Cars – Page 2 – James M. Day

A Day with the Porsche

The time has flown since I purchased my Porsche Boxster on June 26, 2019. In the two months since then, I have greatly enjoyed driving and also just looking at the thing, to be honest. I drive it to work on sunny days and have taken the Boxster on a few short trips.

But in that period I haven’t taken the time to do some of the basic things you’d do with a new car. I added only one radio station to the ones preset by the dealership and didn’t activate the satellite radio. I hadn’t paired my mobile phone with the car. I hadn’t changed any of the default settings on the displays or configured its optional features. I hadn’t even taken the Porsche on an extended drive just because. I barely tested the Sport mode. Although I actually did RTFM.

So on August 26, exactly two months after bringing the Porsche Boxster home, I decided to devote the day to getting to know my car.

MINI JCW Coupe vs. Porsche Boxster

If you know me or have browsed my website, you’ll already know that my most recent previous car (in addition to my older MINI Cooper) was a MINI John Cooper Works Coupe. While I like the sporty, yet practical, hatchback MINI Cooper, I have always preferred the two-seat sportscar. I don’t have a family or the need to haul many people or large items. This preference is why I bought the MINI Coupe in 2011 and the Porsche Boxster this year (2019). Despite the Porsche being a convertible, the two cars have several similarities. Continue reading MINI JCW Coupe vs. Porsche Boxster

My Porsche Boxster

After I bought my loft in December 2017, I began thinking about buying a new car. After researching the new car market, including MINI, I decided that nothing in my price range really interested me. Since the time I was a kid, I have always wanted to own a Porsche. So, about a year ago I started doing some research on the Porsche Cayman. The reviews of the car were excellent and I decided to try to find a recent (Generation 3 or 981 in Porsche-speak) with low miles. I had one requirement: the car had to have a 6-speed manual transmission.

In early June I spotted a 2015 Porsche Cayman in white with low miles that seemed perfect. But it was an automatic. I decided to go have a look at it at Porsche South Orlando and maybe test-drive it. Maybe it would change my mind. When I arrived, someone was just taking it out, so I went inside to speak to a salesman. I gave him my preferred specifications and he told me about a 2013 Porsche Boxster with a manual transmission that had just been sold to the dealership. Did I want to have a look? I hadn’t really considered a Boxster, which is the convertible version of the Cayman, but I thought it was worth viewing. So I followed him up to the large parking garage at the back of the building.

Classic Minis in Classic Literature

My favorite type of writing is the spoof or satire using humor, probably acquired through my reading of Mark Twain, P. G. Wodehouse, and Douglas Adams. Plus, I’m a natural-born smart-ass. Thus, much of my creative writing is reactionary or a reworking of something existing.

For one of the MINI Cooper websites I contribute to, I started a series called “Classic Minis in Classic Literature” where I rewrite (re-summarize) classic novels to incorporate a classic Mini (the 1959-2000 version) into the plot. The idea was inspired by the 2009 bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, only replacing zombies with Minis.

In addition to the fun writing, I also reworked an iconic book cover for the revised story. For some books, this was the bigger challenge with my self-taught graphic editing skills, but also enjoyable to create.

I might write more but here are the first nine. Continue reading Classic Minis in Classic Literature