Was filling my gas tank yesterday when I heard a commotion and a couple guys yelling behind me. When I turned around I found they were yelling at me. I looked under my car to check for gas pouring out, but it was dry. They were yelling about me putting gas in my engine. One of them said the gas goes in the back. I told them to relax, I was putting it in the tank. Then they started arguing with me.when I showed them the tank and the engine they were amazed at my skills for moving the engine to the middle. They just refused to believe it came that way. Less than a mile away, I made another stop and someone in the parking lot asked if that top came off. I simply said yes. as he was walking around the car he said "that's a karman ghia right"? I was gonna just say yes but he saw the hood badge and said "oh, it's a Porsche, no it's not! You just stuck the emblem on there". I just walked off. I've been dealing with this crap for 40 years. Why can't people just mind their own business? If every guy who's told me his best friend had one in college really had one there would have been two million made. Now I'm not adverse to talking about my car, but at least ask a real question and stop lying. Had one guy tell me he used to do frame off restorations to them in the 70's. Huh? Go away dude.

Yeah, I like showing the engine to interested folks who have no idea about this car. Pop the hood, oops, no engine here Wait, that's right, it is a Porsche, so the engines in the back. Pop the trunk, hey! Where is it?

Gets em' every time...

you're talking about your Fiat, right?

A week ago I was filling up and an attractive young lady in an SUV at the pump next to me asked,

"is that a trunk?"

I said yes and pointed to the rear lid and said "this is also a trunk."

She got this puzzled look on her face and said, "where's the engine?"

I told her, "it's a pedal car."

Now she's really puzzled and says, "huh?"

Showed her where the engine was and she grinned and thanked me for the tour.

These guys are drowning in the shallow end of the gene pool.

I always go for Fiat electric.

Most people say "I used to have one when..." But for the few it's a Fiat.

How I read your post...



That is a way more fun story!

Well, you do live in Oklahoma...

Your location says it all.. the only questions I get at gas stations are in regards to whether its a 4 or a 6..

Apperantly Californians are "slightly" more educated. Not by much though.

Funny storys and it sounds like some of the ones I get especially the ones "I use to have one of those." When I was restoring mine a few years ago there was a guy who was looking at the house next door because it was for sale. He came over and was watching me for a minute and asked "hey is that a 1914." I just looked at him and said yeeaahhh.

Did you really just say that? We have schools and colleges here too ya know. Sounds like you are the uneducated one. I'm the first one to laugh at an okie joke, but that was just offensive. Not funny at all.

That by no means was meant to be offensive. Hence the "not by much" statement.

Everyone knows that people from Indiana are the smartest

A beautiful day, crusin' with the top off...stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross at an intersection. He gave a nod my way...then...'Is that a fourteen or a sixteen?'... ...hadn't heard it put that way before. I smiled...

Misinformation about a car that is misunderstood. It goes with ownership...enjoy!

Ha! I've done that trick too. Told one guy it's a a new kind of car that doesn't use an engine. Just a a battery. He believed it!

And, I agree about the numbers issue and have made that same comment too: since less than 120,000 total were made, and every other person I meet says they used to own one.... clearly Porsche was lying about the production numbers. By my calculations, Porsche made roughly 137 million of them.

banjo schools don't count.



I kid--my whole family are Okies.

Lighten up. Obviously the spelling of apperantly should have tipped you off to the spoof.

I was at a gas station filling up not long ago when a beat up truck pulls in next to me and the guys yells out the window, "Ya need help? I'm a mechanic."

Remember when they used to be called 'service stations'?

now THAT is funny!!

When someone asks a stupid question, or makes a dumbass remark about the car I ALWAYS politely educate them about the 914. If a dumbass remark is answered with a smartass answer, that makes two dumbasses.

In OK they don't believe you, in CA they are suspicious and in OR they flat out ignore you. But, we also have gas attendants that pumped our gas unlike the rest of you uneducated primates

I always though that dumbass + smartass = zero. They cancel each other out.

...What do you expect,from "humanoids?"

It's awkward when people ask if it a convertible,

"kind of, its a targa"
"so the whole the whole roof comes off?"
"...ya..."

