To answer your question: The 981 _is_ more fun to drive. I just needed the back seats for my boys. Personally, though, I wouldn’t recommend anything past a 997.2. They have gotten too heavy and expensive for my taste. The move to the unservicable engine in the newest gen put the final nail in the 911 coffin for me. 

I’m not hating on the Porsche (I’m a 911 owner) but I am not sure what you mean by “usability”. Also, I think reliability is also up for debate. Maintenance costs for mid-engine cars are no joke. They are both good cars. I look forward to the continued depreciation of the F-type though. They will make a hell of a toy…

Define “better” though. The F-type is insanely pretty and has a nicer interior and better usability (trunk/hatcj). Its also much rarer (which is a big pro to some). If your only metric is pure handling, then sure, the Cayman is the winner, but that isn’t the only metric.

Counterpoint: I think “rich old guys” are the only ones keeping manuals alive. You think kids are out there buying 911s, M4s, Corvettes and Zl1s? When you say the old guys“don’t know” how to use a manual, you do realize that they were the ones that learned on manuals and grew up with manual options, right? Its the…

This would have to be in the $12k range before I would be willing to overlook the reliability and aesthetics.

Without the Quadrofolgiosoi package this car is a pure-loser. Unreliable, unremarkable visually, unimpressive to drive compared to the competition. A v6 Accord does all of the above better or just as well. You are literally buying the for the badge-honer of being “different”.    

Well, all I can say is that it disappoints me that Porsche is going this direction. 

Well, its true I bought mine used. But I question where you are getting your data. When I was active with the local PCA chapter, lots of people were buying new and very much did care about these things. 

I mean....I am the target market? I have owned 3 911. And they have been able to sell those cars at a high-profit margin BECAUSE they are perceived as reliable and affordable to own. If that ceases to be true (see: Mercedes in the 90s) they very well may open the door to more competition from which they can never…

Well, you might be right, but the 911 has never been “the same” as other cars in its class, its always been cheaper. I think they are ceding ground in one of their key strengths. On some level, it doesn’t even make sense. Why not hinge the rear? That would at least give access to the belts and accessories even if the…

I think you are missing the point. First, this isn’t a $350,000+ Ferrari, this 911 is expected to get mileage on it. One of the MAIN selling points of a Porsche is that is reliable and fairly easy to maintain. And yes, $100k is a lot of money, but it isn’t that much compared to competitive cars. Saying this is a “pay…

Sure, did people whine about the lack of power? Yes, some did. But have you been to a track or autocross recently? That place is going to be crawling with Toybarus. People said the same thing about Miatas, but its still the best selling sports car of all time. 

Well, yes, I do think so. Some people buy Porsche for the name, some for the driving experience. Those in the later will certainly cross shop these. Remember, People also said “Not one will cross shop a Nissan with a 911" But the GT-R is selling just fine.

Sure, because its a luxury car. Have you been inside one of those things? Its one of the nicest and well thought out interiors in the sports car game. Probably second only to the AMG GT-s. My point was really that when the 4th gen came out, it was head and shoulders above the competition. It stood out. Right now (not…

Well, I mean the Boxster/Cayman seem to be doing pretty well. So does the Toybaru and the Miata. All of which favor balance over raw power. There is a pretty big gap between those two ranges, which the Supra could fill. Presuming its good enough. So it had better be good enough. 

I....I like it. 

True, but the competition is much better than the previous generation. F-Type, GT350, ZL1, Stingray are all in the same price range and the 718 and M4 are just above it. Each offers either more power, better luxury or costs less. The Supra better be GREAT to drive. 

The CT6 has always been more of a 5 series competitor in terms of price/features/interior. Even though it is slightly bigger. 

While it may still be on the Spec sheet, you haven’t been able to order it for a long time. My father tried to spec one out last year and they told him that RAM wouldn’t accept the order (or rather, they wouldn’t give him a build date) because they didn’t want to stop the production line. So it wasn’t a straight-up…

Don’t look now, but you are comparing a Corvette to a BMW. It ain’t the Corvette/Mustang reliability you need to worry about. This sure as hell isn’t designed or built by Toyota.