Real Men Don’t Drive 55

The latest rage in the automotive world is the high-performance “muscle” car--with advertising to match that oozes power, thrust and dominance.

The best local example comes from Hoehn Motors in Carlsbad, which advertises its Porsches on radio thusly:

“If speed limits were not a consideration, the Porsche 944 Turbo could go from Point Loma to Carlsbad in 9.8 minutes. The 944S could go from Mission Valley to Carlsbad in 8.3 minutes. And the Porsche 911 could go from Rancho Bernardo to Carlsbad in 7.6 minutes . . . “

The ad is punctuated with revving engines and screeching tires. Mission Valley to Carlsbad, by the way, is about 30 miles, and to make it in 8.3 minutes, you’d be going over 200 m.p.h., but who said advertising has to be literal?

Bill Hoehn III, the dealership manager, says the ad emphasizes the qualities that Porsche buyers expect when they pay $27,000 to $100,000 for a car.

“Men buy Porsches and they want performance,” Hoehn said. “This is not a family car or a woman’s car. We’ve had nothing but good response from the radio ad, except for one guy who said it was outrageous to encourage speeding. But that’s not what we’re doing.”

The California Highway Patrol is not as sure.

“Advertising like that just encourages guys who buy a car for some macho power reason,” said Jerry Bohrer, spokesman for the CHP in Oceanside. “I’ve stopped too many guys in Porsches who think it’s ridiculous that we have speed limits.”