1973 Porsche 914

RippyD said:
The history of the 914 is interesting. It was sort-of a joint collaboration with VW that yielded the 914 and the VW Karman Ghia. For a very long time the 914 was considered by many to not be a "real" Porsche and they were very inexpensive. 914s in good condition are now collectible and quite expensive.
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Yeah, there is a long and confusing history with Porsche, Audi, and VW, made more confusing to me by some of the importing relationships over the years that made me think the companies were more related than they were. I just read the #### histories of Porsche and VW and I still don't understand it. I guess the Porsche family owned a lot of VW stock, so they used to do a lot of joint work, but they were separate companies. Audi (well, the companies that made up what is now Audi) was acquired by VW in the late 60's, so they were separate at that time. At any rate, now they are all one company, although technically VW owns Porsche cars, but VW is owned by Porsche (holding company). I think.
 
Eldorado2k said:
Thanks!



Wanna hear something funny? When the sun began to show up and it was time to bring it into the garage the owner got in and told me to keep an eye on the bat so he could pull in... I said ok and turned my back to set whatever I had in my hand down and before I could turn around he was already moving forward and I was like whoa hold on! Lol. He ran over the bat and that thing was literally about to fly in any direction! So lucky it didn’t cause any damage but I couldn’t believe it!lol. Crazy.
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If only there were something that existed that could chock the wheels without that danger...

For about $10 I think I'd head to Harbor Freight and buy a couple rubber chocks, or get a piece of scrap 4x4 and cut it diagonally. Much less expensive than the consequences of that bat.
 
Good for you..got that old girl looking great!!
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Yeah, there is a long and confusing history with Porsche, Audi, and VW, made more confusing to me by some of the importing relationships over the years that made me think the companies were more related than they were. I just read the #### histories of Porsche and VW and I still don't understand it. I guess the Porsche family owned a lot of VW stock, so they used to do a lot of joint work, but they were separate companies. Audi (well, the companies that made up what is now Audi) was acquired by VW in the late 60's, so they were separate at that time. At any rate, now they are all one company, although technically VW owns Porsche cars, but VW is owned by Porsche (holding company). I think.
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Agree, not clear at all. Ferdinand Porsche was involved with VW before and after WWII and apparently had input into the Beetle. I haven't read enough to know if the flat engine design VW used and the one Porsche still uses was his creation or if it "borrowed" it. (EDIT: Carl Benz patented this design in 1896.)

The shape and engine design similarities between VW and Porsche can't be coincidental. It seems to me the VW got the "how how inexpensively can we make this" version while Porsche had the "how well can we make this" version.

Brilliant engine design that has been largely underused by other car makers, imo. A 60s VW engine is ridiculously easy to work on.

Per Wikipedia, Ferdinand Porsche also created a viable hybrid engine around 1900 (ICE driving a generator to power an electric motor). Only took GM 110 years to start using that design. :)
 
RippyD said:
Agree, not clear at all. Ferdinand Porsche was involved with VW before and after WWII and apparently had input into the Beetle.
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I thought that part was clear...he designed the Beetle for Hitler to be "the people's car". From Wikipedia: "The need for a people's car ("Volkswagen" in German), its concept and its functional objectives, was formulated by the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap, simple car to be mass-produced for his country's new road network. Lead engineer Ferdinand Porsche and his team took until 1938 to finalise the design."
 
My "not clear" comment was agreeing with your "long and confusing history" comment.
 
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