time to complain about...

you know what really pisses me off. at night i go to turn on my car, and theres no light next to the ignition. i can never find the damn thing Edit: i would also like to complain about the pwr/ asisted steering. i want no pwr power steering option.

I thought there was a comfort lighting LED shining from the door onto the ignition at night?

It always confuses me that the lock is on the left of the column in the first place. Each time I jump in I have the key in my right hand and usually start to reach to insert it before realizing it's on the left! One of these days I'll retrain myself... Robin

Other cars confuse me by having it on the right...

It's a Porsche thing. When you get used to it being on the left, you won't want it any other way. All good race cars have the key located on the left.

It lets you start it faster.. Imagine all the people who drive the keyless pushbutton Lexus (Lexi?) around. They'll be asking you how to start the car...

I guess you could always tell those that ask that it's a safety feature... it prevents a passenger from reaching over and turning the ignition off because they are so scared...

This is too much, Pcars ignition to the left, Saabs, ignition on centre console, all the rest is to the right???? And now there is Starter Buttons??? Way too confusing, can't they standardize it! :crazy:

You could place narrow pieces of night-glow tape just above and below the key slot.

Ride a mountain bike. No ignition necessary.

i also dont want power steering!

So...on a right hand side drive Porsche..is the ignition on the right or left side? Simple Solution #1: Never shut off or stop driving your car. Simple Solution #2: Make someone start the car for you. Simple Solution #3: Post it on the steering wheel that reads "<-- Ignition" Simple Solution #4: Don't drive the car at night. As for the power steering, just remove the power steering system..or break it. Draining the fluid works.

I'm sure most of you know this, particularly if you are of a certain age, but for those that might not.....In ye olde days drivers ran to their cars at the start of the race, like LeMans, jumped into the cars and started the engine. Porsche put the ignition key on the left to let right handed drivers go for the shift gear and start the car with their left hand, all as quickly as possible. Porsche tradition. If the 986 or 987 series had the key on the right like everybody else, people (including many of those here) would complain that Porsche was making a statement that the Boxsters and Caymans weren't "true" Porsches! Can't please all of the people all of the time......

I prefer the ignition on the left. Like DaveC mentioned with the racers getting running starts quickly, I too have a similar quick fluid motion when I shut off the car. I flip the key, take it out, flip it into my palm with my finger in the key ring, as I retract my arm away I pull on the door handle, pushing outwards on the door with the top of my arm and then swing out... all as quickly as possible. I don't think about it, but I always naturally do it.

right hand drive on the right hand drive Cayman the ignition is on the right

I thought about draining the fluid. Would that work?

In my experience with a friend's Passat it leads to a really annoying whining noise. I don't understand why you don't want power steering. The Cayman is hailed for it's stock steering setup, feedback, gear progression, etc. Why would you want to throw that offbalance just to make the wheel more difficult to turn?

Don't the interior, dome, and curb lights stay illuminated for a period of time until the ignition is turned on? At least mine do. I don't think I've ever had a problem finding the ignition at night. Um...why not?

Please don't do that..I was just kiding around. Draining the fluid will first leave you with a horrible screeching noise. Then your steering will be inconsistent - on/off power steering, which makes it unpredictable and unsafe. If you really don't want to have power steering, I'm sure there are ways to disable it. Essentially it's fluids, pumps, vacuum - just need to determine which items need to be removed/replaced. I've done it on other cars, but I haven't looked at the Cayman's system yet.

I usually have my key in hand and leave the door open until I have inserted the key.

i know it sounds kind of weird but i drove a car with out pwd steering and i loved it. i could feel the car better. and i am hoping at higher speeds it will be easyer to controll. i wouldnt put any $ into converting it to a non pwr steer. also wouldnt it help you track junkies? i have never been on a track but i assume at higher speeds it will be easyer to controll your car

So you're saying you feel like your car in its current configuration is unstable? I won't even begin to list reasons why shutting off power steering on a car that has it is a bad idea. If you really need that extra 'feel', buy an Elise or an Exige.

i wouldnt want to shut it off. i think it would be a cool option when buying the car. i test drove the elise. its one hell of a car

So...you managed to test drive an Elise at speeds that allowed you to see a difference between power steering and no power steering? At your age, here in LA, a Lotus salesman actually let you do this? And, you thought the Elise was EASIER to drive than a Cayman? Sorry...I don't believe it.

i never said the elis was easyer to drive then the cayman. i found the cayman gearbox + clutch very hard. if you dont belive that i drove the car call south bay lotus. and just so you know my dad has a car with out power steering and i love it

OK...and what am I supposed to say if I call South Bay Lotus? They're only a few miles away from where I live. "Hi, can you tell me if you let kids test drive your cars?" Cmon...get real. I'm just saying I don't believe your story. Don't let it bother you so much.

Suneet - this sounds like it could qualify for an Olympic sport. Can you video this?

Interpol, not trying to support Sapple's crazy non-power steering claim, but I did test drive a Lotus when I was 17 at Matheny Jaguar\Lotus because I had a very good relationship with the sales manager. He went with me and made sure I didn't rev over 4000rpm, and I did in fact fall in love with the car. He also knew that I was already a very good stick shift driver, as we had test driven a stick shift Jaguar together a year ago that my family ended up buying... still it's very up in the air, because even at 18 when I went to test drive an S2000 at a dealership at which I had no personal friends, I wasn't allowed to drive but had to sit in the car as the salesman drove. However, I find Sapple’s claim about the Elise’s drivability to be false. The clutch in the Elise lets out annoyingly late in the pedal movement even though the effort is lighter, but the clutch in the Cayman is stiffer but much more balanced and starts grabbing at around the middle of pedal movement. The shifter in the Elise is notchier and harder to shift, while the shifter in the Cayman S is smooth as butter (especially once warmed up). I found the Cayman a much, much easier car get going smoothly, the Elise clutch was reminiscent of recent Japanese econobox sports cars (civic SI, RSX, Celica GTS). While non-power steering does feel good once you get up to speed, by no means does it make the car easier to maneuver at low speeds and requires much more effort. The Cayman has an incredible progression in steering as your speed increases. It's easy to maneuver at low speeds, when first starting or parking and once you get up to speed, it stiffens up perfectly and does not shake or vibrate like many other power steering cars I've driven. Also, the road feel is incredible, just as good as the Elise I drove.

Suneet, thanks for the personal anecdote. I don't doubt that it's possible a youngster can get to test drive a semi-exotic like an Elise, but like you said it probably requires some connections. Just going back on sapple's history of saying/proposing some outlandish things, I don't give much creedence to his claims about the Elise being easier to drive either. And don't get me started about the whole disabling power steering question.