[AMG Power]

This was not a test drive but two dealer employees taking the car to a launch at a hotel.

Most dealer employees are wet behind the ears wrt sports cars so it's not surprising that this happened. This guy probably moved to Porsche from a dealership selling regular cars.

More here:

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/luck...w/71239737.cms

[wheelspinner]

Originally Posted by GTO

The real problem is that, to most people a test drive means driving hard. No, no, no. Take your time & first understand the car. See how she behaves. Get comfortable. Start driving really easy and then, slowly & steadily increase the revs.

Agree. This mindset must change.

Further, this might attribute to how, in general, some people treat property belonging to others. I have seen just 4-5 months old Self-drive cars in the worst condition with their bumpers sticking out, numerous touchups, repaint jobs done and so on. People must get rid of this attitude as well.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by GTO

The real problem is that, to most people a test drive means driving hard.

But some fools think they can simply get in, floor the accelerator & drive like Lewis Hamilton.

Originally Posted by raystriker

I might be generalizing or stereotyping but to be honest, I think it's a spoilt rich person thing and not a "to test drive a car, drive hard" thing.

I think they've come to believe that they're amazing drivers (and it's totally not the car's excellent electronics saving them). It may be second nature of them to drive fast since it's a habit?

You see plenty of these folks on media drives also. First to the finish line hopefully translates to first out with the report, I guess!

[lrsays]

Originally Posted by GTO

The real problem is that, to most people a test drive means driving hard. No, no, no. Take your time & first understand the car. See how she behaves. Get comfortable. Start driving really easy and then, slowly & steadily increase the revs.

The above is for regular cars. For high-performance sports cars, the learning process can take a couple of days. But some fools think they can simply get in, floor the accelerator & drive like Lewis Hamilton.

NICE road in Bangalore is the place to spot such guys, this year Range Rover was tested for speed limit which turned into a tragic accident.

“It happened in a couple of seconds,” said a toll booth staffer. The car was travelling at a speed of at least 150 to 180 kmph. It looked like the driver lost control and avoided hitting the toll booths, the police said. There were no tyre marks on t...

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/city/li...ve-725370.html

[shashi792]

IMHO, option of having a racing tracks in metros (assuming majority of these super cars are brought in metros) might bring in that sense of speed. Beacuse, I believe, a guy buying a Porsche/Lambo/Ferrai etc. would not easily take advises on the sense of speed on vehicular behavior even when given by for e.g. Porsche technician @ showroom.

[RWD]

Originally Posted by GTO

The real problem is that, to most people a test drive means driving hard. No, no, no. Take your time & first understand the car. See how she behaves. Get comfortable. Start driving really easy and then, slowly & steadily increase the revs.

So very true!

Had an experience myself, when I was helping out a colleague with car purchase. We had gone to check out Baleno for him. He was impressed with the space on offer, and requested for a test drive. The moment he started the car, it was pedal to the metal, that too on roads where he wasn't a regular (I was). Needless to say, he very quickly managed to scare the living daylight out of both myself and the sales advisor. So much so, that half way into the drive, I had to ask him to pullover and let me also drive.

Moving on to the i20 next, I asked him to go alone on the test drive, while I stayed back in the showroom. Guess, by then, it was obvious to him

[Slick]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

This was not a test drive but two dealer employees taking the car to a launch at a hotel.

Most dealer employees are wet behind the ears wrt sports cars so it's not surprising that this happened. This guy probably moved to Porsche from a dealership selling regular cars.

More here:

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/luck...w/71239737.cms

Read the link and truly tragic.

Like in the Bangalore incident, the driver escaped unhurt or with little injuries while the passenger lost his life.
To add to the tragedy, the deceased had been married two months prior to the accident.

While buying my Zest, my cousins who are close to me, had accompanied me for the TD. We also test drove the Safari Storme.

My younger cousin did some aggressive driving in the Storme and was immediately reprimanded by both of us. That was nowhere near as dangerous as the bangalore or this Porsche incident, wonder what stops the passengers from taking objection.


- Slick

[porsche_guy]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

This was not a test drive but two dealer employees taking the car to a launch at a hotel.

Most dealer employees are wet behind the ears wrt sports cars so it's not surprising that this happened. This guy probably moved to Porsche from a dealership selling regular cars.

AFAIK, Aren't the cars supposed to be transported on a flatbed to the venue of any events? IMO, it should be made mandatory by every carmaker to make each SA attend a proper professional driving school to improve their knowledge and skills on the product.

