It’s 2026. The automotive world rolls on and I’m interested in knowing… what are you driving?
Most of you got here via SaabsUnited, the website I ran back when Saab was still a going concern. I’m guessing that while some will still have a Saab (or two), most won’t.
So what’s driving your automotive interest now? Pun fully intended.
I’ve had a semi-deliberate hiatus from the online automotive world for a few years now. Back in the SU days, and in the early days of this site, I was in a good earning, two-income household with minimal debt and plenty of parking space. I could indulge my automotive interests with very few restrictions. And I did, again and again and again. That world changed in 2015 when a) I moved to Sweden to work for Koenigsegg, and b) that marriage broke up (the two circumstances were not related).
Since then, while I’ve had a couple of interesting vehicles – most notably an RS Megane (below) and my Alfa Giulietta – cars have been a bit on the backburner. I didn’t want an online automotive life to consume me the way it did in the SU days, and being at Koenigsegg quenched much of my interest, anyway.
My current circumstances are very different to 10+ years ago. I’m now in a one-salary world, busily trying to build a second, and we have just one parking space in our apartment building. Indulgence has to blend with practicality. It matters if the stupid car I bought breaks down now.
But I do miss it. The online side of things will not be allowed to get so big again, but sharing this interest with friends around the world has always been a joy. I’d like to keep that flame burning.
Saab is Gone. Long Live Saab!
I couldn’t write Saab is dead. Because it isn’t, right? I’ve seen it first-hand and I know many of you have, too: The Spirit of Saab is alive and well.
But the bankruptcy did happen. And while I know a few peeps who’ve maintained/expanded their fleet, I also know many who’ve moved to explore other brands.
There’s no judgement here, by the way. I’ve been exploring other brands for 15 years. I love cars. I love what they’ve meant to me, and what they’ve meant for the world in terms of mobility, independence, exploration and achievement. I loved Saabs most of all – I still do, and will have one again some day – but as SE Hinton wrote way back when: that was then and this is now.
So…. what are you driving?
Have you maintained your Saab fleet?
Did you move to the other Swede (and I don’t mean Koenigsegg)?
Have you changed tack entirely and sought comfort in something other than a 4-banger turbo hatchback?
Have you taught yourself how to wrench so you can maintain your weekend Miata/Integra/Golf/Insertnamehere?
Have you gone (cue theatrical Beelzebub voice……) electric?
This is the car I affectionately refer to as The Croissant – a cheap reference to its French heritage, I know.
We bought the car in October 2024. So what is it?
Officially, this is a DS Automobiles DS5 2.0 HDI Sport Anniversary. Let’s decipher that.
2.0 HDI refers to its diesel engine. Yes, I bought my first diesel. The Sport bit refers to the fact that it’s the higher 180hp model, with a full 400 torques. And the ‘Anniversary’ bit refers to the fact that it’s a 2015 model that celebrates the 70th anniversary of the original car that the brand is named for – the Citroen DS.
DS Automobiles is Citroen’s attempt at a Lexus. Or Inifiniti. Acura. Genesis. Or whatever ‘premium’ brand you’d like to come up with in relation to a mainstream brand.
The modern DS line of vehicles entered Citroen’s lexicon around 2009 and the brand was spun off under its own name in 2015. Hence, my 2015 model is badged as a DS on the front and rear, where earlier DS5’s feature Citroen’s original double chevrons.
DS Automobiles started with a bang. They sold as amany as 120,000 cars in just their third year. That was largely on the back of the small DS3 compact hatch. Sized similar to a modern Mini, the DS3 won a bunch of awards at launch, and still looks pretty good today. It was actually the DS3 that first got me interested in the brand. They were easy to spot in Sweden, and came in a very sporting DS3 Racing variant – designed to celebrate Citroen’s rally success of the era – complete with funky suspension, bigger brakes, a body kit and a BMW-derived 200hp engine similar to contemporary Minis of the time.
DS5 Design
The DS5 was reasonably well received at launch for its avant-garde styling and its generous equipment levels.
The front end tends to polarise opinion, but I hope you agree that overall, this is a pretty handsome thing. The rear three-quarter view is my favourite. it has a stance to it that gives it a sense of intention. It’s not full-on sporty, but it’s definitely forward-facing. If that makes sense.
And while the brand name might be retro, the design is the complete opposite. We live a world full of homogenated design, where legislation threatens to make all cars a similar shape. So many 3-box sedans and SUV’s look similar to their competition. The shapes are the same. Only the faces are different. You can’t accuse the DS5 of looking like anything other than a DS5.
The styling is very modern, inside and out. It’s not as iconic as the original DS. Nothing is. But it’s definitely distinctive.
Modernity continues on the inside. There’s a touch of elegance with the leather ‘watchband’ seats. The rest of the cabin is quite Star Trek. There are plenty of angles in the console, the cluster, and the overhead controls. Even the buttons have an angular sharkstooth thing going on.
DS5 Equipment
The DS brand is Citroen trying to break into a more upmarket category. It makes sense, then, that they include plenty of goodies to lure people in. And they do. My DS5 was pretty much the flagship of what they were offering at the time and it comes with:
Those gorgeous ‘watchband’ leather seats, which are electrified, heated, have memory and massaging
Denon hi-fi system, including subwoofer
Laminated double-layer side windows – it’s pretty quiet in there
Heads-up display
Blind spot monitoring
Rain-sensing wipers
Auto stop/start
6-speed auto with manual shifting
Cruise control with speed limiting
Power everything except tailgate
Keyless entry, start and keyless locking (just run your finger over a notch in the door handle as you walk away)
Glass moonroof with electric screening inside
Full climate control
Bluetooth, DAB, Aux, USB, iPod control (but not Carplay)
Factory Satellite Navigation (that’s rather crappy by today’s standards).
Chilled glovebox
Directional headlamps – just like the original DS!
Lots of beautifully textured materials inside – leather cluster surround, patterned materials around shifter, etc
Driving the DS5
The DS5 was less well received because of a relatively harsh ride – very un-DS-like – thanks to a chassis deriving from Citroen’s less luxurious family hauler catalogue.
I can attest.
Citroen took the initial criticism of the DS5 on board and completely re-tuned the suspension for the 2015 model year. People say that the 2015 model rides much better than its predecessor when equipped with its standard 18-inch wheels. Unfortunately, the guy who bought my example specced the bigger 19-inch wheels and their lower profile tyres, which completely negated the work done on the mechanical bits to make the ride smoother.
While the acceleration in my 180hp model is adequate, the steering is not keen. The car might look contemporary and sporting, but the driving experience isn’t, sadly. It’s comfortable and you’ve got all the gadgets you’ll ever need, but don’t look to take this car canyon carving.
What it excels at, though, is effortless cruising. Fill the spacious rear hatch with all your gear, hit the highway, and you’ll get 1000kms per tank of diesel all day long.
