MIKE'S 928
1981 Porsche 928 Home
The 1980's brought some very iconic cars to the market!
Lamborghini had the Countach, Ferrari came out with the Model 308 in the late 70's and Porsche had the 928.
Just about every "car" kid back then had posters on the bedroom wall of these cars right next to their Farrah Faucet swimsuit poster. (Personally I had a Raquel Welsh 1 Million BC poster)
I saw my first Porsche 928 in 1977 as a high school senior in Car 'n Driver magazine, the year it came to America. For me it was love and lust at the same time. Even my doctor owned a beautiful black one. I remember driving to my local Porsche dealership in Monroeville PA to gaze at the lineup of 928's on their lot. At 19 years old unfortunately they never allowed me to test drive one. I knew I would one day own one!
It came out to mixed reviews although it was named "Car of the year", I recall one automotive writer saying that the styling was if somebody studied a drop of Marvel Mystery Oil and modified it to hold people. Others said it was a Pacer in drag. I didn't care. I was in love. Love blinds you to all deficiencies in your partner sometimes.
Well I did own one many years later. In 1996 I bought a 1984 guards red automatic beauty. She had a top speed of about 160mph, of which I only got it up to 158mph on a trip my wife and I were taking to the beach. Kudo's to the person I was racing with; A big fearless biker on a huge Harley! It was fun until a State Cop traveling the opposite way on the highway flashed his headlights at us to slow down.
She was my pride and joy. I polished it almost every day and carried a spray bottle of Mequires "Prep and Shine" for in between wash days. I loved the smell of the leather every time I slid inside the car.
I had it for a few years. Sadly I learned that almost anyone can afford to buy a used Porsche 928, but the cost of repairs and maintenance are a killer. I could do some of the work myself, but some stuff was beyond me at the time such as water pumps, timing belts, torque tubes, etc. As an example, a speed bump cracked open my magnesium oil pan. Part cost? $300 back in 1996 or about $566 in 2022. My shifter handle cracked and needed replaced. Only $500 ($966 today) will get you another. The car was a limited production car that was almost entirely hand assembled.
From 1977 until 1995 (almost 20 years) they only produced 61,056 units. To put this into perspective Toyota, from 1980 to 1995 built and sold about 15 MILLION Corollas!!
The Nissan Rogue sold more units in the last 3 (2019 -2021) years than the entire 20 year production run of the 928.
How many Porsche 928's do you see on the highway, in parking lots and driveways. Not many. I always get excited when I see one on the road in nice condition. And a little sad when I find one in disrepair. I've seen one with a tree growing out of the engine compartment. Now how long has that been sitting there?
My Poster! >>>
Since the late 80's up until about 2011 I have always been self employed. I owned a small software company that did vertical market work for Municipal governments. Remember, back then was the beginning of the computer revolution and we were writing code for water bills, per capita tax, real estate tax, garbage billing, etc. and training employees how to use them. It was fun and it was profitable. Then I got into a direct sales company. Bad move. Funds dried up and I had to say goodbye to my 928.
Lamborghini had the Countach, Ferrari came out with the Model 308 in the late 70's and Porsche had the 928.
Just about every "car" kid back then had posters on the bedroom wall of these cars right next to their Farrah Faucet swimsuit poster. (Personally I had a Raquel Welsh 1 Million BC poster)
I saw my first Porsche 928 in 1977 as a high school senior in Car 'n Driver magazine, the year it came to America. For me it was love and lust at the same time. Even my doctor owned a beautiful black one. I remember driving to my local Porsche dealership in Monroeville PA to gaze at the lineup of 928's on their lot. At 19 years old unfortunately they never allowed me to test drive one. I knew I would one day own one!
It came out to mixed reviews although it was named "Car of the year", I recall one automotive writer saying that the styling was if somebody studied a drop of Marvel Mystery Oil and modified it to hold people. Others said it was a Pacer in drag. I didn't care. I was in love. Love blinds you to all deficiencies in your partner sometimes.
Well I did own one many years later. In 1996 I bought a 1984 guards red automatic beauty. She had a top speed of about 160mph, of which I only got it up to 158mph on a trip my wife and I were taking to the beach. Kudo's to the person I was racing with; A big fearless biker on a huge Harley! It was fun until a State Cop traveling the opposite way on the highway flashed his headlights at us to slow down.
She was my pride and joy. I polished it almost every day and carried a spray bottle of Mequires "Prep and Shine" for in between wash days. I loved the smell of the leather every time I slid inside the car.
I had it for a few years. Sadly I learned that almost anyone can afford to buy a used Porsche 928, but the cost of repairs and maintenance are a killer. I could do some of the work myself, but some stuff was beyond me at the time such as water pumps, timing belts, torque tubes, etc. As an example, a speed bump cracked open my magnesium oil pan. Part cost? $300 back in 1996 or about $566 in 2022. My shifter handle cracked and needed replaced. Only $500 ($966 today) will get you another. The car was a limited production car that was almost entirely hand assembled.
From 1977 until 1995 (almost 20 years) they only produced 61,056 units. To put this into perspective Toyota, from 1980 to 1995 built and sold about 15 MILLION Corollas!!
The Nissan Rogue sold more units in the last 3 (2019 -2021) years than the entire 20 year production run of the 928.
How many Porsche 928's do you see on the highway, in parking lots and driveways. Not many. I always get excited when I see one on the road in nice condition. And a little sad when I find one in disrepair. I've seen one with a tree growing out of the engine compartment. Now how long has that been sitting there?
My Poster! >>>
Since the late 80's up until about 2011 I have always been self employed. I owned a small software company that did vertical market work for Municipal governments. Remember, back then was the beginning of the computer revolution and we were writing code for water bills, per capita tax, real estate tax, garbage billing, etc. and training employees how to use them. It was fun and it was profitable. Then I got into a direct sales company. Bad move. Funds dried up and I had to say goodbye to my 928.