Recently, I and two of my best car friends purchased analog enthusiast cars, and it was a very good thing. Of course, I love new cars and happily review them for this space, but good quality used cars can elevate your garage (and life) too.
As regular readers know, I am a manual transmission sports car enthusiast. The analog car I recently purchased was a 15-year-old Porsche 911. One of my car friends purchased a similar vintage Porsche 911, but his was a convertible, and another friend bought, of all things, a 1960s Ford Shelby Cobra replica. Wowsa!
My 2011 911 followed the purchase of a new 2021 Porsche 911 that I took delivery of in June 2021. I purchased my new 911 to celebrate a number of milestones, most notably the graduation of the youngest of my three sons from college, as well as the entry of all of my sons into the workforce (hallelujah!).
I loved and still love my 2021 Porsche, but driving it reminds me that all cars of the modern era are digital. Software dominates, and the essence of driving, which used to be everything, now takes a backseat.
For that reason, I decided to buy a 997.2 generation 911, which provides modern performance, some but not too much technology, and a very analog driving experience. I found my 2011 Carrara (not a miss-type, that’s how it’s spelled) white-on-black car on the internet and bought it sight unseen from a reputable dealer. Everything that I thought the car would be, it was, and it ended up being a purchase experience with no surprises. That’s a good thing.
Driving my 2011 Porsche is terrific. Is it better than my 2021 model? No, but it’s definitely different. Going to the grocery store or driving on back roads is a total joy in the 2011 Porsche. However, that (smaller and less insulated) car is not nearly as good on the open highway or interstate as my 2021 model is. I’m glad I have both.
After driving my 2011 Porsche, my friend Jeff had an epiphany: “I need this!”. He already wanted one and immediately went online and found a similar vintage 2009 911 model, but he opted for a convertible. Like me he insisted on a manual transmission.
Good for you Jeff.
Jeff’s car provides open air motoring during the warmer months, but otherwise it’s just like my car. I’m not interested in hair-in-the-wind automotive experiences, so I’m happy with my coupe. But Jeff, who has two young daughters, is very happy as well. The girls love riding in back with the top down.
My other car friend, Stephan, took an entirely different approach to buying an enthusiast car. He’s always loved the famous Shelby Cobra convertibles from the 1960s and decided that that’s what he wanted. He actually owned a similar Cobra in the 1990s, which he sold after having children, and he was determined to get the perfect Cobra replica all these years later. Stephan spent many hours (years?) deciding on the perfect paint color, interior, and other parts and pieces of his replica Cobra. He ended up choosing a blue over brown car that was literally from his dreams (not just any brown btw, a brown inspired by the Air Force A1 leather jacket that he wore when he was an active-duty US Air Force flight surgeon; thank you for your service, Col Moran).
Stephan‘s car is the opposite of a daily driver. It’s loud, light, V8 powered, and, honestly, nasty. However, for a 100% analog driving experience that will wake you up more than any Starbucks coffee ever could, you can’t beat a Cobra replica like Stephan’s.
All three of us are enthusiasts who live in the real world. We drive SUVs for our daily transportation and have enthusiast cars for other times. But it’s worth emphasizing that those “other times” can enrich and enliven our otherwise busy (boring?) and family-oriented lives like no SUV or crossover ever could.
So if you’re living a busy suburban family life and want something to spice it up, consider following Jeff, Stephan, and me into the old car enthusiast world. If you do, for moments probably mostly on weekends, you can buy a vintage enthusiast car and get away from it all and immerse yourself in the joys of an analog driving experience.
Take it for me, it’s hard to beat.
Stephen Schutz has covered the automotive world for more than 30 years as a syndicated writer and podcast host. Read his column monthly in The Cricket.
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