My wife and I are considering getting a new daily driver so this past weekend we popped into to the Philadelphia Auto Show to check out some of the rides on our list. In addition to the usual collection of new cars by most major manufacturers the show also has some exotics and some classic cars on display.

We were there on the opening Saturday afternoon of the show so there was a pretty good crowd. The exotic cars were roped off but there were significant crowds around them taking pictures and drooling over their favorites. I am not surprised by that at all, and I am not surprised that there were decent crowds around the Mustangs, and Camaros, and Mercedes SLS and most of the interesting cars and trucks on display. Here is what did surprise me, and sadden me a bit.

In the classic car section there were some interesting vehicles such as a 427 Cobra, a Type 35 Bugatti, a GT40, and my favorite a red Porsche 959. Understandably, these cars were also roped off, but you could get within a foot of them if you wanted to, but apparently no one wanted to. No one seemed to care about any of these great classics. I stood and stared at that 959 for ten minutes. I was a teenager when the 959 came out, and for a short while Holberts Porsche, near where I grew up had one in their dealership and as a 17 year old I drove up there and stared at it and reached out and touched it just so I could tell my friends I touched a 959. It was the ultimate supercar at the time and still one of the all-time greats. I was thrilled to see one again this weekend, but to my dismay it got about as much attention as a ten-year old Corolla. The whole time I was there, no one else even gave it a second look (or really any of the other classic cars for that matter), no one took a picture, and there was no interest.

Right next to the classic cars were the stands for Smart, and Mini, both of which had people all over them, but they couldn’t be bothered to walk 10 feet to see a 959? I get that people are always interested in the latest and greatest, but if I want to see any of the other cars (even the exotics) I can just drive to the dealer and seem them, but you might not see a 959 again for years. Maybe as early 911 owners we see things a bit differently than most, but I just can’t believe people can walk past a 959 without even looking twice.

To make myself feel better, when I got home I went to my car magazine collection and pulled out my November 1987 issue of Automobile magazine, the one with a red 959 on the cover under the headline “Car of the Century!” and gave that a read for old times’ sake