Looking Back on the Porsche Blog

The year 2021 is coming to an end. Every year I feel, “Time really flies,” but this year felt both long and short… it was a strange year.

Since this will be the last article I write this year, I want to take a moment to reflect on everything since I started this blog.

Many of you may already know, but this Porsche blog was launched because of my deep love for the Panamera.

At the time, we had a 970 Panamera Edition at home, and every time I drove it, I praised it so much that my husband said:

If you love the Panamera that much, why not write a blog about it?

Taking that lightly, I decided to give it a try.

That’s why the blog’s domain is “panamera-life.”

Looking back now, I wish I had chosen “porsche-life,” but back then, I never imagined the blog would grow this much.

Actually, after launching the blog, there was a period of several months when I hardly updated it. This was because as the traffic increased, I started receiving messages and comments from car experts.

I felt, “I’m a complete novice when it comes to cars, and I’m just writing because I love the Panamera, but now I don’t even know what to write anymore.”

So I stopped writing for a while.

However, even during that time, the traffic barely dropped, which made me think, “If I really put my heart into this, it could develop into something interesting.” With my husband’s help, we started running the blog together, and here we are today.

Test Drive Car of the Year

This year, we tried something new by starting a Twitter Space.

Every Saturday at 9 PM for about an hour, my husband and I chat casually like a radio show about our family’s car life.

At first, we wondered, “What could we possibly talk about for a whole hour?” but once we start, the time flies by, and lately, we’ve even run out of time to cover everything, haha.

This year, my husband test drove about 35 cars, including those from acquaintances, blog readers, and dealers (some of which haven’t been written about on the blog):

BMW M5
Cayman GT4 (718)
911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet (991.1)
911 Targa 4S (991.1)
New Toyota Harrier
Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid (971)
911 Carrera (991.1)
BMW Alpina D5S
356 Speedster
BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe
Panamera GTS (970)
Panamera GTS (971)
Boxster Spyder (981)
Cayman (718)
911S (1967 Narrow Porsche)
Spyder (718)
911 Targa 4 (992)
911 Carrera S Cabriolet (991.1)
Macan GTS
MINI Cooper D
Boxster GTS (981, PDK)
Taycan
Macan Turbo
Jaguar XKR
Porsche 356
Abarth 595C
911 Turbo S (992)
Panamera 4 E-Hybrid (971)

Thank you all so much.

Yesterday was the last Space of the year, and my husband announced his personal pick for “Test Drive Car of the Year,” chosen based on his love of driving, touring, and the fun and comfort of the ride.

He said, “They’re all amazing, so it was a close call!” but in the end, he chose the 981 Boxster Spyder.

本日もスペース、有難うございました！年内最後のスペースということで、今年夫が試乗させていただいた車、約35台のうち、楽しさや乗り心地という視点で夫が選んだ「試乗カー・オブ・ザ・イヤー」は、981ボクスタースパイダーでした！有難うございました！ pic.twitter.com/8V94KfVeYV

— Mina-ポルシェがわが家にやってきた (@Mina_Panamera) December 25, 2021

It really is an incredible classic!

Thank you to the owners who let us drive their cars. And to everyone who has enjoyed listening every week, thank you so much for a wonderful year.

This year, the blog’s influence gradually grew, and it made us think deeply about how we communicate. More than ever, we’ve become careful about word choice and fact-checking.

My husband often says he’s not an automotive journalist who borrows cars from manufacturers to review, but that because this is a personal blog, he wants to write honest opinions. That said,

“Everyone has their own taste in cars, and every car has its unique features and charm. I just hope to write in a way that doesn’t upset owners of these cars around the country, while sharing my own personal views.”

Still, we’re amateurs and sometimes make mistakes. When pointed out, we reflect and think, “I should have written it this way instead,” and continue learning as we run this blog day by day.

Just yesterday, when my husband happened to drive up the Royu Driveway, he met an owner of a 996 GT3 for the first time and told him about the blog. That owner said:

Are you the person who writes that blog?
Actually, my car-loving father was a huge fan and used to check it daily, eagerly waiting for updates.
Sadly, he passed away recently, but he often sent me links saying, “This was written about!” with a big smile. I’m glad to meet you.

We haven’t been updating as much as before lately, but hearing that really warmed my heart.

The fact that our blog, which we run while saying “this way or that way,” has become a quiet daily joy for someone is truly wonderful.

I wonder if yesterday’s encounter was a connection brought about by the father watching from heaven.

To all the car friends my husband met this year, everyone we met at Royu, those who joined us on tours, the dealers, and especially H-san, our thoughtful Porsche dealer representative—thank you all so much for this past year.

Next year, I’m thinking of visiting Royu more often myself, so please continue to support “Welcome Home, PORSCHE” in 2022.

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year.