2013 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2013 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet Long-Term Road Test

Some would say inadequate cupholders in a sports car are perfectly acceptable given that the focus is on driving, not eating. True, but what about when you're just stopped and need somewhere to put your drink?

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darthbimmer

Cupholders are unrelated to the pure act of driving, which is probably why German sport car makers struggle to understand them. But accommodating drinks is crucial to the practical process of driving, whether it's a morning coffee during a 45 commute through crawling traffic or a bottle of water or soda to stay hydrated on a weekend road trip. It's the difference between a track day car and a daily driver. Some automakers understand that many of us, those need to be the same car.

legacygt

Ed, this is funny because I just read your last post which remarked about the attention to detail shown in the 911. One example is the image of the 911's silhouette that appears on the display. That's fine but the image on the display is a gimmick. The cupholder is real. And if you're going to have them, you might as well direct some of the attention there. I'd rather the Porsche design team spend the time on a usable cupholder than on whimsical images that serve no purpose on the display.

wdrauch

I remember being at the Frankfurt IAA in 2011 and sitting in the new 911, fascinated by the ridiculous number of parts in the fold out cupholders only to yield such useless function in terms of holding cups. The Germans certainly know how to overcomplicate things!

zcalvert

Or, stated another way... fat american size beverage container.

fordson1

I'm thinking most people who can afford a 911 can afford to go to a sit-down restaurant. It's not too good for taking dirty clothes to the laundromat or fetching your particle-board furniture from the Self-Storage park, either...but I don't think it matters.

tatermctatums

While its not an apples to apples comparison, my C5 Z06 had one essentially useless cupholder in it. Anything more exciting than "granny driving" would send the drink in question into the trunk, literally. My RX-8 on the other hand would hold huge drinks without issue. Yes these cars are in 3 completely different price ranges but they are all cars that would be considered "driver's cars".

stovt001_

I think it just frustrates the Germans to no end that they put all their efforts into making a car as enjoyable to drive as possible, then Americans ding them for not catering to their desire to be as distracted as possible from that driving experience. Goes right along with the bluetooth thing mentioned a few posts back.

stovt001_

And why can't we learn to just sit and enjoy a drink or meal, instead of always rushing around everywhere and reducing eating and drinking to an unpleasant chore that you begrudgingly fit in somewhere in the middle of it all?

thecrudman

My Miata doesn't even have cup-holders! Sports cars are for driving, not for being a coffee shop.

thecrudman

@darthbimmer you can use a bottle of water in your car just fine without a cup holder. I tuck mine behind the passenger seat on the Miata.

quadricycle

This reminds me of my dad. "No eating in the car, and only drink water." If we were on a long trip we'd take a break every two or three hours to eat a snack and stretch our legs. Anything else, "you should have eaten at home/you'll get a chance to eat at home." I don't think the fold out cup holders in his Audi wagon have ever been used. In fact, there's nothing in his car other than vehicle documents, a spare headlight bulb, some maps, and a gps. I was really messy in my first couple years of car ownership, but after a little time I inevitably turned into the exact same person as him (regarding car ownership).

fordson1

I have two sets of rules. For adults, anything you want to drink, but it has to be in a spill-proof mug, and no food. For kids, nothing but water, in a water bottle of some sort. No take-out cups, even with a lid that closes.