This was one of my priorities when we arrived back in Australia. We’re 2,000kms away from my family and, potentially, many hundreds of kilometers away from clients I might serve. I have to be able to carry my gear and cover long distances economically and in some comfort.
The DS5 does this pretty well.
DS5 Reliability
Let the mocking commence. Are you done? OK.
We’ve had some things to do on our DS5, it’s true. And because we’ve taken it to its original dealer to get work done, it’s been expensive. Half of that work is routine maintenance – servicing, front and rear brakes, etc. But we’ve also had to do a few annoying things, too.
Air Conditioning condenser. Not cheap.
Battery control module. Not crazy, but not cheap.
And while brakes are consumables, its highly recommended you always do discs and pads together (as with many modern cars). So that ends up at around $1000 per end at dealer prices.
All up, we’ve spent around $5k on getting work done this year. And we’ve still got more to go. Next week, I’ll be booking it in to get a wheel bearing, CV boot and a NOx sensor replaced. (We’re going non-dealer for this work. The dealer wanted $1500 for the Nox sensor alone. I picked one up for $130).
It’s been OK, really. While French car companies are ridiculed sometimes for having lots of engineers but none of them electrical engineers, our electrics have been 100% fine. Likewise, the mechanicals. No parts aside from the aircon and BCM have just given up randomly. The issues that happened are mainly 10-year-old car issues.
It’s just a pain that we copped them rather than the previous (initial) owner.
Conclusion
You can get a DS5 pretty cheap here in Australia. We paid $12K, which in Australia’s post-Covid car market, is pretty good. The maintenance costs I’ve just mentioned, as well as Citroen leaving Australian shores a few years ago and a general underappreciation for the marque, are the main reasons why they’re pretty affordable. It’s a LOT of car for the money and when all is well, which is 99% of the time, it’s excellent.
That 1% can be expensive, though.
We’re a little wary of more surprises bobbing their heads up in the next 12 months. We have only one car, and only one full-time salary at the moment. As good as the croissant is for the vast majority of the time, I think we need to cut our losses.
So once the CV boot, wheel bearing and Nox sensor are done – all are required for a roadworthy certificate here – the croissant will go in the display cabinet and be offered for sale.
It’s only my second French car, and my first diesel. It’s added to my vehicular experiences in a positive way. And for that, I’m thankful.
We’re still a little restricted by circumstance from getting something else way more interesting potentially flawed, so I think we might have to aim for something a bit more reliable. But hopefully also a bit more intentional.
Nobody feels bad for Nicolas Maduro today. The guy’s a jerk and nobody’s crying over him experiencing some consequences for his jerkery. But don’t get upset if people are, indeed, crying today. Metaphically, I mean.
Because this is not how things are meant to be done in a modern, civil, rules-based society.
The Seizing of Maduro
The US employed some precision bombing in Caracas in the middle of the night, cover for a special operations team that siezed Maduro and his wife, and spirited them away in choppers to an awaiting plane. He was then flown to New York, where he now sits waiting for a trial.
Kudos to the US military planners and soldiers for getting in and out with what sounds like minimal casualties on either side. It was impressive work – quite likely assisted from the inside – that in no way justifies its origins.
This incursion follows weeks of US military build-up in the area, and the bombing of suspected drug boats. The US administration provided no proof that those boats were carrying drugs. Not once did they try to sieze a boat, confiscate what was on board and try the crew in a court of law. They just bombed them (and bombed them again if the first bomb didn’t kill everyone on board).
This is not how things are meant to be done in a modern, civil, rules-based society.
The Reason
Officially, this is about ‘Narcoterrorism’. I hadn’t heard the word before the US used it in relation to Maduro, but it’s use actually dates back to the 1980s. Back then, it was used to describe the actions of rogues like Pablo Escobar, who’s looking sad, below.
Escobar had so much money from manufacturing drugs that he could fund his own army to intimidate the Colombian police, and eventually, the Colombian government. He committed acts of extreme violence within Colombia with one hand to show his strength and intimidate the government forces charged with stopping him. With the other hand, he provided some community goods/services, to buy the loyalty of the people. This combination of drug finances and a belief system that demonised the government trying to stop him forms the genesis of the term narcoterrorism that’s being bandied about today.
Modern Narcoterrorists have included groups like Al Queda, ISIS, and FARC. They’re groups that have a core ideological cause that they’re willing to support with violence, and they’re willing to overlook any moral conflicts that their cause might have with very marketable drugs that can finance their terrorist activities. The end justifies the means.
Regular drug manufacturers have not often been labelled narcoterrorists, except by the governments they’ve attacked as they try to protect their operations. To Escobar, the Colombian population was one to be terrorised or protected in accordance with his own ends. The American population was his personal ATM. To whatever law-abiding offices existed within the Colombian government at the time, he was a narcoterrorist. To the US government, he was just another drug dealer.
But all this is just fluff and bluster anyway. The narcoterrorism charges and the trial that will follow are really just a pretense for what this is actually all about.
“You heard me, I would take the oil,” he said. “I would not leave Iraq and let Iran take the oil.”
Reason 1 is that Venezuela has the largest confirmed oil reserves on earth. More than the Saudis, even. And because the country is such a clusterf&@k after years of ineffective government, Trump thinks that it’s OK to go in and sieze those operations. He’s even justified it as taking back something that was stolen from the USA after Venezuela nationalised their oil production – expelling US producers from their fields – back in the 1970s.
Kicking out the US producers that built a lot of your oil infrustructure was a shitty thing to do. It cost the Venezuelan people billions of dollars in growth and social services. But it wasn’t a breach of international law.
Flying in, siezing a recognised Head of State* and saying you’re going to take over another country’s resources IS a breach of international law.
And that’s not how you act in a modern, civil, rules based society.
(* Maduro was not legitimately elected. But he was recognised as the guy on the ground you had to deal with there and he did have the levers of power to control. Put it this way: Maduro was a Head of State in the same way that Putin is.)
Reason 2 was outlined in the US Administration’s recently published National Security Strategy. The US has changed its posture, no longer counting China and Russia as primary threats to its national security. Where post-war alliances were fundamentally about values-based democracies, economic cooperation, and the rule of law, the focus is now on spheres of influence – being in charge of your own backyard. Might is Right. As long as your business doesn’t conflict with my business, do as you wish in your neighbourhood. Five families stuff, capisce?
Thus, Russia can likely have Ukraine as far as Washington’s concerned. And we’ll wait and see how important Taiwan really is, I guess (esp if Americans can finally manufacture all their own chips). The US will take firmer control of the Americas.
It’s going to be a smaller pond, but Donald’s going to be a much bigger fish.
So Who Cares?
Those metaphorically crying people that I mentioned at the start of this piece. They’ll care. Those who believe that the post-war order was a workable, successful framework for lasting peace and prosperity.
