Getting the Hang of the Manual Boxster GTS

The other day, my husband asked, “Haven’t you completely forgotten to write Part 3 of ‘The Day I Finally Get the Hang of Driving the Boxster GTS (Manual)’?” He had a point. When I checked the date of my last article, it was July 17… (-_-) And if I haven’t written about it since then, that means I haven’t driven the Boxster since then, either.

On the days I practice driving the Boxster, I think, “Right! I’m going to keep working at this!” And I mean it. But when I mentioned that to my husband, he said:

Why not? Driving a manual Boxster is incredibly fun. Kazuo Shimizu was saying the other day, “A Porsche really has to be a manual. Once you can drive one, you can drive all the classic Porsches, too. It’s the best!”

I know, I know. I get it in my head, but… (-_-)

The truth is, I once failed to get the Boxster moving on a hill and ended up stopped in the middle of the road with my hazard lights on. That experience left me with a bit of a driving trauma, and I just can’t picture myself driving that Boxster. It feels like being told to climb Everest right now—a challenge that seems impossibly far beyond me. (Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic.) So, if I’m honest, I’m not exactly bursting with motivation to master the Boxster.

Then my husband added:

“And you’ve got a Boxster and a legendary Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) sitting there, ready to drive whenever you want. What a waste! (T_T)”

“Look, I’ve got two little kids, and I’m already scrambling every day to keep up with housework, parenting, the blog, and my own job. I can’t also spend my days off going for drives! (`Д´)” I argued. Still, I imagine that to people who love driving and cars, my current situation—having a pair of classics at home and barely driving them—must seem unthinkable.

A Porsche Evangelist?

As I’ve mentioned briefly on the blog before, I do enjoy driving. I’ll even make a three-hour drive to Yonago for work, and I love having a car for everyday life. But I’m not quite like my husband, who’s eager to “get up early on a day off and go for a drive!” or “head out on a long road trip during the holidays.”

So even when the kids are older and I have more free time, I don’t think I’ll necessarily spend it touring around. That made me feel a little sad. Maybe, by most people’s standards, I shouldn’t even call myself a car enthusiast.

But then again…

When it comes to my enthusiasm for blogging, even I’m impressed. I’m always brimming with things I want to write about Porsche, and I’m hoping to launch my “Porsche Owners File” series soon, sharing real stories from Porsche owners. Just thinking about it gets me excited. So it’s not that I’m uninterested in cars—in fact, I’m fascinated by them.

So how should I describe my love of cars?

After thinking it over, I realized I’m the type who’s less “into cars” in general and more intensely fascinated by Porsche as a brand. (What kind of type is that?) I’ve written before about how the new Cayenne is built and the 911’s history and evolution. The more I learn, the more I find myself thinking, “Porsche makes incredible cars!” and “What a wonderful company!” I want to know more and more about Porsche, and my curiosity just keeps growing.

And when I drive the Panamera after learning about the Cayenne factory or the 911’s history, I appreciate the Panamera even more. Every drive brings a fresh sense of wonder. Sharing those discoveries on the blog, then hearing from readers through their comments and messages, makes it all the more interesting and fun.

…So what do you call that? A Porsche evangelist, maybe? (笑) Whatever the label, I guess it’s still pretty niche.

As I write this, I realize that I’m the sort of person who gets interested in a car by learning more about it. Maybe if I started from scratch and explored the Boxster’s history and how it’s made, I’d feel more like getting behind the wheel… (Though I don’t have to force myself to drive it.)

Maybe I’ll do a little research on the Boxster. (￣ー￣)