What happened was: Driving west on Miramar road, 1:30 pm on Thursday, lane nearest the center, about 50 mph. No other cars near me. Lady in a Mercedes pulls out of the Harbor Freight parking lot to turn east, going across all 3 lanes right in front of me. She must have looked west, then started to pull out quickly, either without looking back toward me, or not seeing me (in my small, low, black car, not in a pack with other cars). I saw her peripherally, but was shocked when she pulled out so quickly. "Accident avoidance maneuver" didn't quite work. I braked, swerved left, at least avoided t-boning her in her drivers door. I hit her hard with my right front fender, but actually scraped across the very front of her car and essentially tore it off. I was propelled diagonally across the 3 oncoming lanes, ending up at the south side curb. Fortunately, no one was coming so I didn't get hit there (probably because she had seen a large gap that way before she turned). Her car spun and was pointing west in the center left-turn lane. No one hurt, no air bags deployed. Funniest part: The lady said, "It can't be my fault, he hit me first!"
I doubt the car is boxster spec material. Aside from the fact that it's a 2002, the whole right front is pushed in, back to and including the passenger door. Probably WAY too bent to fix (but I'm no expert). Still, I was amazed at how sturdy the car was.
Irony of ironies: At Guardian towing (where my car was towed), the owner had two of his own personal cars covered up inside -- A very nice red 2001 boxster with 14,000 miles (For sale, asking $24K -- too much), AND a red Sunbeam Alpine (4 cyl, not the V8 Tiger), almost identical to the one I was restoring with my son but lost in the 2007 fires when my house burned down. (For sale, asking $12K). The loss of the Sunbeam led to the 911 SC project car for my son and I, and the Porsche addiction went on from there...
So the semi-reliable 911 SC Targa is now my daily driver, at least temporarily, and the 944 Spec is for the track. Now for a replacement driver (I'm partial to AC in the summer)...A tow vehicle, perhaps? A more recent Boxster? Cayman? (love those mid-engines) Or a Prius to pay back my carbon debt?
David J. Diamond #272
1979 911 SC Targa - Silver - CC02
1983 944 - Red - CC04/944 Spec
Formerly: 2002 Boxster - Black - CC04 - R.I.P, totalled March 2013