Before the 20th century world wars, people would go to war over just about anything. Men would charge up hills with their shields and swords and pummel each other to death. It was hell, but it was hell on a smaller scale. Nuclear weapons changed the game.
Leaders saw, after the first and second world war, that things HAD to change. The increased destruction possible with modern, mechanised weaponry meant that the world was now in severe jeopardy. The loss of life would not be confined to villages, or cities with medieval-scale populations. We were now talking about the firepower to wipe out modern cities/nations and all of their infrastructure. And left unchecked, some fool would eventually do it. Someone still might.
Leaders created the League of Nations in 1920 to promote peace and international cooperation, but it was a flawed model and without some critical adherents, it failed. With the development and use of nuclear weapons in WWII, there was a renewed effort, leading to the United Nations we know today. It established a framework for a rules-based international legal system designed to promote cooperation between nations, prevent war, enhance economic development and humanitarian assistance.
You might think me naive for believing in it. But I do. The UN isn’t perfect, but it’s done a hell of a lot of good in its time. And it was/is a good start in preventing the spread and scale of war.
With his actions in Venezuela, Donald Trump has potentially planted a final dagger in the UN’s back.
How Do We Read Into The Future?
People might pooh-pooh me for this – especially in the US – and that’s OK. You have your inside view. This is a common outside view.
For just over a year now, the current US administration has made it increasingly clear that the post-WWII order is on its last legs. The order that brought so much to world. It brought economic prosperity to some of the darkest corners of the planet. It brought a greater understanding of world cultures. It brought better health outcomes in less fortunate nations. It restricted nuclear proliferation thanks to a framework that de-escalated conflicts.
The Trump Administration has repeatedly shit all over the allies and friends that the US built up over 8 decades. Between tarriffs and security threats, those who’ve given decades in partnership to the USA are now being sidelined. Some might say it’s just a Trump thing, but how is anyone supposed to trust America again? Half your voting population responds to this. Who’s going to commit decades of cooperation and spending in the future to an administration that’s a) so corruptable, and b) something that could turn in the blink of an eye?
The post-WWII order was not perfect, but it rewarded rules-based international law and democracy, in all their various forms. It fostered peace and cooperation in an era where we now have enough weaponry to blow the planet up several times over. That’s no small thing. It was consistent, and predictable. It should have been subject to tweaking and recalibrating for changed circumstances, for sure, but the arc of history is a long one, and the future holds plenty of potential for course corrections.
Some questions and thoughts to finish.
Now that the American president has seen something he liked in a smaller country, and taken it, what separates America from Russia?
Now that historical alliances and agreements are SO questionable, and a signal has been sent to powerful countries that they can bully less powerful ones, how far will non-nuclear countries go to develop their own nuclear defence industries?
And how much closer to nuclear conflict does such expansion and increased tension bring us?
Breaking trust is breaking trust. It takes decades of cooperation to build, and only moments to fracture. With this move against one country, the Trump administration has fractured decades of trust built by dozens of countries.
I had real thoughts of not renewing my web hosting service a few months ago. The site’s theme was no longer supported. I’d had break-ins. Hosting keeps getting more and more expensive. And we’ve been so busy that I just don’t get time to write here (I still do some writing. See below), let alone re-design the website on a clean, secure platform (which I had to do this morning).
And then there’s the question of whether or not I should write about the worst president in all history, and the way he makes one of the best countries in the world look like a barrel of monkeys. The burnout on that one is very real. He’s your problem to fix, but you should know that from the outside, he and his cronies are making you look like a fucking joke. And I never rarely swear here.
But I did renew the site. I wanted to renew. Swadeology has always been important to me, both as a way to get my thoughts out there, and as a way to keep in touch with some people in far away places.
So here we are. I guess a minor update is in order….
Where Are We?
Caro and I left Sweden in September 2024, which is both good and not-so-good. I’m happy that we’re home in Australia because this is where we want to be in the long run. But I’m also a little sad because Sweden is like a second home to me, and I miss it a lot. I was back at Koenigsegg when we left, too, and that place is always, always hard to leave.
So we’re back in Brisbane. We got lucky finding a lovely new apartment building in an inner-west suburb called Indooroopilly. The Swedish market was dead flat for the 2 years we were there, while the Australian market went up by around 25%. We lost a fair bit of our purchasing power in those two years. But we convinced a bank to give us a mortgage and got back into the Australian property market, which we’re extremely thankful for.
It’s great to back in Brisvegas – home of the 2032 Olympic Games. We’re not legally obliged to say that every time we refer to Brisbane, but it won’t be long before we are. Three of the four seasons here are great (summer is too humid for human habitation). The city’s looking beautiful and growing at a rate of knots. It’s actually out-pricing Melbourne right now. Ouch.
What Are We Doing?
Our main reason for returning what so that Caro could resume her old job. She was in a position where she either had to return to Australia and resume her duties, or resign her job completely. Returning made the most sense.
It also means that I’m 80% unemployed. I’m still doing some writing work for Koenigsegg but that’s mostly around the annual magazine, which doesn’t occupy that much of my year. So 80% of my time now involves me growing my own small business.
I’ve spent far too much money on camera gear over the last 10 years, so I decided to put my camera to use. I’m doing photo work centered around architects, builders, interior designers, etc, which I absolutely love. I’ve long had an interest in the built environment, so it was an easy fit.
The difference between a good amateur and a professional is speed and repeatability. I’m still developing both. I’m yet to master the finer points of finishing an image, and I’m a looooong way off having enough clients to replace a salary. But I’m getting there.
We’re also parenting a cat. This is Freddie – a superb new addition to the Wahoo clan.
What Am I Driving?
Now that’s an interesting question. I’m going to take some photos and do a write-up soon.
It’s French. I got fascinated by them while in Sweden, so when one came up for sale just after we’d landed in Brisbane, I couldn’t help myself. We’ve had it for just over a year and spent far too much money catching up on foregone maintenance (I can hear Mats laughing from here). I think it’ll be leaving soon.
After a slight hiatus over the last few years, I’m getting more and more interested in what I drive again. The need for character and intention is returning, and lots of thoughts are forming as to how I can fulfil those needs. I still have a LOT of cars on the bucket list.
I’m also interested in what you’re driving, especially as we’re now 14 years on from The Bankruptcy.
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I can’t believe I’m saying this as I was in my mid-30s when I started blogging….. but we’re commencing a 5-year countdown to retirement! My goodness, how did I/you ever get that old?
We know where we want to live, and how. We just have to make it happen.
I like to think this website will still be kicking along when that happens. As I said, this outlet’s always been very important to me as a two-way communication tool. I’ll just have to make sure the content is more interesting than this, which I will.
For now, I just wanted to say Hi, check in, and re-familiarise myself with this place.
I hope you’re all doing wonderfully well. And I hope you have a cracking 2026 to come!
