if Leica Cameras were Porsche automobiles

[lukitas]

I don't see ho on can draw a useful comparison from cameras and cars.
Why not cameras and typewriters? Or cameras and watches? We could then bicker over comparing mechanical to mechanical and digital to digital.

Let's compare cameras and eggbeaters. Coffee grinders. Hoovers. Anything but cars, please.

cheers

 

[splitimageview]

that would be a very short thread.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Does this mean that I can expect my Leica III to stop running once a week with no apparent reason?

It's not a Jaguar. 😀

Phil Forrest

 

[Baby of Macon]

And the M9 would be a 996 with the M96 motor - great when working but with the risk of catastrophic failure.

 

[Huss]

And the M9 would be a 996 with the M96 motor - great when working but with the risk of catastrophic failure.

I had the 996 motor in my St4s. Sweet bike, never blew up... What's the story about the M96 motor?

 

[splitimageview]

The initial water cooled engines were a misadventure.

That's why I'm sticking with my air cooled 993.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

the mp is the 993. greatest of the aircooled; models after that just deviated.
I got confused between the 930 turbo with a whale tail and the beautiful early nineties 993

 

[Bill Clark]

I drive a VW Passat, built in the U.S. First VW I bought was a 1969 Bug that I drove on highway 1 in Florida and highway 1 in California! No Leica camera back then!

If you're interested here is some information about Porsche:

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/article...-pockets-23-000-when-you-buy-that-new-porsche

 

[Steve Bellayr]

Which one would be the 911 and the Boxster. Seriously, a Leica in any 2 seater convertible sports car goes well. For extras: add a Rolex or any expensive watch and a beautiful woman. How do you go wrong on that one?

 

[Ben Z]

(not for the humor impaired)


The IIIf would be the Porshe 356.

the CL would be a 912 (almost a 911),

and the M5 would be a 928.. (supposed to be a successor to the 911 but didn't turn out that way)

the MP would be the 930 (one of the last air-cooled 911)

raytoei
924 turbo (a long time ago)

I would say the I-IIIa would be the 356, the IIIf would be the 1st generation 911.

The CL would be a 914, basically more in common with a VW Beetle than a 911.

I'll go with the M5-928 analogy.

The MP would be a 993, looks like a 911 but it's a 964 underneath.

Agree the M9 would be a 996...iconic shape, but fatter and heavier and with a fatal flaw for which the manufacturer provided no solution other than to replace the engine if it blew. The only difference is it didn't take a class action suit to get Leica to cover out-of-warranty failures 😉

 

[Manuel Patino]

Which one would be the 911 and the Boxster. Seriously, a Leica in any 2 seater convertible sports car goes well. For extras: add a Rolex or any expensive watch and a beautiful woman. How do you go wrong on that one?

LOL!, pretty much everything can go wrong with that combo! But fun while the going is good 😉 No good analogies Leicas to automobiles as the price of the Leicas cameras is way out of proportion to the roadsters that would compare with. Interestingly enough, they do sort of match the market price for some of these cars...

Early Leicas = First gen Miatas NA, mid gen Leicas = second gen Miatas NB. Basic, great handling, totally reliable, light weight, iconic looks.

M8= NC "facelift" Miatas, ugly, heavy, less reliable. M9, M240 Second iteration of NC, heavier, bulkier more complex. Arguably faster and better handling, but not as much fun to drive...

I hope the next Leica M is as good as the new generation of Miatas. Back to the roots, light, fun, easy to drive but faster and much more technologically advanced (and hopefully quite reliable) and of course, beautiful.

No German car can match the reliability of the Miatas, but the new Cayman and 911's are very nice cars which definitely match the Leica cachet..

 

[jgeenen]

Hmm, a camera with the design of the 50s, manufactured following traditional techniques, limited innovation, long production cycles, 10 times as expensive as a camera with comparable functionality? There is only one car brand that matches in my opinion - Rolls Royce.

But unlike Rolls Royce (I haven't heard of a RR owner who is really USING his RR for day-to-day driving), a Leica CAN still be used as an every day's tool.

 

[Dez]

I'd go with the Barnacks being 356's, and the CL being a 914 (not quite the real thing). I like the metaphor of the M5 as the 928- brilliant new direction that didn't quite make it in the market. All the other M's would be 911's, another product with a huge number of tiny variations on the same theme. All but one that is- I'd put the M8 series as Boxsters since they aren't full-frame.

My beloved Bessa R3A corresponds to my VW Golf GTI, methinks.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Pioneer]

And I do like my VW Golf GTI (Bessa R**). Superb value for the money!!

 

[Scrambler]

Hmm, a camera with the design of the 50s, manufactured following traditional techniques, limited innovation, long production cycles, 10 times as expensive as a camera with comparable functionality? There is only one car brand that matches in my opinion - Rolls Royce.

But unlike Rolls Royce (I haven't heard of a RR owner who is really USING his RR for day-to-day driving), a Leica CAN still be used as an every day's tool.

Or perhaps a Morgan?