10yrs go when I bought my current 914 I had small water leak by the lower windshield frame area when it would rain / wash the 914. An older guy in the neighbor hood stopped by while out for his walk and said he had on of those back in the day. Asked what I was doing and I told him I had a water leak when it rains and just trying to see if I could trace where it was coming in at.

He told me to check my heater core

My wife an I once purchased 2 bags of peat moss. One up front one in the rear. We stopped at the store for beer on the way back. I will never forget the look a woman gave me. She did a classic double take. Where is the motor? Fun stuff. I really don't remember hearing many stupid comments. mostly curious and approving stuff

Took mine out today and much to my surprise I got a lot of love from 911 owners. Even when my car died on the side of the rode I had some 911 guys stop and ask if they could help. People are really starting to appreciate the 914. Also a lady walked around my car for about twenty minutes. Had to get it home on a flat bed though.

Last car show I went to I opened only the engine lid to eliminate the hassle of explaining. Next one I'm only opening the front and rear trunks.

CA DMV workers had me pop the front trunk for vehicle transfer registration...I had a silent chuckle when I realized they wanted to see the engine.

This is nothing new. It has been happening for years. There is even an episode of the original Hawaii 50 where a woman is driving a 914 and it breaks down. The next scene shows the mechanic in the front trunk telling her that the carburetor is bad.


Years ago, a whole group of 914s got together to go to Austin from DFW for a tour down there. We had stopped for gas, and this woman in a pickup looked at the car and said "I got one of those in the shed behind the house. It's just down the road." Everyone started thinking "Original six" or "916" so we all had to follow her to her place.

This is what we found:

Click to view attachment



At one time Betty and I kept a running total of the number of incorrect guesses at the type of car we were driving. We stopped when we reached 100 wrong guesses.


I still laugh when Betty tells about the kid who walked around her car at an AX. First he looked in the front, and didn't see the motor. Then he looked in the back and didn't see the motor. So he asked her where the motor was...

Her response: "I knew I forgot something this morning."

I thought because we've got teeners it meant we could take a joke...

I thought about making a big fake hamster wheel. Sticking a young kid in there as I drove around town with them jogging in the wheel . Yell at them to go faster when people were close

I would KILL for a hamster wheel on my car for Halloween!!!

I used to have a big red wind-up key that I stuck on the back of my car at autocrosses... have to find that sucker again.

When we stopped counting the number of guesses years ago, "Hey, is that a Fiat?" was in the lead. Running a distant second was "Hey, is that an MG?".

You are going to need a bunch of kids if you want to autocross.

And here I always thought that if someone had to pump your gas for you that you were the uneducated one... turns out they just don't trust you

Most of the folks I've encountered usually ask if it's a six (more so when I had the Triad dual outlet muffler) ... or if I want to sell it.

As for Californians, I think they've just seen more of these cars around, so they have a pretty good idea what they are


... and as for 'kids' spelling skills these days (any state in the union) ... most of them text and don't know what the fuch a vowel is anyway

I got tired of being asked what sort of Lotus is it, so did this

Probably closer to the truth

I'm gonna use that one.

That's why it has three pedals.

I was talking to a guy at a pub recently who said he owned MGs during his younger days. Later in the conversaion I said that I owned two 914s and he responded with "aren't those cars junk?" I looked at him like WTF dude, you just insulted me and my cars, and he said "no, really, aren't they junk?"

What an A-Hole!

Somebody once asked me, "Is that a Miata?".

Reply: "No, it's faster and handles better."

Yeah, I was going to say something similar about MGs but didn't want to offend anyone here who may own one. I also didn't say anything to the guy but was thinking "really, you say that after admitting you owned British MG crap!"

I try not to diss any car or owner/group. I used to collect VWs. Talk about junk cars! Seriously, I wish I had some of the VWs I used to own. I would be much richer! I know guys who collect Geo Metros. Most marques have their fans. Who am I to say what anyone else should enjoy.

There are many 911 folks who poo poo the 914, but I also know many 911 and 356 owners who also own 914s.

Actually, I only know about my GT.

I have always been fond of the MGA's and Midgets.

John

I refer to all british cars as "frilly crap" - which is prety funny if you know me/know where I spend most of my free time!!

Victoria's Secret??