The new Jaguar launched its new Type 00 Concept in Miami today. Thankfully, we still have an internet as there were zero androgynous models in sight.
(To be fair, I think the models might have made an appearance if the kerfuffle of the last two weeks hadn’t turned out the way it did. But that’s neither here nor there.)
The new car was shown in two bold new colours – London Blue and Miami Pink – yet another signal of Jaguar’s determination to shatter some expectations.
Here you go….
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The outside
“As if a Tesla Cybertruck humped a Rolls Royce Spectre”, to paraphrase one comment I heard. And it’s a little bit true.
That’s not so say I don’t like it, though.
I do. I really do.
We all need to keep in mind that this is a concept. The first car that Jaguar will release in a couple of years from now is actually a 4-door GT car, so while it’ll take some styling cues from this concept, it’s not going to be this concept. Jaguar insist that they wouldn’t make a concept unless it was close to reality, but let’s see how close the new cars are to this, when they arrive.
As a styling exercise and an indication of what’s to come, I think they’ve kicked some goals here.
It has presence. And attitude. It looks confident. Strong.
Jaguars need to look strong, I think. The last 10-15 years have seen their best cars look strong, at the expense of the rest of the range. The R and R-S models carried a confidence and strength fitting for the brand. The standard models, sadly, did not. The Jaguars we people-of-a-certain-age grew up with – Jaguars from the 60s, 70s and 80s – carried their confidence in a form of stately poise and elegance.
I think this new Type 00 has that, but with an edge. On the exterior, at least.
I’d like to echo Harry Metcalf’s thoughts on Jaguar’s intended audience for this car. It’s size and boldness – to me – scream US and China. Not necessarily in that order. And while Harry’s a little down on their chances of success due to the dampening of the Chinese market, specifically, and the dampened state of EV sales, generally, I disagree. I think that a few years of development and some maturing in the market will give Jaguar a better-than-even chance of success – IF THE PRODUCT IS GOOD. The eternal caveat.
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The Inside
Noting that, once again, this is a concept, the interior is where the new Jaguar and I part ways.
The Macquarie Dictionary’s Word Of The Year is ‘enshittification’.
“The gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.”
I’d like to argue that the trend towards screen-only interiors is part of the enshittification of what should be enthusiast automobiles.
I’ve been waiting for a company to buck the trend and restore some elegance – and function-oriented manual controls – to a car interior. There have been several studies into vehicle UI and how much better a set of good controls are, compared to screens. Thus, I had very high hopes for this Jaguar on the inside.
Sadly, no. It’s been enshittified.
Those flat bits at the front of the ‘dashboard’ rotate upwards to provide two wide screens, one either side of the center column.
I hope the real car has something different, but I think I’m pushing uphill on that one.
It’s very disappointing. Now that the novelty of Tesla’s iPad interior is over, I figured the industry might return to a more UI-friendly position. Sadly, it seems like the industry is still in love with a) the cheap cost of screens compared to good manual controls, and b) the fancy pictures and patterns they can put on them.
The screens look like they could be 100% real and carried over into the car.
The rest of the interior – not so much. It features Travertine, for goodness sake! Are they really going to put stone into a car?
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The Future
I love the exterior.
I don’t love the interior.
I like the boldness of Jaguar to go for this hard reset, and make a new future for itself. It’s trajectory was not good. Something had to give. They might still fail and be gone in 5 years, but at least they have a chance, and they’re not going to die wondering. And I’m glad Tata, the parent company, has given them the space to do it.
There’s been plenty of concern in the Jaguar community (and waaaaaaaaaaay more stupidity outside of it) about Jaguar’s decision to leave its heritage behind.
At the Type 00 launch in Miami, Jaguar’s Chief Creative Officer, Gerry McGovern, said:
Jaguar has no desire to be loved by everybody. [Type 00] has already stirred emotions, and it will continue to. Some may love it now. Some may love it later. Some may never love it. And that’s OK. That’s what fearless creativity does. This is the original essence of Jaguar, and for me, it’s been an honour lead the creative reimagining of this great British brand.”
I have a feeling that with time, more people are going to return to Jaguar than the ferocity of the last few weeks would have us believe. Again, if the product is good, and the brand is strong, it will carry the name well.
I don’t agree with the popular proposition that the company is willing people to leave. Not at all. This is not a middle finger to Jag’s traditional base, IMHO. I think they’d like to carry as many Jaguar fans with them as they can. They’re just not willing to be held hostage by them. Some see that as reckless (because it is, a little). Others see it as courageous (again, because it is).
The physical footprint and the visual language of this Type 00 concept gives me some hope.
It’s early in the morning of December 2nd as I write this in Australia. Around 1pm in Miami on December 1st.
Right now in Miami, there’s a bunch of very nervous Jaguar executives awaiting a new vehicle reveal on Monday December 2nd that will either crown, or cut the throat of, the ambitious Jaguar re-brand launched a few weeks ago.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks (completely understandable, given the US election results), Jaguar launched a teaser video and some pictures a few weeks ago. They show a re-branded Jaguar with an avant-garde eye towards the future.
Watch this:
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Sign O The Times
My guess is that Jaguar conceived this campaign a couple of years ago – these things take time, after all – when the world was a slightly more tolerant place. They probably didn’t know (but maybe should have suspected, at least) that there might be a renewed focus on culture wars as we got closer to a contentious US election – and their launch date. The pearl clutching leading up to November was extraordinary, which perhaps didn’t bode well for Jaguar.
Indeed, if you’ve been following the reactions since this Jaguar teaser launched a few weeks ago, you’ll know what’s happened. There’s been plenty of doom forecasting, a reasonable amount of outrage, a not-insignificant amount of MAGA-inspired vitriol (Faguar! fight! fight! fight!), and some small pockets of positivity.
Personally speaking, my immediate reaction was similar to some of yours, I’m sure. I was VERY surprised on first seeing it, somewhat sceptical, and a bit sad.
I wasn’t taken aback by the artistic nature of things: the colours, the androgyny. That doesn’t bother me at all. But….
That feeling of loss
What sparked my initial reaction was the stark contrast with Jaguar’s past.
I even wrote a note to a mate in the UK, expressing my condolences. He’s a multiple Jaguar owner and, I would say, part of that ‘best of British’ cohort. An appreciator of engineering, quality, history and tradition. A guy who bought his cars for a reason. He’s the type of guy Jaguar (and Saab) relied upon for sales for some time. I wrote to him because I figured that, like me, this campaign would have come as a shock. And perhaps it might lead to a departure. I think the jury’s still out on that one, which is fair enough.
Jaguar’s is a past that I feel invested in, too.
Jaguar was my first automotive love. My Dad gave me some XJ6 brochures when I was a kid and I used to pore over them like nothing else. I sat in class at school, drawing the XJ6 from every profile (and while I can’t draw to save my life, I got these perfect – in my memory, at least!). And long-suffering long-time readers of this site might remember that one of my most lusted after cars on my occasional ‘want’ lists is an XJ6 with a V8 transplant (sacre-bleu!!).
