Curb and Canyon: A Porsche Podcast
Curb and Canyon: A Porsche Podcast
The Porsche Connection: Emblem Makeover, Reunited with Past Loves, Porsche Super-Villains and a Heartwarming Update
James and Andy are back again for more Porsche banter! Have you ever found yourself reminiscing about the cars you used to own and wondering if you should buy them back? This week, our Porsche passion is reignited as we discuss the new Porsche Crest design, share stories about our favorite past cars, and even touch on the tale of a kangaroo colliding with a Porsche. We also congratulate a few friends on their new cars and explore the possibility of a carbon fiber hood for 'Bluey.'
Join us in our lively conversation about the design details of the new Porsche crest, including the differences between the black and white and color versions, as well as the texture of the antlers and Porsche text. We then dive into our relationships with former cars, the idea of taking them back, and how our lives and circumstances change over time. Don't miss our personal encounters with the Porsche 996 C4S and the iconic first-generation 991 GT3.
Lastly, we discuss the challenges of making tough decisions like selling a beloved car and weigh the cost of starting the process all over again against the appeal of air-cooled cars. We also share the heartwarming story of a Porsche enthusiast living in Ukraine, and how James' family is sponsoring him and his family to come to the US to escape the war zone. Tune in for an exciting episode filled with Porsche passion, heartfelt stories, and a surprising superhero connection with Condor Man.
Good evening, James McGarar.
Speaker 2:Well, if it isn't the Australian Elvis, how are you?
Speaker 1:Do you know what? I'm going to take that as a compliment? You should, and it's the British tinting, although I think tinting was always British, right? Yeah, maybe, i don't know, i think you are.
Speaker 2:I think you're a Brit Dude. can I just tell you It's early again. What's going on? And this morning is earlier than early. My kid's been awake all night. I hate you.
Speaker 1:So my question to you is get again. This was your idea, and how much do you think our wonderful listeners want to hear the start of every podcast? You pissing and moaning about how early it is, because do you know what they expect? What they expect is high quality journalism done to the highest order and expertise around our key subject being Porsche. I mean, that's what they tune in for.
Speaker 2:All right, mate, look, let's just at least make this promise to our listeners. That's what they're going to get from you this morning. For me, it's going to be an absolute mess.
Speaker 1:Welcome to Kerbin Canyon. So, do you know, i used to script those intros and James would never, never do what was on the script. So now we don't. There always seems to be a natural moment where it's like yeah, there it is, there's the welcome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, And you know, just like the videos of the week, you assume that I read those.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you look at you. You've become such an American. It just for those of you listening. I can't see James right now. We use FaceTime to communicate during these sessions And his entire face is. I don't know what that is. It's covered by the largest thermos coffee cup, and is that just full of what? Just filter rubbish? Is that what's going on here?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we call it Minnesota Brown. It's just that, oh man, it's. You know, whatever you get off the shelf in the filter, slap it in, put the water through it, it's practically useless. But you see, here's the thing Next to my awful, terrible American Mr Coffee machine Spaceball fans reference we call it Mr Coffee Next to that I've got my beautiful Nespresso machine which makes just epic, gorgeous, lovely espressos. But you see, if I put that on right now, yeah, you're going to laugh at that, because that is also not as good enough coffee for you. Hey look, if it's good enough for George Clooney's sunshine, it's good enough for me. But if I play, if I, if I made one of those right now, the whole house would be awake because the fucker is loud, yeah they are, they are, yeah, yeah, i hear you.
Speaker 2:I hear you Anyway, which, which little Colombian boys grew the beans and and roasted them on the backyard grill? that made your. That made your coffee this morning.
Speaker 1:Your your expertise when it comes to coffee is surpassed only by your expertise when it comes to talking about porches.
Speaker 2:All right, come on What we got this week.
Speaker 1:Oh, heaps Lots to talk about. We're going to talk. We've got some more congratulations We're going to talk about. I'm a bit of a design, tragic, so we're going to talk about the Porsche crest.
Speaker 2:We're going to talk about, should you ever? it's going to be exciting. I knew that one was going to itch your crack.
Speaker 1:I knew it right. It always has, Absolutely. Of course it was going to. Oh, my goodness, we're going to talk about buying back old cars. Got some updates on a few cars, some pretty significant updates actually, some some devastating updates Some well, no.
Speaker 2:You crashed, little green into a kangaroo over a wallaby and onto the set of the last episode of Neighbours.
Speaker 1:That's weird. It's like you think I'm Australian. Well, french, apparently. So my buddy Simon posted a photo. You know how, on your, on your iPhone, it'll just bring up photos like a memory from 10 years ago or whatever. Today he posted one one such memory and it was his wide body three to career that he used to own. They're like a factory, wide body, beautiful car, and he'd had it for not very long at all and he hit a kangaroo and you should have seen how damaged the front of the car was. I'm sure the kangaroo was reasonably damaged too, but, yes, pretty devastating photo actually. Bad for him, bad for the room.
Speaker 2:Please tell me, please, please tell me. We can use that as the cover for this week's episode.
Speaker 1:I will check. I will check with my good pal Simon and get back to you, because who knows? there might still be a court case pending or something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, those kangaroos like to sue.
Speaker 1:Oh they do. You know, they're just class action. They're really big on it, really big on it.
Speaker 2:Feisty little boogers.
Speaker 1:Oh, hey, and also video of the week today is it's it's a, it's one out of the archives, right, It's a fun one, It is Oh yeah, no, it is.
Speaker 2:Do this one.
Speaker 1:Your level of preparation is something else.
Speaker 2:Dude again. It's like six in the morning yesterday here. Yeah, no, no, no, it is. It's absolutely precious. I can't wait to talk about this one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, hey. So I want to start. I've been talking about friends acquiring new cars, So finally, last weekend we went for a drive on Sunday morning in the hills and Rocco not to be confused with Choco or Blocko I had to get in before you. You beat me to it, of course. I did You predictable now. Next, you're going to accuse me of being French when I say kilometers an hour Rocco showed up in his amazing new Carmine Red 718 Cayman GTS 4.0. That's quite the long nomenclature, isn't it? Oh, dude, this car. You know there are some cars that just stick the landing in every regard. You see it, and you just go uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there it is There, it is There, it is.
