June 30th's Car Giveaway

My mind’s eye sees more clearly the look of every Porsche steering wheel than it does the faces of my family and friends. There is less detail to be found in a steering wheel than a face carrying a soul, to be sure, but I still really know my Porsche steering wheels. Truthfully I can imagine driving a 356C while listening to the motor and the breeze.

As a boy, I would watch Jerry Seinfeld praise the Porsche 911 on a promotional video tape. My uncle’s 80s 911 would drive to ice cream; Pops’ Boxster would go to McDonald’s.

Last week I was shown many advertisements for a dream-car-giveaway business called Prime Driven. The ads look like a scam but they aren’t. On June 30th, Prime Driven is giving away a 997 911. It has silver paint and red leather seats like the first Boxsters written about in magazines. Against the silver lid, the Porsche crest looks familiar like a golden German flag.

For 25 dollars, you get yourself 1 in 2000 odds of winning the car. For a guy like me, those are good odds! The Porsche 911 is an impossibility without the aid of sweepstakes.

Underneath Prime Driven’s giveaway ad, there are dozens of comments from Instagram users describing the depths of gratitude that they would live out should they win the prize—how they would keep the car forever, glue themselves to the Pacific Coast Highway, take good care of it. If I win, I’m driving the car slower than it has ever been driven before. I will listen to the engine running on a slow note, far away from traffic, as privately as brushing my teeth. After that, I will turn the car off, get out, and just push it; letting the oil go cold, and then time will stop. This is all true for seven more days.