Let’s Take Photos of Porsches

Before coming to San Francisco, I had already decided, “I’m going to take photos of Porsches driving around San Francisco.” So whenever I spotted one, I’d get my camera ready, snap pictures with my iPhone, or ask my husband, “Porsche, Porsche! Please!” to take photos for me. But I quickly realized that photographing Porsches (including those parked) while we were driving was much harder than I expected, haha.

Since I wasn’t always ready with the camera, sometimes other cars in adjacent lanes blocked the view, or the Porsche would speed off just before the light turned red… So actually, we saw about ten times more Porsches than the photos we managed to take, but only a few made it into the frame. What a shame… (So what exactly did we come to San Francisco for?)

Porsche Scene in San Francisco

Here’s my personal take on the Porsche scene in San Francisco.

① About 80% Are Cayenne and Macan

SUVs seem to be very popular in the U.S. — nearly 40% of the approximately 17.2 million cars sold in America in 2017 were compact or midsize crossover SUVs. I saw plenty of Toyota and Honda SUVs, as well as Jeep, Chevrolet, Ford, and BMW SUVs. In San Francisco, drivers often squeezed into tight gaps (and many didn’t use turn signals) and came very close to other cars, so I felt that SUVs with higher seating positions would be easier to drive.

Plus, SUVs have larger trunks, so you can easily load huge cartons of milk or cereal from the supermarket without any trouble. And Americans tend to be tall and broad-shouldered. I guess if you eat that many burgers and snacks every day (which are super tasty, by the way), you’d end up that way. For that build, a regular sedan might feel cramped. So, among Porsches, most of the ones on the road were Cayennes or Macans. (It might be different in New York, though.)

② Few New Model Porsches

Even if the Macan was mostly the current model, many Cayennes, 911s, Boxsters, and Caymans were older models. There were lots of second-generation Cayennes (since the new model just came out, these count as the previous generation), and many first-generation Cayennes too. As for the 718 series, I only saw one 718 Cayman in downtown San Francisco and none else. For 911s, the 996 generation was quite common.

However, there seemed to be a higher proportion of new Panameras compared to other Porsche models. By the way, Tesla is very common in the U.S., and from a distance, their side and rear profiles resemble the new Panamera, so many times when I got ready to take a photo, I’d realize, “Oh, it’s a Tesla!”

③ Mostly White, Black, and Silver

In Europe, Porsches often come in bright colors—red, blue, yellow, green, or customized body colors that really stand out. But in San Francisco, most Porsches I saw were white, black, or silver. (The Macan was an exception, with more blue ones.) This wasn’t just for Porsches; other cars were also rarely colorful. I wonder why. It felt similar to the Porsche colors you see in Japan.