Speaker 2:Now, you see, for that car I think the color is maybe the least important part of the formula that you just explained there for us. Explain My friend, michael, has the exact same car, but in the Genshin Blue. Oh, you pronounce that?
Speaker 1:blue.
Speaker 2:When he turned up last summer to one of our drives, I literally couldn't take my eyes off that car. The parking lot was filled with air cooled and water cooled mostly 911s. One poor SOB in a Cayenne.
Speaker 1:You went in your Cayenne. You're such a dork.
Speaker 2:But his Genshin Blue GTS, blah, blah, blah, absolutely just gorgeous car.
Speaker 1:It's funny because Rocco won't mind me saying actually he probably will, but he can't stop me. He's quite old and he finds it a little bit difficult to get out of bed in the morning. He's all creaky and stuff like that. He doesn't always meet us at the very start of the day. We met him at the top of one of the best roads that we do and we'd all stopped there to have a bit of a break and stretch the legs and water some plants And yeah, then suddenly you could hear this car. You could hear it coming. Yeah, dude. And then he used to come around the corner. It was like John Bon Jovi bursting onto the stage. Everyone just went nuts. It was a very, very cool moment. So, yeah, pretty happy. That's to you, rocco Bloco Choco. I nearly wore my uncle Rocco sweatshirt tonight in honor of the great man.
Speaker 2:So, come on, let's talk about. This is going to be therapy for you. Let's talk about the new Porsche Crest design, because before we even get into it, let me just say I couldn't care less.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I want to know what. So which is not an unexpected.
Speaker 2:It basically looks the same to me.
Speaker 1:I know, i know, and it's funny because I wrote all this stuff down and I was writing it, i wrote bullet points for it and I thought this is going to be entirely up to me to deliver this. It's not like James is going to step in and help out, so can I ask why? Why is this not of interest to you? Well, all right, is it just because I suggested it?
Speaker 2:Naturally, my default position to yours is always contrary.
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 2:You know if it was a great, a huge departure from the logo, from the sort of the.
Speaker 2:Imagine the outcry though All the design basics. You know it's still the same shape, they still use the same colors. It's still obviously the Porsche brand. You know, i think there are lots of brands and now please don't ask me to name any of them, but there are lots of brands whose, like designers, has evolved over the decades, but they still, in your mind, look exactly the same Like. Maybe it's the McDonald's Arches, or maybe it's the Coca-Cola logo There's. They've always been presented slightly differently To me. I know that there are a few different. You know there are a few bigger differences with this one in particular. But you know, you look at it, it's the Porsche logo. It still is. It's still the Porsche crest. A few little fiddly bits have been fiddled with, but you know who's against a bit of fiddling.
Speaker 1:I saw that coming a mile away. Well, so here's the thing, right. So why don't we get excited about the 911? Because that's just evolution, not revolution.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right, fair enough, but the crest is something. I mean there's a really crass you know comparisons to make here, but the crest is.
Speaker 1:I can't actually think of what that is. I'm like this is the most Really So far. it's the most intelligent conversation you and I have ever had. And you're thinking about crass things.
Speaker 2:you could say Oh, i'm going to bring it down. So the crest is window dressing. Okay, the 911, you get inside it, you pull it apart, you get an absolute thrill of your life. I mean, it's like the difference between looking at the bottle of Coca-Cola and drinking Coca-Cola for the first time, because for many, every time you get inside a slightly different 911, it's a new 911. But it's something completely new. So to me it's like looking at it versus experiencing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you know what I don't disagree And, bizarrely enough, you're right though so many brands do this. They evolve their logo And actually in the automotive space it is particularly common And in fact, when you look at the Porsche crest, it has actually seen design tweaks in 1954, 1963, 1973, my birth year 1994 and 2008. So it's actually it has evolved over time.
Speaker 2:I didn't know that. See, there you go. I didn't know that. I thought, wow, they've finally done it After all these years they've changed it.
Speaker 1:So, look, I mean I think, well, let's not lay with the point, because I suspect that, given you know we're a 50-50 split in terms of our interest on this, our audience is probably a little bit the same.
Speaker 2:Tell us what's changed Like. I'm actually very interested to understand what's changed. Do you know what?
Speaker 1:I think it's one of those things where you would look at it and think, huh, that does look different. There's something, but I couldn't put my finger on. I'll tell you what has changed. The texture behind the antlers and the Porsche text. There was a sort of a I don't know what. You'd call it, a mottled texture, if you like. That's gone. The Porsche text itself appears to be smoother. They have introduced a honeycomb pattern into the red stripes.
Speaker 1:The horse itself is a different horse Okay, that's weird, and it's funny thing, you know you always think about the prancing horse, the Ferrari. you know you sometimes forget that the horse, which is the, i think, the insignia for Stuttgart, is my understanding. Yeah, there's a prancing horse in the Porsche logo And then the Stuttgart text, which used to simply be embossed, is now black. But yeah, if you saw it, you see it on the front of a new car which apparently they're going to start rolling them out back end of this year. I don't think it's going to have any sort of wholesale effect on the overall look at the car, but hey, it's interesting in the Porsche space and, as a design, tragic. I must confess that I did spend, let's say, more time than was absolutely necessary reading about it and looking at it and comparing the logos through the generations and found it to be quite interesting. You're looking now I can tell, because you've tuned out for me. No, no, no, what are you talking about?
Speaker 2:So I'm now going down the rabbit hole with you and I'm looking at the six apparently six different versions here on Porschecom, on the news, on the news, the news page. Yeah, it is actually quite significant from one to the other. I will you know it is and it isn't, But I'm not a big fan of the honeycomb.
Speaker 1:I'm not a fan of the honeycomb. It's interesting.
Speaker 2:No, no, i mean like it's okay, I don't need to throw that under the bus because I'll ruin it for everyone, but I don't really like that one. But I do like the fact that they've taken away the sort of you know, the polka dot model background behind the analyst. That's fair. Let me ask you this, though For all of the dweebs out there, myself included, that are actually quite interested in going to buy one of those and see if it'll fit on the front of their Porsche, what do you think Is that? is that the type of thing that well, even if it fits, let's say it. Let's say it fits. Yeah, could you be forgiven for putting that on the hood of little green?
