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Site Status, History, and Stuff At the end of September, 2006, it was 11 years since I destroyed my first Porsche 944 (which I bought brand new) in a redwood canyon, and got out with minor bruises. I bought that car for my 30th birthday, and wrecked it shortly before my 40th birthday. So I figured that my life was my 40th birthday present to myself. Bill's 944 World was 10 years old on August 29th, 2006 and is dedicated to that car and to 944's the world over. After the 944 FAQ document, this is now the oldest 944 site on the net. I get a ton of email from this site, so if you write I will try - repeat - try to answer. And thank you to everyone for the questions, comments and compliments over the years; I use your most frequent questions to make new pages. Introduction -- Welcome to my personal compilation of Porsche 944 technical information, stories, buying a used 944, images, some simple New Owner Maintenance Items to check, letters, and my ever-expanding Links to Things 944 & More Page. I've been running this site for nine years, and while the interface has changed little, the car is still a masterpiece of engineering, design, and driving fun. The other two 944-specific sites (before me) have been 404 (lost) for years, and I'm now the oldest 944 site on the net after the 944 FAQ document. A net search these days returns hundreds of enthusisast sites, and thousands of results with the classifieds, online discussions, and dismantlers included. The visitation stats have been interesting. I was hopeful to get 1,000 visitors in the first year. Instead, I got 8,000. At year 2, I was just short of 70,000. At three years it hit almost 170,000. I was at the top of Yahoo and Excite, and am still close on those engines. At the dawn of 2000, it was over 200,000. I've broken counters along the way, so the true site count is probably over 1 million as of 2005. Since inception, this site continues to be a collection of 19 years of 944 driving, rebuilding and tinkering, as much as being a dedication to the memory of my first 944, and my seatbelt, which saved my life. Dedication, well...yes. To a (brand new) 944 I bought and owned for ten years before I spectacularly sent it away: I ballistically launched it forward, through the air, about 100 feet into a redwood canyon one night. It's the black (on burgundy leather) 944 pictured below at the edge of the ocean. It had the optional 16 inch wheels, an aftermarket exhaust and beefed suspension. Drove it for almost 139,000 miles, hard at times, too. Then it was a deer, a redwood, a cliff-dive off the pavement, and then the large fallen redwood that finally stopped me. I think I went from 40MPH to Zero in about a tenth of a second when I hit the fallen tree. Oh well. Where I live, the local twisty and hilly roads (CA Hwys 84, 35, 9) make every day a driver's event. Check and tighten your seatbelt, then read the crash stories; you wanted my crash pics and I have always said no - so far. At home in 2005. This clean and fun '89 2.7L 944 is now the daily road twister. This 2.5L '84 used to be the daily driver. I did a lot of modifications to this car including a hotter cam, shaved head, and improved suspension.   My first 944. This sunrise photo was taken in March, 1986 at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico on Islameralda Key, Florida. In late September, 1995, this car became a memory. And I almost became a memory along with it... I encountered a deer and a redwood tree one night. Car and driver were launched over the edge of a twisty mountain road, into a ballistic 100 foot trajectory, through upper tree limbs. What ended that car's life was a square, head-on impact into a large fallen redwood tree, downslope. I was basically uninjured. To this day -- over 11 years later -- I still consider it a Miracle. For the love of the Porsche 944 that saved my life, this site is dedicated. Remember: Every day is a celebration, and every meal, a banquet...! You are driver to visit since site rollout on August 29, 1996 Updated: 11 / FEB / 2007 by Bill Underwood Bill's 944 World was profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle's Oct. 15, 1998 Pagemaster feature, in the business section. Join RennList -- One of the best Porsche Online Forums. And, it turns out I once worked with the webmaster, John D, many years ago back in New England...Small world! As for the Porsche 944 World Community at Excite (which I established and moderated) we became the second-largest online gathering of 944 enthusiasts worldwide, with 898 members at the end. On Dec. 29, 2000, Excite shut their Clubs area down, so the link to that club has been removed. Automotion/Performance Products | 944 Ecology (New and Used Parts) | Parts Heaven Search 944-world.com Search WWW Tools, Counters, and Things This site was developed entirely on Macintosh computers, using DreamWeaver and PhotoShop. Best toured with just about anything but AOL. visits since site moved to 944-world.com in January 2000. There have been about total site v isits since 1996. Bill's 944-World is the oldest 944 enthusiast site on the net. The first two 944 enthusiast sites went 404 years ago... Only the 944 FAQ pages have been around longer. I get lots of email from this site, so if I don't answer every single letter, please understand. I do try! Updated: 11 / FEB / 2007 The 944-World site is Copyright© 1996-2005 by Bill Underwood. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. If you want to reuse any content here, please contact me. I will probably say sure, go ahead, but let me know first, OK? Not affiliated or endorsed with Porsche Cars North America or the guys in Stuttgart, Germany. Apple, Macintosh, Porsche, and their venerable logos, are trademarks of their respective owners. Your mileage WILL vary. Don't lift in the corners. ALWAYS wear your seatbelt. DO NOT put those annoying blue, ultra-bight, laser beam of death lights on your car! Keep both hands on the wheel at proper 10 and 2 o' clock positions. If a sheriff is waving a radar gun at you but does not turn the lights on, um, step on it and see if he follows. Keep the power on when driving through mudslides (treat it like wet heavy snow!) Please, don't hit your front air dam into curbs!