I finally got to indulge my Jag-lust in 2016, when I bought a beautiful XJR in Sweden:
So yes, I felt a pang of doubt when the Jaguar re-brand was launched. I’ll admit it.
The Case For The Reset
Personally speaking, I’ve given this whole episode a lot of thought, and my pangs have subsided.
I highly recommend you listen to that clip (and to that pod, in general. It’s brilliant.) But for those who didn’t….
As much as we might like the whole tradition-mahogany-leather-whiskey persona of Jags past, not enough people buy Jaguars.
The company made some legendary vehicles in the middle of the 20th century, and they’ve made some very good vehicles since, but they’ve also had some quality problems and they’ve never reached the sales heights of their German counterparts. Never ever. And they’ve rarely ever been profitable.
Jaguar – like Saab, I’d like to suggest – have constantly been victims of both their own successes and their small size. Their successes show the potential that’s there if they really had an opportunity, but their small size and a lack of willingness in others to invest in them means they’ve never really had the chance to show more. In Saab’s case, it was fatal.
Jaguar, it seems, has one more roll of the dice. The three options, as Porter puts it, are:
1. More of the same – why bother?
2. Shut the whole thing down – can you imagine the outcry? Saab fans have lived through this.
3. Try something radical. A hard reset – which is what we’ve got here.
So… What now?
Miami. December 2nd. The big reveal.
Jaguar will show their new electric concept in Miami and it’s said to bear a fair resemblance to the production car that’s due in 2026.
This is the car industry, and it all comes down to product in the end. Not advertising. Not teasers.
EVERYTHING will come down to the market reaction to that car. If they make it and people buy it, then the company lives. If people don’t buy it, the company dies, which is the trajectory they were probably on, anyway. And the one thing that Jaguar has learned over a long period of time is that their old clientele, on its own, can’t sustain it. They need a different, and much bigger audience.
The one thing nobody can deny is that there’s going to be a LOT more eyeballs on this vehicle launch than what there might have been otherwise. And from that measurement alone, the Jaguar re-brand has, so far, been a success.
Again, aping Porter, while this campaign might not be the way I’d have gone, I don’t mind it and I’m hopeful for Jaguar.
The world is better with Jaguar in it. The company has a history of bringing an element of class, elegance and refinement. They can be both cutting edge and traditional. They’ve torn up the rulebook more than once in the past. Now they’re doing it again. And just between you and me, I don’t think it’s as big a leap as what some are portraying right now between elegant and avant-garde.
I wish Jaguar well and will be watching with interest.
The 2024 US election is eight months away as I write this and what a sorry story it is.
The blue corner….
A guy with an objectively admirable record of service and leadership over a long period of time. A few mistakes made, for sure. Afghanistan was a disaster and his backing of Israel to the full extent that he has is now looking unwise.
But the economy’s humming along – the Dow is up around 25% compared to when he took over – and things, generally speaking, are OK. His environmental leadership is admirable. He’s hampered by a ultra-conservative Supreme Court and a dysfunctional House, but he’s been a steady set of hands. America’s a better place right now because he won (quite legitimately) in 2020.
If only he wasn’t so damn old.
The red corner
A guy found responsible in a court for business fraud, for the sexual assault of a woman, and for the defamation of the same woman. A multi-time bankrupt. A guy who lost money on casinos! A man who lost the presidency, the house, the senate, who lost 60+ court cases related to the above, and who oversaw a woefully underperformed half-term campaign. A man accused of a) taking and hiding classified documents, b) paying off a pornstar to keep their encounter quiet, c) fomenting an insurrection, and d) conspiring with others to overturn the results of a democratic election. A guy who’s openly admitted that his legal strategy – as all innocent people would do, of course – is to delay court cases so that they fall after the election. That way he can either kill the cases as president, or pardon himself.
And he’s the one currently leading in some polls.
You should all know where my feelings fall on all this. I’m a bleeding heart lefty, after all.
I, and many like me, held some hope that the Americal legal system would hold Donald Trump accountable for his criminality. Quoting Dr King, I do believe ‘that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice’. Trump counts on extending the arc’s length, using it to escape justice by becoming president and shutting cases down from The Oval.
Any hope we lefties had of the courts doing their duty in a timely manner is diminishing.
The January 6 case
The Supreme Court declined Jack Smith’s request to hear Trump’s immunity appeal a few months ago. Now they want to hear it ….. in a few months time. If they’d come to this (inevitable) conclusion when Smith initially asked, we’d likely have a decision on the matter already. Now, they won’t begin arguments until April, which means a trial before Judge Chutkan won’t start until June, at the earliest. Probably even later. That delay that could see the American people unable to hear full evidence in court as to whether one of their candidates attempted to commit a giant electoral fraud against them.
I’m not going to say the Supreme Court is biased in favour of him. All I’ll say is that this smells, and not in a good way.
The classified documents case
In the classified documents case, Judge Cannon in Florida seems disinclined to get to trial, too. She’s taking motion after motion, offering stay after stay. She had a scheduling hearing last week that resulted in…. no schedule. Confidence is not running high.
The election subversion case (Georgia)
This case has been side-tracked by an enquiry into the Prosecutor, Fani Willis, and her relationship with one of her assistants, Nathan Wade (no relation).
This is part of the delay strategy. It doesn’t matter whether there’s any smoke there. The presence of fire doesn’t matter. Only the delay matters.
The paying-off-a-porn-star case
This is the only case proceeding to trial at this point, with jury selection beginning in late March. It’s good that it’s going ahead, and while descriptions of the presidential phallis are entertaining, this is probably the least impactful of the four cases Trump is facing. It shouldn’t be. There are 34 charges and they’re important. But ‘important’ is not how the media is covering this case right now. Hopefully that changes when the case begins in a few weeks.
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The Media
The media (mostly) seems to be failing to meet the moment.
Followers of British politics may know that the BBC went through a time in the last five years where it insisted in allowing both sides of an argument to be given equal air time. That’s fair enough when it’s a legitimate debate that explores nuance. When one side of that debate is just outright bullshit, and the bullshitters are just exploiting your insistence on ‘fairness’, then something’s wrong.
…. the former head of Breitbart News and chief strategist for Donald Trump. “The Democrats don’t matter,” Bannon reportedly said in 2018. “The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.”
Media outlets need to have the backbone to call a spade a spade.
But we can’t wait on them to do so.
——
The stakes
My American friends, the result of this election is in your hands.
If you’re planning to vote for Trump, then I wish you well but don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.
If, on the other hand, you’re concerned about putting a would-be demagogue in charge of the economy, global peace, the nuclear codes, etc – regardless of whether you’re normally a Republican or a Democrat – then it’s up to you. Trump is preparing right now to argue before the highest court in the land that, as president, he should be immune from prosecution for anything he does in office.