Speaker 1:Look, i think he could. I personally would not Because, if I'm honest, at the end of the day I don't love it. I actually prefer the previous iteration. I actually like the texture. It doesn't look very today. It does hark back somewhat, but I actually really like the texture of the previous. well, every other version basically No, i would. I personally would not put it on little green. I have no problem with somebody who does. I just wouldn't talk to them and couldn't be friends with them. But no, that's totally unfair. I would absolutely talk to them and be friendly to them and then say a lot of things when they left.
Speaker 2:So it's funny, this has happened, because actually I need a new emblem on the front of my Cayenne, because the Cayenne came with the black and white version as opposed to the color.
Speaker 1:I was going to ask you what's your view on the black and silver.
Speaker 2:So I actually think it looks pretty good on the right car, but on my Cayenne it doesn't look good. It kind of looks like it's been sun-faded as opposed to. it's an intentional choice from the factory And that's what I thought it was originally. But the more I've looked at it it's quite clearly it's never had any color. It's always been the black and the silver. So I want to replace it with a colorful one, but I'll probably stick with the one that's true to the model, as opposed to getting a new one.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, yeah, i feel that's. oh, do you know what? Why don't you go? the sticker light white.
Speaker 2:It's funny. You should mention that, honestly, dude. It's funny. You should mention that because I've been looking at a carbon fiber hood for bluey. Oh no, no, no, for real. A carbon fiber hood for bluey And the manufacturer of it, who designs, custom designs body parts for race cars. It won't come with an emblem, or at least it won't come with the divot for the emblem. So if I am going to get it which I probably won't, but if I do, i'm going to go for the sticker. Yeah, gt2 RS baby.
Speaker 1:Yep, so I'm not going to ask you. I don't want to blow up your spot, so I'm not going to ask you what a carbon fiber bonnet costs Hood, whatever What a carbon fiber hood costs Actually. Now, what does a carbon fiber hood cost?
Speaker 2:Well, i think if you got it from Porsche it cost you about four grand, but from this particular supplier it's about 1500.
Speaker 1:Right About the price of some lowering springs.
Speaker 2:God damn it Come on dude, I'm the only thing that is needed to lower my car. They're a no need.
Speaker 1:I saw you posted some really nice photos of bluey this week and the car looks so good with the whole number front number plate thing going a license plate as you guys call them. But we've just we've got to talk about the stance. This has to be fixed.
Speaker 2:All right then, Mr Design Guru. So how can somebody so finicky and aintly retentive when it comes to. That's correct. It's a technical term. Look it up. Okay, So right now, my circular wheels are perfectly flush with the curvature of the wheel arches. It's a circle in a circle. It fits perfectly. You start lowering them and it ruins it. Oh my God, It just ruins the look. Does it Like to explain that to me, Mr Design Guy?
Speaker 1:It's not just about the matching of the curvature of the wheel to the curvature of the guard. That, no, it's about race car. It's about stance. It's about the car looking aggressive, not apologetic.
Speaker 2:It looks aggressive when I'm in it with my middle fingers up, being like go out of the way, Karen.
Speaker 1:Poor Karen, all right, well, i can say I'm not going to convince you on that, and that just makes me a little bit sad.
Speaker 2:I had this conversation with Drew over at the Cool Collective and he shamed me for a long time about trying to argue this, because I think he's even shamed people by putting stickers on their cars when they're too high.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because he had that hoodie. no more wheel gap, that's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. There are some cars that look like that, but that is just one step away from being the Honda Civic driver with the wheels that are angled in and out. I mean, it's pretty close to you know, chaff Central dude.
Speaker 1:So that's what little green is then, because little green is reasonably stance.
Speaker 2:Well, okay, maybe a step and a half away.
Speaker 1:Well then you should go the other way, right? You might as well just put on some BF Goodrich all-road tires and just go full safari, do it. You've been talking about the safari thing for a while. Honestly, you can meet No.
Speaker 2:All right. So, look, let's move on. Let's move on, because I'm starting to feel a little A Attacked, Underappreciated, b Attacked And C, quite frankly, stupid.
Speaker 1:The answer is D, all of the above. Okay, so we had. This was really quite interesting because I wrote our show notes Well, actually for last week's show, and so you hadn't seen them. And then you posted something on Instagram. You posted a picture of your 991. And you know, opposing the question, does anybody ever think about or lust after their car they used to own? And it was interesting timing because my black 991 had come up for sale.
Speaker 1:And not only had it come up for sale, it the seller, he used all of the photos that I'd used in my ad when I sold it. Cheeky bastard. Look, it didn't bother. To be honest, it didn't bother me at all. Why do I care? And because I didn't take those photos. I actually think, when you're selling a car, i try and avoid taking photos that look overly art directed, overly lit, because I think there's a there's a sense then from potential buyers that the car only looks good because it's had, you know, an amazing photo shoot done. So I just try and do good quality Yeah, reasonably straightforward shots.
Speaker 2:You need to tell that to Andy at that. You know I'm a Andy at that podcast that we're not gonna mention. Have you seen his 993? for sale photos. It's like that he's submitting them for, you know, a gallery showing the beautiful. This is the best shots I've seen of his car and he published them the day you mentioned he's gonna sell it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i actually, to be honest, he, he potentially Completely undoes my entire argument just unpicks at a thread at a time in front of me with that, with that post, because, yeah, i mean, that is a spectacular 993, it is, it's just, it's such a cohesive package and and the photography is, yeah, it's stunning, it's stunning. So, yeah, congrats, andy. I'm disappointed you're selling the car, but we've all got to move on at some point. And yeah, what an amazing set of shots. Anyway, i did get me thinking, though. Do you ever, do you have a last after-year-old cars?
