This guy really wanted a Porsche Boxster...
June 7, 2001 8:23 AM   Subscribe

This guy really wanted a Porsche Boxster... and he got one - life can be pretty sweet sometimes.
posted by johnny novak (57 comments total)
 
It probably won't happen, but I'd love a big statue of Buddha to fall on that thing.
posted by dong_resin at 8:29 AM on June 7, 2001


Anyone who can get through the whole how I got the car story without losing the will to live deserves an award.
posted by rcade at 8:34 AM on June 7, 2001


thats a pretty cool story, and a pretty horrible thing to wish for dong_resin.
posted by jbelshaw at 8:34 AM on June 7, 2001


For a guy who makes a living doing web design, he could have made the text wrap around the picture better. Looks like crap in IE 5.5
posted by starvingartist at 8:36 AM on June 7, 2001


I'm gonna put a website to let the world know how much I love my Toaster, ...Once, I burned a toast, it was horrible!! But my toaster was ok!! ..hmmmm. I spread butter and I ate it, and you can put also jam.... Who caresss!! ?????
posted by tonyramirez7 at 8:42 AM on June 7, 2001


I thought for a little while this may be a wind-up, some piece of lame "viral marketing" aimed at the post-ironic 18-34 demographic - but I don't think it is, but then maybe it is, just a very clever one - I'm starting to question my media literacy. Either way it made me laugh.
posted by johnny novak at 8:50 AM on June 7, 2001


Don't let Matt see this...
posted by fooljay at 8:51 AM on June 7, 2001


I lost all respect for Porsche when they started making this 911.

That's right. A $120,000 dollar sports car with an automatic transmission.

Ugh! It makes me feel dirty just thinking about it.

Most Boxsters I see are being driven by middle age guys with hair plugs, like our local one with a licence plate that spells out BOXSTER. I've always wanted to pull up next to this guy in my beat up Honda and comment on his stunning level of creativity and originality.

It's funny. I used to drool over cars like this when I was eighteen. Now I just see them as something to get scratched up, stolen or backed into by an SUV.
posted by dr. zoidberg at 8:52 AM on June 7, 2001


That is a darn cool story. My inner cynic is subtly grinning. Naysay all you want, this was a guy who worked hard and had a really nice thing done for him. I say big props to that boss -- can I go work for him?
posted by Dreama at 8:57 AM on June 7, 2001


Yeeehaaaaw!

Consumerism wins again!
posted by Dagobert at 8:57 AM on June 7, 2001


I've been thinking about what my "mid life crisis" car will be (in fifteen years or so) and all of the hairpluggers out there make me think that instead of the obnoxious viagramobile, I want my mid life crisis car to be a rental car in Peru. Or Madagascar. Or Siberia.
posted by fnirt at 8:58 AM on June 7, 2001


Sorry. I'm having a hard time feeling happy for this guy. The fact that he had the balls to get picky about colors and nitpick about scratches, tiny tears, etc. makes me pretty sick. Plus the fact that he actually created a website to tell everyone about it. I'm sure his wife and kids love his new car, when they see him.
posted by fluxcreative at 8:58 AM on June 7, 2001


He does sites for corporate motivation - how apt - I still think this may be a joke.
posted by johnny novak at 9:00 AM on June 7, 2001


*retch*

Well, you know what they say about people who drive Porsches....it makes up for lack of endowment in other places....

Why the *hell* did he get one of those when there are waaaay better machines to be had?! Jeez.
posted by tomcosgrave at 9:02 AM on June 7, 2001


I'm having a hard time understanding the negative reactions here. I'd ascribe them to mere envy, but somehow it seems much worse than that. Anyway, I think it's a great story. Up with "consumerism." Down with self-denial.
posted by mw at 9:05 AM on June 7, 2001


Wow. That's the second (poss. third) link this week that ran on my site before appearing here, hehehe. *high five*

Gotta love the virality of weblogs.
posted by wackybrit at 9:05 AM on June 7, 2001


I have it on good authority (from my girlfriend) that a majority of women look at a guy in a kick-ass sportscar and automatically assume he's compensating. This has destroyed any desire I have to get a kick-ass sportscar, and it really pisses me off.
posted by starvingartist at 9:05 AM on June 7, 2001


drzoidberg said : I lost all respect for Porsche when they started making this 911.