Read that last sentence again and pause. Think about it.
Think about what we already know about the guy and what he would do with immunity in his utility belt.
He’s smitten with dictators. He’s OK with sexual assault (more than OK, actually). Read up on how the Christian Nationalist movement is backing him and understand that Roe/Dobbs is just the beginning. He’s dedicated to his own enrichment and bent on punishing anyone who opposes him. The only thing that matters is power and he’ll run over anyone, any institution, any issue, to get it, grow it and keep it.
He’ll appease Putin and hand over Ukraine. That will not end anything. It’ll only move Russia’s ambitions closer to Nato’s borders and the potential for global conflict will move with it.
A Palestinian solution will be off the table. Voters unhappy with Joe Biden for not doing enough to help people in Gaza will find no friend in Trump.
Donald Trump has voiced explicit backing for Israel’s war on Gaza, suggesting that he supports the goal expressed by the hardline government in Tel Aviv of continuing the assault until “total victory”.
Asked if he is “on board” with the way Israel was “taking the fight to Gaza”, the frontrunner for the Republican US presidential nomination responded: “You’ve got to finish the problem”.
Trump is oblivious to the historical fact that appeasing oppressors just leads to more oppression. Secretly, I think he’d like to be one of the oppressors, and he may just get the opportunity.
If he’s allowed to.
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(Some of) the issues
If you care about the women in your life, their reproductive rights or just their rights in general, then think carefully about who you vote for.
If you care about the preservation of your country’s democratic institutions, then think carefully about who you vote for.
If you care about the separation between church and state, then think carefully about who you vote for.
If you care about global peace and agree that we’re all better off when working together rather than fighting – and you understand that appeasing oppressors is just delaying a fight, not avoiding it – then think carefully about who you vote for.
If you care about climate change and its consquences, then think carefully about who you vote for.
If you care about maintaining an economy that’s growing, that protects its middle class, provides a pathway for those who are struggling and produces enough GDP to maintain the social services a modern nation needs, then think carefully about who you vote for.
If you care about truth and fairness, then think carefully about who you vote for.
If you value the work of the press – the real, genuine and critical work of investigative journalism and the truth-telling that comes from it – then think carefully about who you vote for.
——
The conclusion
The courts are not going to put Trump out of the race.
The media’s not going to put Trump out of the race.
Nobody’s coming to save the day.
The only way this is going to end is for Joe Biden to present a compelling case to the electorate on the issues and – importantly – for the electorate to respond, turn up and vote.
It’s up to YOU to install a responsible government in this race.
I don’t envy what you’re about to go through but this is what Benjamin Franklin was alluding to when he was questioned about what type of government the US would have – a monrachy or a republic?
“A republic, if you can keep it” was his response.
(And note: Benjamin Franklin was 81 when he said that. Not bad for an old guy.)
If you’re concerned by a candidate who’s already tried once to overturn the results of an election and interrupt the peaceful transition of power, one who’s currently arguing for presidential immunity, then VOTE.
I’d rather Joe’d been a one-term president, too, and let someone like Newsom or Whitmer rise to national leadership. But he didn’t. And he’s not a bad guy for it. His government has been transformational in a positive way. While he flubs a few words and isn’t going to win any athletic contests anymore, you don’t have to worry about whether Joe Biden is going to sell your country down the river. He’s not perfect. But he IS good.
I originally prepared this text about losing weight in your 50s for the benefit of a family member who asked me about my weight loss experience a few years ago. I was going to make a few dot points and send them via text but then I figured a fuller explanation might be more helpful.
Given that this website is occasionally visited by men-of-a-certain-age, I thought it might be helpful here, too.
Nothing is being sold here. I’m not holding myself out to be some sort of diet guru. This is just my story and how things worked out for me. Maybe it’ll be work for you, too.
Note:the photo at the top of this article is me at, or around, my heaviest. I reckon I’m about 125kg in that shot with Erik Carlsson, which was taken in 2011 or 2012, IIRC. I was a big boy.
—–
I turned 50 in 2020 and given the significant nature of the milestone, I dragged myself off to the local doctor for a full medical. Most things came back OK, but not everything. Most pressing was the fact that my cholesterol was too high. My doctor gave me two choices:
1. Go on cholesterol medication, which tends to be a rest-of-life thing from when you start taking it. Or….
2. Lose some weight.
I’m always averse to taking medications, if avoidable, so I figured it would be a win-win to try and shed some kilos.
I weighed 115kg at the time of my check-up. It’s not the heaviest I’ve been in my life but it was not a comfortable weight, either. I tired easily, my clothes didn’t fit (and I love my shirts!), and I wasn’t sleeping well. I just didn’t feel good.
That was March 2020.
As of June 2021, I weighed in at 89.9kg. That’s 25kg off in 15 months. And my cholesterol count was no longer in the danger zone. As at the time of writing (Feb 2024), I’ve put on a couple of kilos, but am still firmly in the low 90s.
Below:A slimmer me, at 90kg, getting married to Caro in 2022
How did I do it?
There were no tricks, fad diets or shortcuts.
For me, it was sleep, diet and exercise.
Sleep
I’d known for a long time that I had sleep apnea. I went for an overnight test at a sleep clinic in Hobart around 2006 and the whole experience was terrible. They attached a massive harness full of sensors and cables to my head. It was thick and uncomfortable. I looked like a pasty-white and overweight Bob Marley. And they expected me to sleep with this Predator-like headpiece in a foreign bed?
No. The biggest ‘test’ involved in this exercise was actually getting to sleep.
Sleep tests have changed a lot since then. I got a referral from my GP and did my test through Air Liquide, which has offices all around Australia.
Pro tip
In Australia, when you consult your GP about doing a sleep test, the GP will ask you a bunch of questions. It’s a standard questionnaire used around the country and if you score enough on that, you get your sleep test for free!
The sleep test I did in 2020 involved a small diagnostic unit worn on the chest with seven small sensors on the skin. You do it at home. The test kit is easy to fit and it didn’t obstruct my nighttime movement at all.
Once you return the test kit, they’ll analyse the results and if you need a CPAP machine, they can sell you one.
I needed one. And I’m so glad I got one!!
I’ve always been a 6-hour sleeper. I still only get 6-7 hours a night, but now it’s usually uninterrupted, which makes a massive difference. Here’s a quick primer on why sleep is so important (SA Health govt site)
The machine cost me around $1600 but it’s been worth every cent.
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Diet
Diet was always going to be the hardest part for me. There was a time I was eating KFC for lunch 4-5 times a week. Sometimes that was topped off with BBQ Chicken for dinner at night. Or pizza. Or Indian. Plus a packet of chocolate biscuits. And maybe some potato chips. All in the same night. While drinking Coke.
Thankfully, by taking a long-term view and finding food combinations that worked for me, I’ve been able to establish a routine that seems to work.