Speaker 2:Yeah, i do, yeah, i do actually, and I think I've mentioned that on Instagram once or twice in the last couple of months and both. So my, my black 997 was Is in California, and after posting a photo of that a couple of weeks ago, the new owner, who I've been in touch with quite a bit, sent me a photo. It was like, don't worry, it's doing well And he's taken off the decals and he's put new rims on it. So it doesn't. It doesn't look like my 997, but it still looks absolutely epic. And I said to him genuinely if you ever think about selling that car, i would buy it back from you And I think I would. And then just yesterday I posted a photo of my grey 991 and the funny thing about this was The, the guy that bought it from me, super nice guy, for a couple of hours down the road from where I live.
Speaker 2:His daughter, who's I don't know University years maybe, is more excited about that car than he is Because, having bought that car at least I think so, having bought that car She follows me on Instagram, she comments on my photos and, within within hours of posting that photo, saying, you know, asking the question Does anybody miss the cars they've sold. She replies back going Oh, don't you worry, we're having great fun in it. So so, jane, if you're listening, i Appreciate that. I sincerely do. I Don't know, though, but you know it's funny because you know we talked about the, the relationship between human and machine before, and a lot of people equate their ex cars to you know, ex relationships and, in some respects, yeah, maybe taking back my 991 would be Forgiving the, the partner that cheats on you, but with that 997. Oh, dude, i don't know. My self-respect is just. You know It's in the toilet. I would take that car back if it was told, and I'd rebuild it again. I just loved, loved that 997 so much isn't that interesting.
Speaker 1:Well, it's funny because I looked at yeah, i looked at the ad for my old 991 and That is a car that from time to time I regret selling that I wish, because I actually think the brief that I had for that car, which was to be a, a combined daily driver and fun car, i Wasn't able to. The car wasn't able to answer that brief. For me at that particular moment in time in my life What I was, what my day-to-day Job and all this sort of stuff, what I was doing for work It just didn't meet the brief, whereas I think now it actually would. You know, the kids are getting older. We're really in the car as a whole family. These days, the whole the need for the family truckster has has expired somewhat. So I think I could. I think I could live with with with that car as a daily driver.
Speaker 1:Now, coupled with the fact that it came up for sale just after my buddy Gerard had bought his 991 and I was somewhat enamoured with his car, i thought, oh, he's, he's done it, maybe, maybe I could do it again. But of course you do tend to look at these things through somewhat rose-colored glasses, right? because, yeah, i was sitting there and I was thinking, well, hang on, because that car didn't have the Porsche factory warranty. It had a significant failure with the, with the transmission, during my ownership, and Which Porsche fixed as as a. You know, there's a goodwill gesture involved. So I was like, oh No, i'd want the factory warranty and and probably I probably wouldn't want another black car. So, but for for a couple of days I was looking at it every day, dude. I kept looking at the listing and and go really that's actually.
Speaker 1:I see it looks good, it looks so good. So, yes, i've, i've been, i've, i have, i've been lusting after him, after my ex.
Speaker 2:So I hate to ask And I'm sure there's an equally uncomfortable Analogy to me care, but can I ask about the price? You know what you sold it for, what it's on the market for, i mean.
Speaker 1:He was acceptable?
Speaker 2:Is it stinging a little bit?
Speaker 1:No, actually, because the market has cooled. The market has definitely okay. And I remember when I sold it and I posted something a couple months later about how I was missing it and A buddy, renee Responded and said why don't you get another one? And I'm like dude, i can't afford to now because they've just kept going up and up and yeah, well, to be honest, the 991 market is a little bit skewed at the moment. I think the, the dot-2's, the second gen 991, seem to be holding value. Well, the 997's, in Australia at least, are just constantly Coming up, not at a rapid rate like we've seen in terms of the growth of some other cars, but that puts them into the realm of Some of the lower end base career and 991's and so they're starting to be that crossover.
Speaker 1:But interestingly so, i sold that car 18 months ago and He was Advertised the car. He had advertised the car for what. I sold it to him And I imagine, you know, i imagine there was a little bit of negotiation because the car, the car, has actually gone now. So it would be interesting to know. Well, i mean, i don't really care to know, to be honest, but but I think it. It was an interesting demonstration of just where the markets out. I think it's. I think it's slowed a little bit, but yeah, it's, it's, i think there's a for me. I always, i always come back to this idea of a 991, of being quite a sweet spot, grand tourer, fun in the twisties, just do everything really really well. So yeah, maybe, maybe one day I would love to get into a second gen 991.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, i mean, we've been talking about this a little bit in the last few episodes. Yeah, i just love them. I like them more and more. But speaking of the 991, i actually got my hands on a GT3 First generation.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, tell me about you're fitting the cameras and all that business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was just another local guy in the Twin Cities wanting Apple CarPlay installed in his car and decided to get a backup camera at the same time and I was like sure, yeah, i'll do that for you. And it's like, yeah, i've got a GT3. I was like I will definitely do that for you, bring it over now. Yeah, god, it's just, i love that car. I mean, yeah, it's it just, i just love it, absolutely love it. It was in you know kind of What was it? Press release, white, that it came in with the red calipers and the red. So it wasn't, it wasn't you know particularly exciting spec, but still it's just absolutely glorious. I found myself, as I was working on it, you know, sitting on my ass and Shuffling around trying to get the fasteners out and that sort of stuff. I take it. I just stop and just look at it and just find myself geysing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, rightly so, rightly so.
Speaker 2:Do you know? it's funny.
Speaker 1:Well, because I feel like I do. You have Particular cars that you have seen just in passing on the street, out and about. You know maybe during the week on your daily life, that just you always remember them and Oh, for sure.
Speaker 1:So there's one I remember it vividly driving near my work and there was a white first gen 991 GT3 and I remember just seeing it and just seeing it in profile with the wing, and I just thought that is, That is just such a good looking car. It's got, you know, it's got the wings. So yeah, it's kind of boy racer, but in white it just settled it down just that little bit And I thought yeah, that's like you could drive that I could happily drive Yeah totally It.
