I Thought I’d Have an AT-Only License for Life About a year and a half ago, I removed the AT-only restriction from my license. When I first got my driver’s license at 18, I thought, “I’ll never drive a manual car in my life, so AT-only is totally fine.” I never imagined a day like this would come… it was beyond my wildest dreams back then. The reason I decided to remove the AT restriction...
Actual Best and Worst Fuel Efficiency of the Panamera The Panamera’s fuel efficiency can’t really be called good. It’s no surprise, given it moves nearly a 2-ton giant. Maybe my driving skills aren’t great either… With lots of city driving, frequent stops at traffic lights, and heavy traffic, the fuel efficiency just keeps dropping. I don’t know about the new Panamera, but for the 2016 Panamera Edition, it’s roughly around 7 to 8 km/l. Sometimes,...
My Limited Perspective When I was a student traveling abroad, I was surprised to realize that what’s common sense in Japan can be nonsense overseas. I remember my first trip to Australia. In Japan, I thought
There Aren’t Many Women Who Love Cars I feel like the number of car enthusiasts is shrinking every year. The phrase “young people drifting away from cars” is often heard, and more cars nowadays prioritize practicality and fuel efficiency over driving pleasure. In such a world, a “woman who loves cars” is quite a rare breed… so it’s not often I meet a woman who truly shares my passion for cars. In my daily work,...
Panamera vs S-Class One day, I suddenly wondered. “The Panamera is such a great car, so why do so many people buy the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the same class?” Recently, on a TV program featuring motor journalist Goro Okazaki, Porsche Japan’s president Shigemiki Shichigoshi mentioned “The new Panamera is selling very well.” So compared to the 970, the 971 Panamera might be gaining popularity. Still, on the streets, I see the S-Class overwhelmingly more often,...
パナメーラ（970）の年間維持費を計算してみました - ガソリン代、オイル交換・補充、タイヤ交換、自動車税、車検費用など…やはりそれなりにかかります…！
Car Preferences = Ideal Type of Woman? My husband once said, “Men’s taste in cars and the type of women they like often match quite a bit. Based on my own statistics so far, it’s a pretty reliable observation.” I’d never heard that before, but when I asked, “What about people who like Ferraris?” he replied, “They’re all about looks and love flashy things. For them, cars are part of their fashion. So they tend...
Money Matters Since becoming a working adult, I’ve faced a financial crunch for certain reasons. Those days were truly tough every single day. There were even days when I didn’t have enough money for transportation to a work meeting the next day. When I searched every corner of the apartment I lived in alone at the time, I found a few unused Nintendo DS consoles and games. Since there was no Mercari back then, I...
If you’re not satisfied with minivans… Many people end up changing cars when they have kids or their family grows. I often meet people who used to say things like “Driving is so much fun” or “The engine sound is amazing”, but a few years later, they’ve completely changed and say things like “Minivans can carry so much stuff! They’re super convenient!”. If you genuinely want a minivan or a one-box car and are happy...
Panamera Line Yesterday, I had work in Kyoto, so I headed there in the Panamera. It’s long been said that “Kyoto gets insanely congested on the 5th and 10th of the month,” and sure enough, yesterday was no exception with traffic jammed everywhere. Although I was able to cruise relatively smoothly on the highway, it ended up being a drive where I didn’t even tap into 5% of the Panamera’s power. (Oh, right — I...