The things I eat now
I don’t have a meal plan. I don’t eat the same things on set nights every week. All I’ve done is establish a small set of things I can count on to fill a hole at meal time. They’re tasty and they help me reduce the urge to snack.
Here are a few things I eat/drink now. They work for me. They might not work for you but the point is to find something that does.
Sugar-free drinks
Sugar is your enemy. And sugared drinks are killers when it comes to your health.
Sadly, even though I’m over 50, adult things like coffee and tea are not part of my life, so soft drinks (sodas to you Americans) are still a big part of my day. That meant lots of sugar intake. I used to drink at least three Cokes a day.
That’s now a thing of the past. While visiting an Aunt and Uncle in Melbourne back in 2020, I had a sugar-free lemon drink. It was good. And so began my affair with sugar-free drinks.
I now typically drink 7-Up Zero. There was a range of drinks back in Australia called Kirks which had a less hazardous sweetener in it. I might switch back to those when I return to Australia at the end of 2024. But for the moment, the important thing is getting off the sugar.
Pro tip
Make it sustainable to help make it work. Yes, fizzy drinks are a bit childish for a 50-something, but maintaining that link to something I liked makes it sustainable. Going cold turkey might have worked but for someone like me, it’s odds-on that it wouldn’t have. Do what’s good for you AND has the benefit of being sustainable.
Salads
Ha! Me eating a salad. What a laugh.
Some may laugh at my choice of salad. In fact, it’s referred to in our house as a ‘Bullshit Salad’. I don’t care. It works. And as with my pro tip, above, it makes things sustainable.
My salad consists of:
Oakleaf lettuce
Capsicum (that’s a red or green pepper for some of you non-Aussies)
Grated carrot
Sliced cucumber
Light shredded cheese
Bacon
Hey, they use bacon in a Ceaser salad. It’s a legitimate ingredient! And it’s not bad for you. Eating an entire pig is bad for you. A bit of bacon a few times a week is fine.
Steak and veg
Simple. A bit of well-cooked steak and a few veg.
Do the steak right (well seasoned, three minutes each side on high heat) and there’s nothing better.
OK. There’s a chance it gets eaten for meals other than breakfast. Guilty, your honour….
Others
I eat a bunch of other things, too. Stir fry, slow-cooked stuff, burritos, wraps, toasties, and more.
Some people are real foodies. Every meal is an event. That’s not me. A meal being an event is something reasonably rare for me. When it is, it’s OK to dig in. I enjoy the moment.
I just try to eat the ‘moment’ meals and other stuff according to the pro-tip below…..
Pro tip
‘Lagom’ is a Swedish word and, I believe, a Scandinavian principle that influences the Scandi outlook on life.
Lagom is the idea of having “enough”. Being satisfied. Enjoying things but not being greedy. It’s a philosophy that’s not so familiar in the Western media but it’s something that can be applied across broad slices of life. The size of your house. Your type of car. Your indulgence in….. many things. And of course, food.
Portion size is important. We’re often full well before we finish eating. We keep going because it tastes good, not because we need the energy input. Make up a smaller plate and see how you go.
Lagom.
Things I don’t eat anymore……
An entire box of cholcolate biscuits every night (TeeVee Snacks were my favourites).
A full bag of chips in one sitting.
Bread – not much, at least.
Pasta – not as much as I used to. But I still love it when I do.
Fast food – BBQ or fried chicken, sausage rolls, etc. I still love them. I just don’t feel like them much anymore.
There’s nothing wrong with any of these things in moderation. It’s just that, for me, it was really hard to eat them in moderation.
Have one (small) treat
Denying yourself absolutely everything is a recipe for misery, and ultimately, failure. In order to keep things sustainable, I used to allow myself one treat on a regular basis – Mint Slice biscuits. That was in Australia. Right now, I’m living in Sweden and my treat of choice is a Kex.
Your treat will be something else. Allow it. Just don’t overdo it. I have a treat every day and it keeps me happy. Being happy in moderation keeps me on track in other parts of the diet/exercise equation.
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Exercise
Disclaimer
I’m fortunate enough to work from home. I don’t have kids. I recognise that I have more flexibility to control my own schedule and fit my work in with my exercise goals.
You might not.
Having work commitments and having kids are geniune reasons why exercise might be difficult. Exercise takes time you might not have. The trick is to make sure those commitments don’t shift from being reasons to being excuses.
My exercise regime started pretty simple – I walked.
I started walking when I was living in Sweden between 2015 and 2019. I did a few kilometers at lunchtime, and around 5km once or twice a week.
I stopped walking when I first returned to Australia in 2019 but eventually started doing a similar routine – a few kilometers at lunchtime and a 4km walk a few times a week.
It took a little time to walk 4km at a brisk pace without getting tired. Yes, you might have to work your way up to it. That’s OK.
The key, for me, was to find a regular route. It might sound a little boring to walk the same one or two routes regularly but having a routine that you don’t have to think about makes it easier to keep doing it. I find variety in the things I observe, the people on the route, the podcasts I listen to along the way. A familiar route that’s near to work/home just makes things easier.
Today, I walk for an hour in the morning and I try to do an hour in the evening if I can, too.
Below:The start of my walking route in Brisbane. It makes it a lot easier to do everyday if the route is a) nearby, and b) as pleasant as this
I’d recommend your route be as flat as possible to start with. Hills can be an easy disincentive when you first start a walking regime. Walking briskly along a flat route will build up your conditioning and base-level fitness. Pick up some hills once you feel like you need a new challenge.
Or start running.
I live in Sweden right now and running isn’t really palatable for me, here. When I was back in Australia I ended up running three mornings a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I used the Nike Run Club app to keep track of my pace. It’s a good data record and it uses GPS to track your time, per-kilometer, giving your inner competitor something to tussle with.
I’d done a year or so of walking before I started running. I started with a 1500 meter run a few times a week. Then 2km. Then 3km. Just before moving to Sweden I was doing 5km per run, three times a week.
It can be done. It feels good.
The bonus with this type of activity is that you get your heart pumping. It’s OK to walk 10,000 steps a day but you’re spreading that out over a whole day. Doing a concentrated block of activity puts a little stress on your system, forcing your insides to adapt and stretch their capability. Don’t overdo it, but do it.
Everyone has different time available to them for exercise. As mentioned earlier, I can fit this in with my work schedule and still get everything done. It’s understandable if others can’t fit that in. Life today can be a bit crazy. Whatever you do, though, it’s better than doing nothing.
Pro tip
If you’re going to start running, invest in some proper running shoes and socks. They really do help. They don’t make you go faster but you’ll notice the difference in your joints when you finish. $260 is a lot of money for shoes (in my experience) but it’s money well spent.
Notes
Scales
Others may disagree, but for me, what gets measured gets done.
I weigh myself at the same time every day. I get up. I go for my walk/run. When I get home, I have a shower and then I weigh myself before breakfast.