Speaker 2:For me, actually, one of the Porsches that stands out is one that I saw on the street of London in the early 2000s. I just finished university, you know, completely lost track of Porsches at that point. I just started my career down in London and I was walking down the street and I saw Carrera 4S and I think it was in seal gray or one of those nice kind of gray colors 996. And it was a 996.2. Yeah, and it was absolutely gorgeous. But as I walked past it I got to the front end because of the lights and I hadn't really been following on what had been going on with Porsche at the time. I was like wait, is that a 911 or is that something new? And I remember standing there for ages, thinking I like it, i don't like it, i like it And like all the things that we've talked about in the last couple of years about the 996 happened in my head for about five minutes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I just stood there staring at it and still to this day, when I think of that model, i think about that one parked in the street of Westminster and just thinking I want to touch it, i want to just feel it. It's gorgeous. Do you know? it's funny, though, at the same time, i've got two hands. I've got two hands.
Speaker 1:What's funny? because I still remember the first time I saw a 996 C4S as well, because I hadn't been paying as much attention to Porsche in that moment, partly because, as I've mentioned before, i wasn't a fan of the 996 when it came out from a design perspective. And I remember actually just driving along right near where I work now And I just happened to one just pulled out in front of me, so suddenly it was driving in front of me and it was black And I just remember seeing that rear light bar and just thinking, oh man, oh man, wow, they've just hit this out of the park.
Speaker 1:It just looks so good. Totally And interestingly, the cat who's selling my old 991,. his intention is to buy a 996 C4S. Oh nice.
Speaker 2:We could talk about 996 for a long time, but suffice to say I think that was possibly the sort of the creme de la creme of the 996 generation. I think the C4S, for many reasons.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just gorgeous.
Speaker 2:So tell me about Little Green. Let's talk air cooled. Did you really crash it into a kangaroo?
Speaker 1:No, no. Do you know what I did once actually? Oh God, little Green, yeah, i was like it was so.
Speaker 2:You see, there are jokes that I make because I love the Australian stereotype, and then all you do is go improve the stereotype. You drove Little Green into a fucking kangaroo.
Speaker 1:I'm happy to do that for you, mate. No, i did No. so it was a Sunday morning and I was doing just a solo spin in the hills And it was. you know, sometimes the solo drive is the best drive because you know, when you're out with friends there's always that pressure, particularly if you're in front. you think I've got to get on it. I don't want to hold people up And I don't know about you, but I always have the sense that if somebody's keeping up with me, i'm holding them up.
Speaker 1:I always have this kind of thought in the back of my head that Me too, and it's often true because I'm in the base.
Speaker 1:So sometimes I enjoy just getting out and driving by myself And I'll sometimes, when I'm driving by myself I'll rip it, open it right up and have a great time. But sometimes I just hit a nice pace where I'm just enjoying it, pushing it, but everything well within its limits. And I was having a drive like that and just came around a bend and this small kangaroo bounced up. There was, the road had an embankment on the left hand side and then a drop off on the right hand side, and he bounced up from where the drop off was and then started crossing the road in front of me.
Speaker 1:How big of a kangaroo He was actually, i'd say, a medium size, probably smallish, to be honest And so I swerved to the right. I don't know why I'm making the steering movements as people can see.
Speaker 1:It helps me visualize. So I swerved to the, swerved to the right and jumped on the brakes at the same time And he just, he just cleared me, he just got past me, but then his tail, his tail clipped my front left gun barrel headlight And when I got home and I stopped and I got out of the car to look around and he bounced off. So you know, seemingly he was OK. He probably had a pretty sore tail, as to be said, but when I got home you should have seen how scratched it was from his tail, because I think his tail was and it was all wet. And so I think his tail was wet from the dew of the grass or whatever, and had caught all this gravel from the embankment he'd just come up. So he was just like a microfiber towel that's been dried on the road in the gravel a few times and then just whacked across the front of the car. But anyway, he was seemingly. Seemingly he was OK.
Speaker 2:So if anyone, if anyone sees a now mature kangaroo in the Victoria area with a bent tail, you know what happened to it A little Porsche crest hanging off the back of it. Poor guy was just probably taking a taking a slash, that's why it was gone back to him. Yeah, i did.
Speaker 1:So now look little grain. So there is some news on little grain. When last we spoke, what was the status? I think I'd mentioned how the shocks didn't get sent and then did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you told me about the whole fiasco about you know, the couriers and your other mates broken, broken kit. But yeah, so far I think you were going to be out of pocket because you weren't covered by warranty and you were feeling a bit down in the dumps about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, ok, so update. When they did finally arrive, the word on the street was it's OK, there's nothing wrong with the shocks, so they're just going to need a service, and they'll be fine, so great.
Speaker 1:Then turned out that wasn't the case. The left front shock, which was the one that I feared had an issue, had a crack along one of the welds on the shock body, and so when they rebuilt it, when they serviced it, it was just leaking fluid out of this, out of this weld. So needed a new shock body right. So I'm thinking, oh great, so this is going to take 10 days to come out of Germany, i'm going to have to pay for it. It wasn't actually going to be overly expensive, thankfully, but well, and how much of these off the shelf each?
Speaker 2:But I mean, before you start talking installation everything, we're talking a couple of grand at least, right?
Speaker 1:For a set of KWs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah.
Speaker 1:I can't remember, but it's expensive. It is. It's an expensive upgrade. I was pretty pissed that this expensive upgrade had had. I would call it a manufacturer's fault.
Speaker 1:Now it's not to say the car has hit potholes and stuff like that It has. Or kangaroos, yeah. But I assume that a manufacturer that builds products to that end, at that standard let's say, has to build them to a certain amount of tolerance to be able to handle some of these sorts of impacts. Anyway, i got a call then from my friend Tim at NineAuto the next day and he said KW are covering the shock body, you're not going to be charged for it, no way, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, year and a half out of warranty. And I said to him. I said and this is where it gets really good, right? I said, do I have you to thank for that? Because I thought maybe he'd gone and made representations on my behalf and threatened to crack some skulls. He said listen. I said to them and by them I mean the Australian distributor I said to them it's a bit shit that it's not covered by warranty. And they said yeah, it is. We'll reach out to KW. And KW said, yeah, no problem, let's send another one. And everyone no one had to try. There wasn't a whole big palaver or argument, or you know. Do you know who this guy is? He'll expose you on his podcast.
Speaker 1:There was none of that And, yeah, it sounds like everyone was just willing to come to the party. And then the even better part of it is that I was still expecting the shock body to be at least another week away in transit And I got notifications today that it has arrived in Sydney. So we should actually have it back in Melbourne by Tuesday And hopefully, james, hopefully. I'll have a little green back by the end of next week.
Speaker 2:Oh nice, Very nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, which is perfect timing. Perfect timing because I have a gap in my garage right now.
Speaker 2:Come on, let's talk about it, let's rip off the bandaid.
Speaker 1:It's our day today. The GT4 is gone. What?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I knew. Should I pretend like I didn't know?
Speaker 1:Wait, tell me more. Whoa, It's a Curb and Canyon exclusive.
Speaker 2:It is Wow. To be fair, though, i've only known for a little while and I haven't told anyone. But, dude, i know how much you like that car, so it's gone, it's picked up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so it went. today It's look, it's one of those things. Right, it's just about priorities And my intention was never to hold on to that car long term. It certainly wasn't my intention to sell it this early on, so I've had the car 11 months, but yeah, like I say, it's about priorities And right now having two Porsches just didn't make sense in the current economic climate.
Speaker 1:I need to prioritize my business and my family, some other stuff. So, yeah, totally, i went through the process and thought I tried to convince myself to keep it and I just thought I could, but it just wasn't the right moment to hold on to it. So, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know, OK, and you know, let's face it, you've got a little green and that is arguably the better car in my opinion. Well, it's. And I'm just not, I'm not just your mate, trying to make you feel better- No, it's a really interesting point because I did think I thought, ok, let's, let's.
Speaker 1:Actually I forced myself to do, to go through the mental exercise of maybe I should keep the GT4 and sell a little grain. I thought I've got to at least consider that right. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:That was the shortest 20 seconds of internal debate ever, but partly because, look, if I decided next week and I've said, i said this when I sold the 991 if I decided next week that I wanted another GT4. I can get another GT4. If I decide next week that I want another 964. I might be waiting six months, 12 months, before I find the right one. So it's just not that simple. In addition, because I've done, you know, we've just, we've developed that car so much, the idea of starting that process again, and not to mention the cost of that, i that just I can't even conceive of that.
Speaker 1:And and that car, that car, for me It answers more briefs than the GT4 does. Does it drive or perform to the level that the GT4 does? No, but it is. It's far more capable than one would think for a car that's 33 years old. It's, yeah, i think air cooled cars have a certain cool about them that the the modern stuff doesn't have. They. They're cool in a different way. So, yeah, that was never really seriously a consideration.
Speaker 1:I will say that I drove the GT4 just on the weekend with with some friends and I, yet again, i was just amazed by how good that car is, how capable it is, how easy it is to drive it at pace and it's engaging. There's there's a lot to like about GT4, is no doubt, and I do think I reckon I'll have another one at some point, because I yeah, there's unfinished business there. That was, it was a, it was a cracking car and the you know, the selling cars is always interesting, right, the the transactions always tricky and I had sure I had a couple of people contact me. The first one had messaged me through car sales, which is the. You know, it's like I don't bring a trailer or whatever.
Speaker 2:Auto trade or auto yeah, because it's not an auction.
Speaker 1:Right, it's not an auction, you just advertise it as a price. And he was him. He'd been messaging me and I hadn't seen any of the messages, but he was just low balling, low balling, low balling. So I, when I finally saw the messages, i just said, hey, listen, yeah, you know that that sort of number I'm not interested in, we're just you and I, just way too far apart and you won't get a, you won't get a GT4 for that number.
Speaker 1:Then I had another guy call me and he said can I come and look at the car? and I said yeah, of course. And he said I'm flying over from Western Australia, i'm flying to Melbourne. Okay, far out, he's serious. So I agreed to meet him in the car park of a pub where all good deals are done. And anyway he messages me. He says I'm standing over near the entrance And all I can see is this bent over old man and I'm like where, where is he?
Speaker 1:and then I see this bent over old man looking at his mobile phone when I message him back and I'm like, oh, wow, that's him. So he sort of hobbles over towards me. I'm not kidding, i reckon he would have been 78 probably. But he but. But he rolled up in a very well patina, very well used Lotus Exige And he was looking for something else. And I said to him, he just had a vibe here, reminded me of some of the people my dad used to go motor racing with and I said, paul, you got some, you got some motor racing in your history. And he said, yeah, i've still got a couple of Formula Fords. And so he's this guy who's been racing all his life. And then he starts telling me about all of these roads he had driven just weeks before in his Lotus with his wife, and all the roads are the roads that we drive in Alpine Range Rally. I don't know if.
Speaker 1:I'm no way yeah, i don't know if he got the maps from Trev or whether he just found them himself, but yeah, he was saying how him. His wife comes with him. She sits in the passenger seat of the Lotus, exige knitting while he's driving.
Speaker 2:That skill right there and danger because I mean a knitting needle in the eye particularly for kangaroo, jumps out exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1:Anyway, look he, he, he didn't end up buying the car, the bloke who had been lowballing. we finally came to the party with some, some reasonable, some reasonable numbers, and we too didn't throw it a little bit, because he was from Sydney And and wanted to collect the car rather than ship it to Sydney. so I met him today, payments were taken and I watched him and his brother drive away in the car and he, he messaged me That's happened, that's happened this morning. yeah, did you not see the message I sent you with the little video footage and the sad face emoji?
Speaker 2:You do realize I've spent the past eight hours not asleep in bed with screaming children.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I sent it like 10 hours ago.
Speaker 1:We're in the middle of a message conversation, you know. So that. So the two things, the two really sad moments were. The first one was when I because I wanted to retain the license plate, the number plate, which is it's a personalized plate, it doesn't look like one but it's. It's RSP 380, so it's rasp and 3.8. And so I had to put a standard license plate on it, and so I got the cheapest generic Victorian number plate that you can get and they're a really weird shape and they just white with blue right. They just look rubbish. And when I put that on the car I thought this looks crap. And then I took off, i had to peel off the last rasp sticker on the on the rear windscreen and, and even after I wiped it a bunch of times, there was you know how you get ghosting, and I'm like yeah, yeah, it's just it's just left its mark.
Speaker 1:I'm just gonna leave it there every time he washes the car he's gonna wonder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's funny. Every time I've sold a car with an auto amateur sticker on it, i'd left the auto amateur sticker on it, thinking that's another one on the road.
Speaker 1:Well, i kind of figured this guy I you know any conversations I'd had with him. He had no idea who I was or who I what last rasp was, and I didn't want him to. You know, come back to me in a month's time and say I've been watching all your videos. Looks like you drove the car pretty hard and Tasmania would have been good to know that before.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. And so I just thought, yeah, i'll leave it, so anyway. So look, good luck to him, i hope, i hope he enjoys it, i hope he gets a lot of fun times. And you know, i've been philosophical about it this afternoon. I thought about, i thought in how you're about to accuse me of being French here to. In 11 months of ownership, i've averaged a thousand kilometers per month, most of which. How many miles is that, james?
Speaker 2:Well, i'm just trying to figure out what part of it's 620 miles I reckon I've done 620 miles a month.
Speaker 1:I wish I'd work out the kilometers of a thousand miles no it's more like Eight hundred miles.
Speaker 2:hold on, stay there no. Alexa, how much is 1000 kilometers in miles? Son of a bitch, 600 miles.
Speaker 1:well done there you go. So, yeah, about 600 miles and most of that driving was, you know, in twisties, fun stuff. I did Three day rally in Tasmania in that car. I just done your three day rally Alpine Range rally in that car. So I've racked up Plenty of smiles and miles in that thing. You know some of the best driving I've ever done in that car. So I, you know, i think about my mate PJ in the way he thinks about cars. You, you don't collect the cars, you collect the experiences. And yeah, i've had Had a great experience in that car. So just now want to get little green back in the garage And move on to things.
Speaker 2:So your Porsche less for the next few days yes, right now there's the tragedy right now.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna put my Jeep in the garage tonight.
Speaker 2:No, don't, just don't do it, don't. How dare you put that you've been the garage?
Speaker 1:what you still live in the garage I had. I've owned that car for Seven years it was. It was here before little green was, and then it was like it got kicked out of the garage, right.
Speaker 2:So let's move on to our. Let's move on to our new, new segments.
Speaker 1:This is Porsche global outreach program yeah, it's the Porsche connected vibe moments mates thing I want. we should ask the listeners what we should call. it Is clearly you know, i can't come up with anything good.
Speaker 2:So this is an interesting one, i feel this is my one.
Speaker 1:I want you. you gotta tell me about this, is this?
Speaker 2:your all right. So I am the mate. Yes, i know, so I'm all right. So 18 months ago, lee Sibley of that podcast that we shall not name because we name it too often I think he put something on social media about this guy, based in Ukraine, works for Porsche.
Speaker 2:He works for Porsche of Kiev. I just sort of put a spotlight on him at the beginning of the war when, when Russia invaded and, and it was just, you know, very kind of nice, sort of hey, check out a fellow you know, porsche enthusiast, living in difficult times. So I followed him and I sent him a note saying, you know, wishing you the best, blah, blah, blah. And over the course of a year, year and a half, we've developed quite a good friendship. You know, we've been chatting every couple of days and sharing Videos of our cars, and you know he's been watching all of my videos and translating them. You know it's a great, you know, whatever. And it turns out he's got a daughter same age as my, my middle son, adam. So you know, we've been to the get on Porsche wise and we've gotten on with the dad vibe and you know, long story short, he's increasingly feeling insecure being where he is, you know, in the middle of a war zone. And so we've, my wife Ruthie and I, we've sponsored him on a two year visa to the US, him, his wife and his child, and they're going to be arriving actually tomorrow. They're going to be arriving tomorrow, i think, the day this pod hopefully will will drop, and they're coming in from Europe, they're arriving in Minneapolis. They're you know, they're coming with a single bag between the three of them, i think, and they're going to be living with us for a couple of months while we help get them settled.
Speaker 2:But this, this, this visa program or emergency visa program, that the, the administration, the federal government, you know, put in a year or so ago. I didn't, i didn't realize it existed. And somebody, in fact my next door neighbor, has done this for a couple of Ukrainian children. She's from Ukraine herself, in fact, she, she grew up near Chernobyl, and so she jokes that she glows in the dark, which I think I'm not sure if I should laugh at that or, you know, maybe put a lead wall between her house and our house. But yeah, yeah, they're arriving tomorrow and we're like super excited to meet them and they're going to be staying in our basement for at least a couple of weeks until we get them settled with. You know, all the things they need to do, like drivers licenses, and find them a place to live, and we are going to be helping to find them work, helping to get down the little girl into daycare, you know, hopefully the same one is, oh, i guess kindergarten now. I guess it's now the summer. So, yeah, it feels it feels like a really big thing to do. It kind of feels like a strange thing to do But at the same time the fact that I can help somebody out like that it's, it's mega.
Speaker 2:And if, if I may, i'm channeling my, my inner granddad here. My, my granddad, ernie, was a prisoner of war in World War two, captured in Greece, shipped off to Austria and spent three years basically walking around in his briefs in the snow eating potatoes with the threat of death every day. And he came out of the war and growing up as a kid it was so funny to see my grandmother kind of just pulling a hair out because he would turn up with Germans, french, dutch, italians, russians, who he bumped into in the purple, you know somewhere near where he lived, impressed in and invited them to come and camp on his front garden. You know, for days, at the time You just like a very, very open, very welcoming kind of guy. And when, when this opportunity came along, i thought it just made me think about my granddad, ernie. So I thought, yeah, if I can do this for a family, awesome. So now I'm gonna have to try and learn how to talk Porsche in Ukrainian. it's difficult, it's a difficult language.
Speaker 1:So I messaged you a couple days ago and said hey, you're up, you gotta come up with something for our Porsche global outreach.
Speaker 1:vibe friendship Connective hands concept and you sent me that. You sent me a message explaining this and my first response was is he kidding? and And but I? there was something about the tone of your message that I thought no, i think he's, i think he's serious and I do not gonna say I mean. First of all, you know, you think about me selling a car and feeling a bit down in the dumps about it. Talk about putting things into perspective, right, look.
Speaker 2:Yeah he's?
Speaker 1:he's a guy worried about, you know, his future, the future of his family, genuinely concerned for their own safety, and rightly so. Who needs to, who feels desperate enough to pack his whole family up with one bag And travel across the world somewhere, is never presumably never been to set up some kind of life there. That's, you know, that's just massive and, like I say, puts things into perspective. And then, on the flip side of that, i want to acknowledge you and pay tribute to you for, and Ruthie and your family for, what you're doing. I think it is just an incredible act and, yeah, i'm actually blown away, man, i think it's. I think it's incredible. Well done to you guys.
Speaker 2:Cheers bud appreciate it. Yeah, yeah, it's feels like a big step, but it's gonna be quite an adventure, more so for them than us.
Speaker 1:But yeah, yeah, thank you, incredible, incredible. All right, shall we finish with video of the week.
Speaker 2:Let's do it. I'm excited about this one. When you sent it to me and I just thought what on earth? what on earth is he doing? know what? so you want to talk us through it?
Speaker 1:So in 1981, the early 80s, late 70s, early 80s was a time of superhero films and you know, really it was Christopher Reaver, superman that that really set the mold for superhero movies And it set the benchmark for them to aspire to. you can argue some of them did it more successfully than others, and it might be suggested that the 1981 film condor man didn't quite reach the dizzying heights of Christopher Reave in Superman.
Speaker 2:However, has anyone heard of it?
Speaker 1:I don't know, i don't know. I'm sure people had you heard of this film.
Speaker 2:No, but that was I have not heard of the film the sequence that you sent me. I have absolutely no clue what it was. I actually thought it was a joke, but when I saw the actor Michael Crawford sat in the front seat, i just I couldn't believe it. I mean, he's the guy from some mothers do have them. Right now he's playing this like he's like a James Bond superhero driving a fancy car Ridiculous, ridiculous.
Speaker 1:So I remember seeing this film on a family holiday when I was obviously really young and I remember just thinking it was amazing and I remember this sequence because he is in a kind of bright yellow. Let's call it the condor man. Rip off of the Batmobile, you know, full of gadgets, is just the stupidest thing you've ever seen, with a rocket at the back and all that sort of business. But he's being chased by this squad of what are they called the, the KGB pursuit squad, and they are driving. There are four black 9 11's and then a black 9 35 that the boss guy drives.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, and it's just. It's actually a really good sequence and the stunt coordinator on that sequence is a was a French stunt coordinator who worked on a lot of famous chase sequences in a lot of films, and so it actually it plays pretty well, not to It does?
Speaker 2:How to use the. He's like pushing all the buttons randomly. You know he's making that shit.
Speaker 1:It's ridiculous because you know you think about James Bond right, like if he's gonna shoot a cannon at the back, he'll flick a little, switch the cannon comes out and then presses a button, it shoots, whereas he's got this like 1981. It looks like a speaking spell or something where he's just tapping random colored squares for like 30 seconds straight to get this thing to fire.
Speaker 2:It's so dumb, oh my god. And his co pilot. The ladies sat there watching him intently, like, oh yes, he's doing a really good job. He's like he's protecting me.
Speaker 1:He knows exactly what he's doing and he's just there like Yeah, how about eyes on the road mate, because he's driving this insanely tight, twisty road and, as you pointed out, which I didn't know, what is the name of the actress?
Speaker 2:But Barbara Carrera, barbara Carrera, barbara, it's not Barbara Carrera.
Speaker 1:Barbara Carrera. yeah, i love that, carrera, that's so good. now it is hard to watch because the 935 makes it through this sequence but none of the 911's do, sadly, they all, they all meet somewhat fiery demise, but it is. Where do you reckon that shot? is that like Italy, do you think?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I would have thought Southern California, that looks like That's nice, not?
Speaker 1:so it's because they go into a village and stuff like that and I know the film. I did do a bit of research on Wikipedia because, again, i'm a crack journalist and And they talked about shooting in France, spain, italy and a few other places. So yeah, it's. I think it's somewhere in Europe. Someone might know. If you are that one person that has gone deep on condo man and know where the shooting locations were, please let us know.
Speaker 2:So this is now gonna put me in a tough spot, i think. But wasn't Michael Crawford like one of the upcoming kind of cool guys, action guys, potentially sort of the British Steve McQueen at one point? you know he was in this movie. He was then no seriously. He was in like a number of different things that were supposed to be relatively serious and relatively cool and he ended up being known for You know some other stuff man who says who, betty in some of the drama. Didn't he also play Phantom of the Opera in the West?
Speaker 1:and he did. Actually, that's true, he did play Phantom of the Opera. Forgot about that. So I mean imagine being him. He's. I'm sure he probably went and studied at the best drama school. He's probably a triple threat, right he can act he can sing, he can dance You know all of that and then he ends up on some mothers do have them doing that ridiculous accent and the whole the catchphrase.
Speaker 1:You know he's basically What's his name, ricky Gervais. In what's the show? is it having a laugh? he's basically that character And somehow he's a superman, a superhero in this film. I don't, i don't get it, but it's a bit of fun. I think I think it's worth just saying as well, just quickly watch it on YouTube. I'm not sure I'd commit the time to watching the entire film.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. Just watch that sequence. Well, my friend this has been fun. Good job, good job. Watch out for those kangaroos.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, do you know what? before we do wrap it up, i do just want to acknowledge and say thank you to everybody who's been posting on their Instagram stories that you know photos of them listening to our episodes in the car Although make sure you keep both hands on the wheel when you're taking photos while you're driving and the wonderful comments we're getting and the DMs that the people send. It's really. It's really really encouraging, and we do want to keep bringing you guys this content because we enjoy it, we love I mean, we love these conversations. I'm sure James wakes up in the morning and thinks I can't believe I have to do this. To be honest, i really wanted to go to bed right before this started, but it's been the absolute highlight of my day. So I hope I hope you guys can tell how much we enjoy doing this when you listen to it and hopefully you get a bit of that out of it too.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Thanks for checking in, guys. See you in the next episode. Take care, guys. Bye.
