Reality Bites

Le sigh.

I almost started this post with "So I just ran across this ad for a 356..." but then I realized that, well, I've been scouring the 'net for such ads, so the flippancy of that introduction would have been misleading at best. In any event:

So I just ran across this ad for a 356. According to the description, the car sounds amazing. Too amazing, in fact. It's a "numbers matching" car, which means that all the important original parts are accounted for, such as the doors, hood, engine, etc. They left the factory with numbers on them, so you can verify. Classic Porsche enthusiasts care about such things, and it really drives up the price. Do I care about such things? No.

Which is the main problem with this car: not enough is wrong with it. How can a fix-it type guy (i.e., me) expect to get one of these cars for cheap, if the decent ones are all in good shape, and the basket-cases are way too basket-casey? Where is the happy middle ground? The perfectly-restorable-but-not-too-bad car?

So why would I post this car, alone amongst all other too-expensive cars? Because this car is actually reasonably priced. It's on sale in SoCal for $13,250. More representative of the market for these cars is this one in similar shape, on sale in NorCal for $28,000. So what's wrong with the pretty red one above? Nothing. It's simply priced where it should be.

According to Porsche lore, these cars used to go for 1/4 as much as they do now. Currently, it's almost impossible to find one under $20,000, with the usual range being $35-65,000. Four years ago, by contrast, you could pick one up for $10,000. In 4 years the price has quadrupled.

Luckily for me, I can't afford one at any price. So I'm forced to wait until the market for these fine automobiles pulls a Lehman Bros, and I can buy one off some unemployed Merrill Lynch chump. In the meantime, I'll keep searching the web, hoping I can scam some little old lady out of "oh that old thing?" she only uses on Sundays to drive to church.

Speaking of old ladies, I recently ran across this picture of Janis Joplin's old Porsche 356, which was on display at the Whitney Museum's "Summer of Love" Exhibit. Sadly, I didn't get to see it in person.

<----the front



And this one of the rear ...











Don't believe it was hers? Here's a pic on her on it, in front of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts.

When I finally get my 356, I'm TOTALLY going to re-create this picture.

Maybe without the hat.