You might think weighing in every day sounds a bit obsessive. It doesn’t feel that way to me. It gives me a day-to-day look at how I’m tracking. It allows me to see what effect my diet and exercise from the last few days has had.
If I’ve had a busy few days in terms of eating, I understand in real(ish) time what effect that has on me and can adjust in the coming days. Weighing in regularly avoids most of the nasty shocks.
Patience
I did a similar weight-loss regime around 2013/14. From that experience, I knew that it took time to see/feel a difference.
This time, it took a month or two before I started seeing progress on the scales. I felt better, but the scales didn’t show that I was getting any lighter.
It’s important to be patient and to stick with it. It can be a real disincentive when you don’t see the progress you’d like to. Hang in there. It’ll come.
Eventually, as you sort out your routines and work on your consistency, you’ll start to see the needle move.
Enjoy your wins
It’s important to enjoy the journey and part of that is celebrating your milestones. Enjoy the achievement.
Have a treat, by all means. Then get back on the job.
Everyone is different
The stuff written above is what has worked for me.
You’re different. You might have to discover some different things that work for you. That’s OK. Just stick with it.
The old cliche applies – this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Find what works for you and make the most of it. The benefits in terms of energy, fitness, health, and enthusiasm, are worth it.
Share the experience (with limits)
Others will have to answer this for me but I try not to be a jerk about my progress. I have a few people that I share my progress with. Everyone else – they’ll notice if they notice and if not, that’s absolutely OK.
I share this bit of my life with my doctor, my wife, and occasionally, my Mum (from whom I seem to have inherited an exercise gene). Your attitude might vary, but I find it helps to have a few people around you who know where you’ve come from and who care enough to keep you accountable in an understanding way.
Conclusion
To the general reader: Losing weight in your 50s is not easy but it’s really not as hard as you fear. It takes some commitment and willingness to change but it’s change you can be in charge of. Your health is important. It’s a great balancer for other aspects of your life, too. It’s important to you, your family and your friends. Pick some of them and share the load.
To the guy I wrote this for: Both your health and your life are extremely important to me. It’s a great balancer for other aspects of your life and therefore, it’s important to you, your family and your friends.
It seems we had an unwelcome presence here on the website over the weekend.
I don’t know how long the little bug has been around, but I first noticed it on Friday. When I started doing something about it, it seemed to trigger a bunch of emails being sent to people about posts, removed posts, and possibly even medications that you (probably) don’t need!
I’ve worked all weekend on rooting out the problems. I’ve removed some malicious code, about 3,000 spammy links, and around another 3,000 old posts from the TS days. It’s kind of sad to see them go but they had no images and were full of dead links, so it’s probably for the best.
The deep scans have come back clean, so Swadeology is now exposed to the world once again.
If there’s anything good to come from this, it that I realise that I wanted to clean this site up and save it rather than just let it succumb to the black-hatted types. I do like having this place around to record some thoughts every now and then. And I’ll try and make use of it a little bit more.
So again, my apologies to anyone who was inconvenienced.
And if there are any more issues, please do let me know.
Cheers, SW
Postscript: It seems I’m having to approve comments for most people. Quite likely a result of the clean-up I’ve had to do. So please don’t fret if you’re comment doesn’t appear immediately.
Tim, from NYC, asks which Porsche 911 he should buy…..
A brief question, if I may.
If you were to choose your favourite 911 year models from an enjoyment of the vehicle perspective, and investment hopeful return perspective, and in an attempt to mitigate maintainence costs, would you have any suggestions?
Tim wrote correctly in his email that I’m a fan of the Porsche 911 but sadly, I’ve never owned one. I came close once, but I hit the chicken switch because the price was ‘a whopping’ $37,000 AUD so I spent 30K on a 968 ClubSport instead. What an idiot! That 911 would be worth four times as much now (he says, knowing he never would have kept it long enough to see it appreciate).
I ask you, dear readers, to contribute your thoughts on this 911 question for Tim’s enjoyment and benefit. I will also furnish my own, of course.
I will preface this by directing you to one of my automotive maxims – Buy the Best. i.e. figure out what you like and buy the best equipped version you can find, the one that fits closest to your dreams. Better to extend yourself by $5K and love the car than sit there, somewhat content, thinking about the car you could should have bought.
So then, in anticipation of your collective thoughts, here are my own.
The enjoyment of vehicle perspective
It depends a little on what you’re into, I suppose. Objectively speaking, a Porsche 911 is really all about performance, so the answer to this is probably going to lie with one of the latest models.
But is maximum performance what will bring you the most enjoyment? Personally, speaking only for myself, I think not. The 968 Clubsport had plenty of performance potential – way more than I could have reasonably enjoyed with my driving skills – and I got bored of it within months.
What would give me the most enjoyment, I think, is proper classic design and just enough performance/handling to make me feel alive. Better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slowly, as they say.
For me, I think that would be a G-series 911 from the early-mid 1980s.
It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that this is the Porsche of my youth. I was born in 1970 so the Porsche of my teenage years is always going to be a strong contender.
Nevertheless, the G-series has those classic old-school 911 looks with just a hint of muscle. It’s got a lovely sounding air-cooled engine and the 230hp put out by the Carrera 3.2 model is well and truly capable of generating big grins on a Sunday afternoon.
Investment potential
Porsche sports cars of nearly every flavour have proven to be a sound investment over the last 10 years. Even a humble 924 can fetch money well beyond the car’s objective worth nowadays. That 911 that baulked at paying $37K for back in 2014 is likely worth well over $100K now.
But, as SE Hinton wrote …. That was then. This is now.
Porsches were undervalued 10 years ago. They’re not undervalued today. Some might even say that they’re due for a post-Covid decline.
Personally speaking, I think a desireable limited edition model, or a notable performer, will hold its value pretty well. Any air-cooled cars should hold value pretty well, for example. If you can afford a GT3, and the maintenance, and you can keep it in decent condition, I think you’re going to do OK. A bog-standard 2002 2.7 Boxster? Maybe not.
Mitigating maintenance costs
From my understanding, Porsches are well engineered and there are very few documented cases of systematic failures due to poor engineering design. They’re not unheard of (hello, IMS bearings) but they’re not common.
If you want to mitigate maintenance costs, my best recommendation would be to buy as new as you can and invest in a good regime of preventative maintenance. Older cars are going to need parts replaced. It’s inevitable. And when Porsches finally do go wrong, it can be expensive, too.
Don’t skimp the maintenance on a performance car. They’re not built for short-term thinking.
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I’m going to leave my thoughts as inconclusive, mostly.
I don’t know enough about Porsches to make a firm recommendation. I also didn’t ask Tim for a budget.
Personally, I’d pick a 3.2 Carerra for myself. But that’s me and as a man I respect very much once reminded me, I’m a sample-size of one.