That's right. A $120,000 dollar sports car with an automatic transmission.


Wow. That's a reason why I would buy that car. It's not just automatic though.. it has a tiptronic mode. The best of both worlds. You don't want manual all the time (driving around town.. while eating a burger.. or drinking a coke).. but you get the option to go manual when you want. What's wrong with paying more money for a car that's easier to drive?
posted by wackybrit at 9:09 AM on June 7, 2001


gee, and some people like just like cars.
posted by jbelshaw at 9:11 AM on June 7, 2001


/way off topic/

The wife and I are all set to fly into Vegas for a hockey tournament I'm set to play in.

Hockey in Las Vegas?
posted by Dick Paris at 9:20 AM on June 7, 2001


I'm with you fluxcreative. I think the guy has a screw loose to put this much "effort" into "how I acquired my [dream material possession] car." To be so obsessed with a car, strictly because of how it looks? It's a lease that his company is paying - get over it. Tears at lunch when he's told about this? Please.

As someone who drives a standard on the hills of San Francisco and 40 miles to and from work on the 101 every day, you couldn't pay me enough to drive an automatic. Simplistically, you have much more control over the car with a standard. And you shouldn't be eating in a car anyway - distracts you from the task at hand. :)
posted by sbgrove at 9:21 AM on June 7, 2001


What Rogers said. Really, this guy is too boring to live.
posted by rodii at 9:25 AM on June 7, 2001


you guys suck. oh my goodness... someone is deriving happiness from a non-mefi approved substance. stone him!
posted by jbelshaw at 9:33 AM on June 7, 2001


I used to have long hair down to my butt and a decent beard. Now I have three kids, wear cotton-poly slacks, have short hair, and am not embarassed to admit that I crave a nice car. I think it comes from reading car magazines in doctor's waiting rooms.

Warning: it could happen to you.
posted by mecran01 at 9:36 AM on June 7, 2001


I agree with that comment about the scratched-up and dented cars. I worked in a office complex full of financial companies a few years back, and there were a few Porsche-owning idiots who didn't know how to park right in the ramp. They always liked to park next to my '95 Buick Century for some reason and park so close that I had to get into my car through the passenger door.

I did read the "how he got his car" story. It's just a lease, for crying out loud! Now, if he owned it outright, that's cool, but he's bragging about a company car! (I see someone thought of that already when I was busy writing this out.)
posted by Electric Elf at 9:39 AM on June 7, 2001


It's not that he craves a nice car, it's that he's so desperately, sincerely, obliviously, boring about it that he would write pages and pages and pages about it. If he was at a dinner party and started going on like that, people would be fainting from boredom. It's just a car, for chrissakes.
posted by rodii at 9:40 AM on June 7, 2001


I pray to god by the time I can buy a fancy-shmancy sports car they start making them in automatic. I definitely don't want to learn how to drive a stick. Driving takes up enough attention as is...
posted by owillis at 9:46 AM on June 7, 2001


Why is it some of you are ripping on the guy for having a nice car? Jeez.. talk about making sweeping generalizations. I happen to drive a 'nice' sports car too and:

I didn't buy it to solve my midlife crisis. I didn't buy it because I have a 4 inch cock. I didn't buy it because I'm boring. I didn't buy it to pick up women.

I *did* buy it because I like driving a fast, nice car that can take a 50 degree turn at 75Mph. If you judge people by what they drive, you're no better than people get a nice car soley to be judged on it alone.
posted by djc at 9:57 AM on June 7, 2001


Driving takes up enough attention as is...

Why would you want a fancy sports car if you feel that way? It seems like you'd be more likely to enjoy a fancy non-sports car.
posted by redfoxtail at 10:06 AM on June 7, 2001


But what I really want to know is whether he's got a set of testicles for it yet... Probably not, the site pretty much lists every bowel movement centred around the car, so he wouldn't miss an important element like that...

And DJC, not to insult you personally, but most of the people that WOULD buy a car like that because they have a 4-inch cock would also deny that publicly...
posted by DiplomaticImmunity at 10:09 AM on June 7, 2001


I've already stated in several areas that I'm not planning on having kids; I'm planning on having a fast car, a motorcycle, and a pilot's license by the time I'm 30.

I think this is cool. There's a whole culture of people who obsess over their cars on the internet. I obsess the same way for the BMW M3 and Z8, the way some of you drool over standards-compliance, saving tuna, a recent playboy model, or whatever your particular jones may be.

Don't diss him because you're jealous. It sounded like he worked really hard, and he got a good reward.
posted by SpecialK at 10:21 AM on June 7, 2001


After never being able to afford anything more than a used piece of crap car, if my boss gave me the car of my dreams I'd be just as excited. I'd probably be a little embarrassed to have it posted here but I figure the guys just happy. Lighten up.
posted by iscavenger at 10:21 AM on June 7, 2001


Well, ideally I want to be able to have someone drive me around. I hate driving. But I want to have a cool looking car. That I don't drive.
posted by owillis at 10:26 AM on June 7, 2001


I guess I am just the odd guy out. I have a new car.... but the minute I passed my 1979 Buick Electra 225 on the side of the road for sale ($750)...I had to have it. I mean, hell, it's got a dancing Hula girl in the back window, for Christ's sake. So now, I drive to work in a car that has a leaky roof, 2 doors that are welded shut, and chrome wheels.
I couldn't be happier.
Anyone know where I can get a cool flame job for a decent price around Northeast Texas?
posted by bradth27 at 10:37 AM on June 7, 2001


Semi-self-link (a link to my company's site). The parking lot here at work is loaded with Boxsters. A couple of years ago, the company gave them to all its executives. That was long before I got here, and I'm no big-wig, so I wouldn't have been eligible either. But this was big news around these parts, and it provided great promotion for the company. When I went for the job interview, I asked where on the applicaiton I should specify the color car I wanted. They didn't laugh.
posted by jpoulos at 10:47 AM on June 7, 2001


Don't diss him because you're jealous.

Can I dis him because he's a weenie?
posted by rodii at 10:48 AM on June 7, 2001


well, it's too bad the the boxster's a piece of crap as far as porches (spelling intentional) go. but i can relate a bit because just last week i bought (not leased) the car of my dreams which i've wanted ever since childhood.
posted by cheesebot at 11:01 AM on June 7, 2001


It's obvious that when it comes down to it, the type of car one drives, and almost all materialistic items, aren't important in life. I think some of you here are assuming that since this guy is so obsessed with his car, he's compensating for something in his life whether it be his dick size, self esteem, or materialistic cravings.

Is it so impossible to think that this guy was happy with his life, his family, and his position in life before this car? I didn't get the vibe that he was depressed because he didn't have a Boxster. Rather that he saw a car he liked, wanted one, and ended up leading himself to one.

If you were the most content and happy person in the world, cared nothing of material possessions, and enjoyed life to its fullest, would you not get excited over making love to the woman/man of your dreams? Would you not get excited over anything and just live in a space of content happiness?

Let the guy enjoy his car, it's not what makes life truly worth living, but it's fun! Who doesn't like driving fast with the top down?
posted by physics at 11:01 AM on June 7, 2001


I still want a nice big fat Buddha to fall on it.
posted by dong_resin at 11:34 AM on June 7, 2001


has anyone stopped to think whether this guy is for real? i smell a kaycee thing here. screw discussing whether this guy's a materialist weenie -- who cares! let's expose the whole thing as a fraud! then we can bask in our own glory as we rejoice in the fact that we never liked the guy in the first place...
posted by msippey at 11:37 AM on June 7, 2001


Let the guy enjoy his car, it's not what makes life truly worth living, but it's fun! Who doesn't like driving fast with the top down?

