top gear

[John H]

Actually, there is an interesting point here that they missed completely, namely that all of the cars they bought were the wrong side of 20 years old, but still viable going concerns (perhaps not the 928!). And there is still a choice out there to be had.

Can you imagine doing the same with Fords, or Vauxhalls, or British Leylandii? They entirely missed the point that Porsches are good value because they last so long!

John H (Can't get those flames to peel off! [])

 

[usermjg]

boiling water and a sharp knive will do it.

Marc

 

[pae]

ORIGINAL: usermjg

boiling water and a sharp knive will do it.

Marc

are you referring to the flames or Clarkson [][]

Personally I thought it was hilarious - one of the funniest bits of TV for a long time. Yes, they picked on our favourites this time, but I love the 'lets have a good laugh with add name of choice this week'

I can recall me and my brother behaving just that way with a variey of cr4p cars in the past - ones that wouldn't have got to Brighton and we lived halfway there! It's the attitude that's so funny when they do these pieces.

As some others have commented, from the 'inside' we know better.

cheers ....... Phil

 

[usermjg]

I know phil, ilke i said i did enjoy the piece i even taped it.[] but im still off to top gear to stick the knive in[][]

Marc

 

[Hannu]

Watched the program again last night, Lets face it how many people watching it thought to themself "Hey I could own a PORSCHE for under a grand", Isn't that what its all about?. Getting people to appreciate the mark. I know that every time I drive my 924 I say to myself "I'm driving a PORSCHE".

 

[Guest]

Personally, I think what we are all saying is a little bit of our pride may be hurt because of the cheap jouralistic approach to the three vehicles. So what, I'm proud to own, enjoy and talk about my vehicles with like minded people like you lot. Porsche - best car in the world, no matter which one it is !

 

[Guest]

Further thought on this encourages me to agree with you. In fact the piece did point out that a lot of people do in fact spend a lot of money doing the wrong things to their cars, not just Porsches. Leaving aside the coffee table bit at the end the take away is that 928: Don't buy a big expensive V8 for dirt money and expect it to last long. 924: Don't buy a bargain of a car and then mess it about by "personalising" it. 944: Look before you buy (even the spare wheel)

ORIGINAL: Stuart Martin

The message from the piece (if there was one) was that you get what you pay for.
Big, complicated expensive cars have more things to go wrong.
Hence, if you have limited means, do not do something daft and buy a 928, but buy a 924 or 944.
The 924 did well and did not break down. Of the three it was the most sensible purchase.
Anyway, the Viper uses a truck engine, any no-one argues about that not having enough go.

However, bangernomics, i.e. motoring on a shoestring, is not particularly sensible when using sports cars.

Why they spent the cash on making them worse I don't know, I guess it is just artistic licence. We could get up tight about it being sacrilege and a lack of respect, but it's a £750 car, and why should a Porsche be any different.
Financially there was little reason to spend money on them, since you would not recover the cost, so they had come to the end of their lives. Pretty reasonable lap times though.
If they had bought a Skoda, Granada and a Capri, we would not be complaining.

 

[usermjg]

Thanks for all the replys guys its nice to known your opions and views

Marc

 

[Diver944]

I finally watched this episode last night, after hearing about it all week at work. I have to say I did enjoy it for what it was and don't take it too seriously. Top Gear is an entertainment programme these days that involves cars. It was good for our old cars to get the exposure and it does reinforce the old adage about being careful buying cheap Porsches. It's what we preach week in, week out on this forum [8|]

I am sure they used artistic license filming the breakdowns because it makes better telly. For example the previous owner of the 928 made a post on Pistonheads and I believe the water leak was simply a disconnected hose. But did they reconnect it? No it looks like they just kept pouring water into it []. Similarly the 944 spraying oil over the bonnet looks like it didnt actually have a dipstick in the spout. A real owner would address those issues before going to Brighton (or doing burnouts [8D] )

Shame they couldn't have spent the money improving or restoring the cars, but there was another car programme that did that last year (and then gave the cars away as a prize afterwards)