Cheers!

[raystriker]

@ AMG Power It needn't be that long.

A week is enough. Many performance driving schools (like the ones mentioned in the link below) offer transformational courses (often for corporate parties) that are 2-5 days long. They break down your driving and build your skills from the ground up. You won't become Lewis Hamilton but you'll definitely know what to do in situations and have a new found appreciation for speed. Of course, India doesn't have anything like that because we doesn't have a motorsports/high performance driving culture.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...better-driver/

In the USA it is not uncommon to hire experienced instructors who have a history of racing for things like press, demonstration drives or even handling of cars. All I can say is Porsche India should probably think twice who they trust their demo cars with from now on.

What I just said is useless if the driver is in a "joyride" state-of-mind, intoxicated by the feeling/opportunity of driving a supercar.

[rrnsss]

Rich people problems.

Anyone with two brain cells will not breach the 110kmph mark on our highways. It is jungle raj on our highways.

Speed is inherently dangerous. We all want to get home in one piece.

I am so happy that no innocent bystanders were mowed down by these irresponsible drivers. I have no sympathy for them if they were doing 150 or 180 kmph as the report suggests.

[prashant316]

Originally Posted by GTO

The real problem is that, to most people a test drive means driving hard. No, no, no. Take your time & first understand the car. See how she behaves. Get comfortable. Start driving really easy and then, slowly & steadily increase the revs.

The above is for regular cars. For high-performance sports cars, the learning process can take a couple of days. But some fools think they can simply get in, floor the accelerator & drive like Lewis Hamilton.

Originally Posted by AMG Power

This was not a test drive but two dealer employees taking the car to a launch at a hotel.

Most dealer employees are wet behind the ears wrt sports cars so it's not surprising that this happened. This guy probably moved to Porsche from a dealership selling regular cars.

More here:

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/luck...w/71239737.cms

It wasnt a TD for the customer. And there werent two dealership employees. There was one dealership employee on the co-driver seat and the driver was a Porsche driver trainer. Will refrain from giving their names out to protect their privacy.

This shows mistakes can happen even by experts and that public roads (especially in India) arent meant for quenching your thirst for Speed and Power.

May the driver RIP. He did die driving what he loved.

[AMG Power]

Originally Posted by prashant316

Will refrain from giving their names out to protect their privacy.

Their names are mentioned in the link.

Originally Posted by prashant316

May the driver RIP. He did die driving what he loved.

According to the article the driver escaped unscathed. It was the passenger who passed away.

[prashant316]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Their names are mentioned in the link.



According to the article the driver escaped unscathed. It was the passenger who passed away.

Media hasnt been known to print the truth always. Just what they could gather as information.

[tatsago]

Originally Posted by raystriker

Wow, this might be the first crashed 992 in the world.

Porsche 911s inherently have great traction, owing to the rear engine design. The Carrera's don't even have much power and the torque is perfectly managed by the pdk. They're probably the safest and easiest to drive sports cars out there as long as you understand how different the handling of a 911 is to other mid-engine and FF/FR cars.

I have no doubt that the car must have been being driven at speeds twice or thrice the speed-limit. It seems to me like a test drive/demonstration gone wrong with a rich, reckless client who ran out of skill.

Let's see what course the law takes, in this case.

If it weren't for the media this incident would have been hushed up and settled

[silverado]

I can understand Sales guys tight lipped even when the potential customer is abusing that demo car.

But it should be someone in the showroom who should tell the customer about DO's and DONT's and the repercussions during a test drive. Could be the showroom Manager for eg.

They should make it a habit to sign some legal document before a test drive so that the customer is atleast aware of the accountability in case of a mishap.I don't blame the customer either here.If the car has been advertised as a sports car, he or she is bound to try this aspect of the car during a test drive.

Does this behavior change from Car to Car? I guess so.

Someone doing a TEST drive of Alto/Wagon R would have a subdued approach then someone doing a TEST Drive of POLO TSI.

Most people have a mindset of Abusing test drive car. I myself was guilty of revving the car during a test drive.( Can ensure I did not drive in rash manner )

My question is what are people really looking for in a TEST DRIVE?

I assume, not many have clarity on what to actually TEST during that Drive.( I am one of them ).

Assume most of us don't unless you are Moderator of course

So I just now tried to look on Youtube and there are some videos which tell you "How to TEST DRIVE a car".