but with so few cars you’re left with nothing, or at least I was in the midwest. If you see a nice one on the lot…don’t wait.

I decided to just get the Porsche and order the first car the way I really wanted it so the wait at least gets me that.

Best,
Galen

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Here’s the 2021 GTI Autobahn. Again, it’s that crazy “white silver” they call it. Outside it is light blue gray to me. The 2017 is over the hood and is silver. I think the 2017 looks better than the 2020, the 2020 front end is too heavy looking to me. What do you think?

I grabbed a 2021 MK7.5 as it is the last really good interior. I hate the new versions screen and general usability. The newest MK8 is a great car, better handling, but again I’m an old and less crazy guy so I went with usability of the old design that looks so darn good.

Don’t worry, these are cars so criticism won’t freak me out. I just use them.

Best,
Galen

IMG_1658(1)
IMG_1660
IMG_1662(1)

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The orginal silver with red car…

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I sat in one a couple years ago. Not one cup holder. And no blue tooth. For all that money???

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From this last weekend with SVRA at Laguna Seca:

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Congratulations!. Nothing s better for your soul than running good. Especially winning. After 40 years of racing, winning almost 200 feature races and 10 or 12 local and regional championships it never got old.

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I raced motocross for like 30 odd years to age 45. I never won anything but had a great time. In my earliest years, I was late to a race in Hortonsville, Indiana. It turns out the race promotors held the first B class race up for me. I asked them why as there was plenty of people already there. Their answer was, “we were missing the last place guy and he is YOU!”

Best,
Galen Gareis

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Motocross at 45 is an achievement by itself.

My sentiments exactly. You have to be in damn good shape to race in your 30’s let alone 40’s. Go Galen!

I road raced motorcycles until I was 42. Had a couple of friends killed and one paralyzed all within a few months of each other. That’s when I quit and took up Skeet shooting and golf. I missed the competition of racing and got back into cars…I’ll be 60 in a few months…no plans on quitting car racing until 65 or 70.