Quote:
easy_rider911 said:
I agree too. The great beauty of a 911 is that it's a genuine sports car that you can enjoy every single day in most types of driving situations. Great choice.

Now turning to some practicalities, since you live in Chicago where I assume there can be heavy snowfall in winter, it makes sense IMHO to go for a AWD variant whether coupe, cabriolet or targa i.e. 997 C4, 997 C4S, 997 T4, 997 T4S...also, in winter, don't forget to change your summer tyres to winter tyres...alternatively you could go for all-season tyres like Bridgestone Potenza 960AS....just a suggestion...especially considering that you are planning to do around 25k miles per year...with maximum performance summer tyres, your tyres may cost a lot to replace...you could ask Leawood911 here on rennteam for his opinion since I know he has been using those tyres...



Easy_rider is correct. I use my car all year around in KC and the weather here is just about the same as CHI. I also drive to Colorado in the Winter with it.
I own three other cars which just sit there. I will, sometimes take one of them if there is HAIL in the forecast else the P-car takes all my abuse. If you have one then DRIVE it all you can. Getting ready for my 1400 mile drive to Montreal June 7th. It's the only car I can think of that will allow you to drive that distance alone in one sitting (19 hours straight through!) and feel refreshed.

And, yes I still like my Bridgestone all season tires. They make the ride very quiet and they seem to last forever. I know I give up some ultimate dry weather traction but in normal street driving and especially in the cold, wet or snow they can not be beat. Even dedicated snow tires would not do much better.
I also agree that you do not really need 4WD if you have decent all season tires since the rear engine gives such superb traction.

cheers and enjoy the daily drive.
(Buy one that's a year old. That way the big depreciation hit was taken by someone else and you will not feel so bad about adding a ton of extra miles.)