SInce a Tesla

... at the lack of Porsche sport cars that I’ve encountered in the last 2 weeks in Spain and France.
There are quite a few Cayennes and some Macans but I counted only 6 Carreras and 2 Boxsters in Spain (Madrid, Seville and Barcelona) and 8 Carreras and 3 Boxsters in France (Marseilles, Paris and Avignon).
I actually saw more Tesla Model S (at least 2 dozen) than Porsches.
I parked next to a midnight blue 986 at the Cathedral’s garage in Avignon and left my business card on the window hoping that the owner will chime in and say hi.
Can’t wait to get back home and drive mine again. Driving diesel Renaults and Seats doesn’t do it for me.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2018 02:09PM by Pedro (Weston, FL). (view changes)

That's surprising considering the price of gas over there. Safe travels my friend.

Quote
Pedro (Weston, FL)
...
I parked next to a midnight blue 986 at the Cathedral’s garage in Avignon and left my business card on the window hoping that the owner will chime in and say hi.

Happy Boxstering
Pedro

At least you got to park next to the best color

Happy Easter!

Gary

2003 Boxster Base - Midnight Blue Metallic, Savanna Beige, Metropol Blue

Quite a few in the UK, especially London and the rich 'burbs. Prominent top-end cars in Italy, but fewer porsches. Its Germany where i am surprised how few porsches I see.

But int he end, its not like Morris County, NJ, where every 15th car is a Porsche, Tesla, Audi, BMW ...

If you want to stand out with something special here, get a Chevy Malibu.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

... i do see a lot of Porsches in the South of France, which I visit for actually business regularly. In Nice, Cannes, Monaco, Antibes etc they are fairly thick on the ground.

A few in downtown Barcelona last month. (well, Feb). Rare in most of Germany strangely.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

... are the equivalent to Rodeo Drive in CA and South Beach in FL.
I'm referring to the "general population" which surprised me as to so few Porsches.
Happy Porsche'ing,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

The "general population" in most European countries doesn't have the disposable income that Americans have. Also, I'm sure you've noticed that fuel is a lot more expensive than in North America. That's why there is such a high proportion of diesels and small displacement engine cars. I can see that EV's make more sense in Europe since countries, and therefore distances travelled, are much smaller than in North America. Because of compactness, parking is much more limited, as are the size of the roads.

Happy Fiating / Golfing / orwhateveryou'redriving and have a great vacation, Pedro.

Quote
Guenter in Ontario
The "general population" in most European countries doesn't have the disposable income that Americans have. Also, I'm sure you've noticed that fuel is a lot more expensive than in North America. That's why there is such a high proportion of diesels and small displacement engine cars. I can see that EV's make more sense in Europe since countries, and therefore distances travelled, are much smaller than in North America. Because of compactness, parking is much more limited, as are the size of the roads.

Guenter has hit it on the head. Plus road tax (registration) is determined by engine power in many places so it can be quite expensive even for a boxster. Then there's insurance. It adds up to a lot of money.

--
MY 2000 S, Ocean Blue, Metropol Blue, Savanah Beige.
Bought June 2000 - Sold May 2010

... that I actually saw more Teslas than Porsches.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

will leave most Porsches at the starting line, they are selling to the toy buyer. Since the EU is putting an emphasis on green, they appeal to a buyer who can see restrictions coming and wants to be prepared. Some of the warranty provisions, over the air updates for future proofing and we come to you service may appeal.

In Northern Europe, the emphasis for years has been on hybrids but the last few it has been EVs. I have been amazed at how many Prius cars and even wagons I'd see, probably 20 times the number of P-cars.

And every EU car maker is rushing like mad to bring out as many EV models as they possibly can.

Add in China and the market for the kind of vehicles the US now buys is shrinking.

In Geneva, the annual registration fee (road tax) on a boxster S is currently US$1640 (I just checked the geneva DMV website). Switzerland is one of the cheaper countries for road tax. in france it's way way more.

many countries have been giving huge incentives for so called "zero emissions" cars or even low CO2 cars. In geneva, it was zero road tax for two years IIRC.

plus, there's a big "i wanna look green" factor involved. cachet. cool. whatever.

this may explain why you saw a lot of teslas.

--
MY 2000 S, Ocean Blue, Metropol Blue, Savanah Beige.
Bought June 2000 - Sold May 2010

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I rented a Czech Skoda Fabia, it was a good small four seat car. Porches were rare, I think I saw one Boxster. Las Islas Canarias were created by Volcanoes so they are very mountainous. There was a lot of driving up and down on switch back roads. The highest point on Tenerife is Mount Teide at 12,192 feet. We drove up to 8,200 feet. There is cable car that can take you to the peak from that altitude if it is not too windy. We stayed at two separate Airbnb apartments one on each coast, both were directly on the water over looking a rocky coast. If you're interested here is a thirty minute video of our trip, much of it driving. My wife did all the camera work while I was driving. Tenerife, a 30 minute video.

Jeff Benson:

2016 Boxster, See it here: www.greatvalleyhouse.com/Boxster

---

First car: 1952 Hudson Hornet

First roadster: 1962 Austin Healy 3000 III

Still have: Computer free 1974 MGB

Previous Porsches since 1982: 924, 944, 944S, and four Boxsters; 97, 03, 08 & 2012

Great video. Thanks Jeff

Ed B

Good for you getting to see Avignon!