I'm saying I heard the engagement argument in favor of DOS versus Mac 30 years ago. Now some people are using x windows or whatever for their desktop, but most want a polished GUI. To want something more difficult to use because it's more engaging is a fetish. I don't mean it sexually, but it's some sort of identity kink. Wait, I didn't take it off the sex thing, did I?

As for driving or being driven, being driven requires paying somebody, and the pre-COVID sizes of Lyft and Uber point to how very much people want to be driven. So I'll admit to being a fetishist for a while with the FRS. I did some track days. I enjoy driving the car hard. However, 90%+ of driving is just sitting in traffic. Then who cares about how engaging it is? Then driving is just a chore. I'd rather play Terraria at that point.

Porsche drivers are the ultimate automotive fetishists. :) They happily pay more for less.

I wonder why Porsche won't come out with a proper final drive option. The ones on the aftermarket that I've seen are ridiculously expensive. it's like every gear is overdrive.

You seem to be missing the point entirely. I think you are so locked on the idea that driving is a task and not a pleasure to begin with that you can't imagine it being anything more than a utility to get from point A to point B or something that someone does in a dedicated racing fashion on an either this or that, or a black and white situation, when in fact, it is on a continuum. 90% of my driving isn't sitting in traffic, and I often go on drives just to drive and not necessarily drive aggressively, but just to get out and enjoy the countryside and for the joy of driving. It is kind of like riding a bike. Why would anyone ride a bike or motorcycle or go for a walk or run when they could drive a car? Well, for a bike, running and walking, there is the exercise involved, but regardless of that, people can enjoy tasks that require their attention, physical exertion, skillset, the unique sensations, etc. Driving with a stick is no different.

Regardless, your use of the word fetish really doesn't fit the definition in the way you are using it. You are trying to say that the preference for a manual transmission is some nostalgic fixation on an obsolete technology, but as I have argued, that would be like reducing everything from riding a horse or bicycle or motorcycle down to a single utility, while ignoring the experience they offer.

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwM-n7IjmGA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6GFGnV5cOg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeHVQYrKF_4

Sadly they're unobtanium. Going for $250k+

I'd still be happy just to have a GTS.

:sigh:

Honestly I'd rather have a regular GT4 than an RS. Because I want a manual transmission. But then you'd need to spend $10k+ to get proper gear ratios installed in the transmission, since it comes from the factory f*cked intentionally by Porsche.

[emoji106]