It's not the enjoying part that's weird--it's the sharing it with the world part.
posted by jpoulos at 11:46 AM on June 7, 2001


Oh, cheesebot. I'm jealous. Man. What a cool car!

I bought a 1989 Volvo 240DL wagon but I suppose it's not really the same thing. However, next time I've got $10K sitting around, I'm all over a Triumph TR6. Fifteen times that much and I'm getting an Aston Martin DB7. Ha ha.

Cars aren't everything, but what's so wrong about the guy making a website about it? I mean, Christ, people write about what their hamster ate for dinner on the web. If you don't care, don't read it.
posted by binkin at 11:54 AM on June 7, 2001


everyone bemoans the corporate web, now bemoan the personal web.

log off
posted by Mick at 12:23 PM on June 7, 2001


jpoulos: is it any weirder than documenting daily events from your life and or commentary on supposedly interesting links on a website. they share their thoughts with the world. that seems to be pretty popular these days.

i'm building a site about my motorcycle and my adventures with it. out of spite. :) the web needs something to offset the sites with cat pictures on it.
posted by jbelshaw at 12:28 PM on June 7, 2001


damn. I forgot to feed my hamster...
posted by birdsong at 12:31 PM on June 7, 2001


damn. I forgot to feed my cat...
posted by john at 12:43 PM on June 7, 2001


CrayDragu-
My Father bought a Delorean once.... it had one tiny problem... it failed to crank. a lot. But I always felt cool in it, although it never sent me back in time. So Be it. I will stick with the Buick, which I don't have a pic of..... although I do have a pic of my1949 Daimler....the ultimate convertible cruiser. I'll take this baby over that damn Porsche Pinto anyday...
posted by bradth27 at 1:03 PM on June 7, 2001


It could be worse; he could have claimed to have gotten it via prayer.
posted by harmful at 1:08 PM on June 7, 2001


I don't see why everyones bothered by it. He loves his car. haha! at least he loves something. love is good people.
posted by FAB4GIRL at 1:51 PM on June 7, 2001


I used to be an automotive engineer (yeah, I code now): an automatic transmission made by Porsche is not the same animal that you would get in a Camry. I remember seeing charts somewhere comparing the acceleration of an automatic Porsche or some super-car with the accelaration of the same manual model, driven by a professional race driver. The difference in the 0-60 metric was a couple of tenths of a second. Negligible.

I am a stick guy myself (because I do drive Hondas and Toyotas and don't want *those* automatic transmissions), but I wouldn't mind an automatic Porsche. Firstly, I am more willing to trust a Porsche engineer than my own left foot and secondly I don't trust my right foot: blowing a $60,000 car's transmission because you didn't upshift fast enough, not that sucks...
posted by costas at 2:56 PM on June 7, 2001


I don't see why everyones bothered by it. He loves his car. haha! at least he loves something. love is good people.

Did the jarring afterschool-special ending of Ferris Bueller's Day Off teach you nothing?
posted by rcade at 3:08 PM on June 7, 2001


OK, Cray has succeeded in evoking empathy in me. I will now mellow out. Damn you, Cray!!
posted by rodii at 3:18 PM on June 7, 2001


jpoulos said: It's not the enjoying part that's weird--it's the sharing it with the world part.

So, if you got to nail *insert any famous sexy woman here* then you wouldn't even mention it? :-)
posted by wackybrit at 4:13 PM on June 7, 2001


LOL@rcade.

How could I forget that. I take back everything I said. I replied in haste. ;-)
posted by FAB4GIRL at 7:46 PM on June 7, 2001


So, if you got to nail *insert any famous sexy woman here* then you wouldn't even mention it?

I wouldn't devote a website to it. www.jpoulosscrewedgwenstefani.com?
posted by jpoulos at 8:04 PM on June 7, 2001


I would.
posted by dong_resin at 6:44 AM on June 8, 2001


Let's pass the hat. Domain name registration ho!
posted by rodii at 8:26 AM on June 8, 2001


« Older Sixers shock the world,   |   Anger Management Anyone? Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments