Excuse me while I wipe away the vomit

Just saw a new Porsche Panamera in the flesh, almost upchucked my McMuffin. It is worse looking that the Jaguar 2 plus 2 E Type. Exterior is huge, the rear end looks like a bloated toad and the interior is full gagues, gadgets, chrome and fake looking wood trim. Sitting next to a VW Passat, the P-Car made the Passat look like a Jetta in size. Porsche's attempt to make a 4dr sports car looks like Cinderella's coach at 12:05am. Ferrari was on the right track when it made a 2dr sedan (1987 Ferrari 412) that would have looked just as good with 4 doors as it did with two. If Porsche wanted to make a family car with guts they should have designed a sedan with twin turbos for sake of Porsche power and left the sports car styling alone.

I couldn't agree more.

Speaking of ugly cars, here's a photo of a new Nissan 370Z convertible. I thought the rear end of a 350Z was ugly, but this is worse!
Ron

Haven't seen one live yet, but why is everybody saying "the pictures don't do it justice"?

Is it because a sow is a sow, no matter how clean or what dress they're wearing?

My favorite people hauler is a Maserati Quattroporte from the 70s, they rock.

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I like this car. I've seen one but haven't gotten inside one or driven one yet.
I don't think it's supposed to be a sports car. I believe it's classified as a luxury sedan. That said 500hp (516 lb ft) and a 0-60 of 4 secs isn't anything to sneeze at: them there is bad-ass Porsche numbers for sure.
As is always the case, car companies have to pay the bills (even my beloved Ferrari has made a few blunders, which I will never cop to).
I'm hoping Porsche comes up with a racing version for the DTM series.

Hey RonO! I think the 350/370Z cars are pretty neat. I like the fact that they have rounded lines, not unlike a 356, which distinguishes their resulting product from most of the squared-off slab-sided look-alike stuff out there. To be sure, the Audi TT carried it off much better, but I appreciate the effort.
Hoss

Mickey, what do the numbers mean if the packaging induce vomit?

Saw the pictures in magazines and on the web a while back.

Hated it.

Finally saw one "in the flesh" at the Hilton Head Concours in November.

WOW! What a difference in person.

Sorry, Nolan, but I can't agree. WAY better looking in person than in print. I can no longer afford one of these as in the working days, but if I could, I just might spring for one. The lines are smooth, the interior is well finished and when sitting in the driver's seat everything is right where you expect it to be.

It would be a tough decision between an Audi and one of these, but either one would be one hell of a lot of fun....

gn

I like the Panamera.
The photos I've seen of the coupe version are impressive as well.
928 revisited.

I think I'd like to see one in real life. There are angles of it that intrigue me, and others that are somewhere between uninspired and just plain boring. Then again, bulbous as$ and all, I quite like the 928 (make mine a late GT please).

Alot of people bag on Caymans. I think they are beautiful, truly a lovely rear on that car. Alot of people bag on the Cayenne. It is pretty big and I can't help but think that VW makes pretty much the same thing for less money, but in turbo form, it sounds great and goes like stink. I consider it "acceptable.

The Ferrari 412? One of the worst styling exercises to ever come out of Italy. I can't believe anyone allowed a Ferrari badge to go on that nasty thing. I suspect that Ferrari owners everywhere carry a can of rattle spray paint to obscure that shameful detail. 412 and Mondial - gag. Seriously, did someone fall and strike their head? How the hell could those have been made in the same era as the 308? Both of them look like an exercise in plywood from the 8th grade woodshop class.

For four-door uber fast luxury cars, it's pretty hard to get past the Aston Martin Rapide. Absolutely viciously sexy four door.

Make a porsche at 500 hp and equal torque that looks like that and baby, I suspect we are all in...

angela

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

That said, I recently saw a Fisker Karma in the flesh, up close and personal. It's also a four door sedan. Happens to be a plug-n hybrid too. I don't know if the pictures do it justice, but this is one bea-u-ti-ful vehicle! http://karma.fiskerautomotive.com/gallery/index

I owned two 928s; an '80 and an '81.
I loved everything about both, minus the $500/mo. I had to spend to keep them in pitch and tune. They were lovely GT cars.
This thing doesn't have the family genes, to look at it. It looks Japanese to me.

But Cory! Look at the nose- doesn't it say "911" to you? ;)

I think that perhaps the Panamera is an answer to a question nobody asked. Perhaps, "Hey! Why doesn't we mate a 911 with an '82 Chevy Citation, and put a Cayenne engine in it?".

FWIW, Angela hit the nail on the head. The Rapide is the car Porsche should have been trying to hit- and I really like how the Cayman looks.

Cory,
When I was driving Porsche test cars from Ann Arbor MI, back to CA, I loved driving 928's They were unbelievably comfortable and I could drive between gas stops without getting fatigued. I loved those cars but, they had their flaws.

Ah, the 928, fell in love with them after watching the Dern/Fonda movie about "middle aged crazy's". Just something about it says "excitement". Maybe I was off base with the Ferrari 412 but the thought of a 12 cylinder Ferrari engine under the hood of a sedate looking sedan has me looking for that smart ass kid in his Honda with the big fart can hanging under his bumper. Aston Martin makes beautiful cars, 2 or 4 doors, it doesn't make any difference. As for "eye of the beholder" some people bought Edsels, Pacers and Yugos.

David - The Karma SHOULD look gorgeous. Henrik Fisker was a chief designer at Aston Martin until he formed his own company doing high-dollar rebodies to finance development of the Karma. The coupe and roadster concept based on the Karma are automotive sex at its best.

I saw the Panamera introduced at Laguna Seca Raceway during the Monterey Historics. Not a bad looking car in person IMHO. I have never considered myself a good critic of car design, but I would drive one if they gave it to me. The leather interior smelled so good it was intoxicating.

They had a few up here again just before Christmas...plus some of both their and VW's SUV and some huge 911 variants abd I mean huge. The rear ends of these cars were so fricken wide. They were heavily disguised but were 911's none the less. All black...the only colour were the yellow calipers. Stiil didn't like the looks of the new P car still, perhpas it'll grow on me. I still like the new Lotus as one of the best looking newer cars. That and the Alfa.

Lane - AUTOMOTIVE SEX! - now that reminds me of the time . . . .

Porsche Cayman........a 911 killer so bad that Porsche won't put the big motor in it. The 911 has got to be the big dog even if it is not anymore. Think of a GT3 motor in a Cayman. Mid engine = better balance.

Very happy car.........one day after the IM-6 build I will own one for sure.

As for the Panamera Porsche scrapped the 4 door idea once in 1963 IMHO they already had a four door in the Cayanne so why build another one? They are selling well though........;-)

Lane, maybe a new thread is calling "The smallest car I ever........

DASH SEX...per Webster's: noun, verb: Endless hours contorted up under a speedster wiring a dash.