P-Cars in London/Spectacular Automotive History

Just got back from a short trip to London and I was amazed at how many 996 P-Cars I saw in the city. They were everywhere! Right by the hotel(next to Gloucester Road tube station)there was a TT parked on the street (there for two days), and two other 996's were parked within 100 yards. Others were driving past me continuously as I traversed the city. It seemed there were more 996s then 993s, though there were a goodly number of them also. London really is a city to see all kinds of neat machines on the street. Check it out if you get a chance. On a related note, if you are there and want to see some rare masterpieces of automotive history, Go to "Coy's of Kensington" (Very close to Victoria and Albert museum) Right now they have an old Lotus F-1 car that Jimmy Clark drove, an absolutely stunning 1939 MB 540SS (mint/restored and $4 million), a couple of Bugattis, numerous Rolls and Bentleys from all eras, as well as other gems! Well worth going to before seeing any other tourist site in town. It's not a large show room, but all are for sale! I know where I'm going when I win Mega-bucks!!!!!!

Iwas in London in September of last year and was amazed at all the Porsches. Like you said they were everywhere. What I noticed was most of them were dirty!! Not too many garages in London. ALl parked on the narrow streets out in the elements. Especially in the Kensington area. Stayed in a hotel there and there was a 996 parked across the street everyday. Whis I had known about the Coy museum. Missed that on the trip. Great city and many nice cars. Can't wait to go back.

Due to tax considerations, nice cars make excellent executive compensation in England. I'll bet you saw lots of Bimmers and Benzes too. It's like being in the Hollywood, Brentwood, Santa Monica corridor. You get a distorted view of what normal people drive.

Coy's is a retail establishment. They sell their own cars, and others on consignment.

Mike <img border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" title="" src="graemlins/bigok.gif" /> Sorry, you are a bit out of date. Company cars used to be a perk but nowadays the UK personal benefit taxation is punitive and heavily weighted against cars with mid to high emissions. In many cases, it is more tax efficient to buy the car outside the business. Good to know you all enjoyed London. With the new congestion charge tax imposed 3 weeks ago (you now have to pay �5 daily to enter central London) many of us are finding the enjoyment of being in London is disappearing fast. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

The theft rate in the United Kingdom (not just park-it-on-the-street London) for Porsche is 10% per year. So those Turbos won't spend all of their life just parked. Stephen

Paul S. </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica"> Sorry, you are a bit out of date. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Gee, you sound just like my kids. Thanks for the correction, and yes, this was based on what I had learned in the 90s . I was amazed at the time at how deep company cars went in our London office, and learned how the compensation packages worked. So did salaries go up accordingly, when the cars went away?

Hi Mike Don't get me wrong. There is still a culture whereby cars (and other things like expense accounts)are often part of the job package, but increasingly things are changing and, yes, salaries are tending to rise to compensate for loss of the perks. I had a company-owned car for over 30 years till I got my 911 but the recent tax changes made it significantly cheaper to buy the car personally. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />