No miata content, but I figured that some people would get a kick out of
this true story that happened last week.

A family that I know allowed their teenager to drive their Porsche
Carerra to high school. The Porsche is probably about 5 years old and
was just worked on and detailed to prepare it to sell. The kid parked
the car on a decline, set the parking brake lightly, and left the car in
neutral with the steering wheel pointing the car straight.

This parking lot is a temporary setup on an unpaved field, and the
downhill slope eventually ends in a drop off of about 10 to 12 feet with
no guardrails or other barriers. It is not a straight drop down, but
straight enough. Well, you guessed it, the parking brake came loose and
the Porsche went for a ride and a plunge, finally landing upside down.

The Porsche is (obviously) a total loss. I will have to really stress
the importance of leaving the car in gear and turning the wheel when
parking once it comes my turn to teach my child to drive in a couple of
years.

The only good things were that nobody was hurt and that this family can
not only afford to own a Porsche Carrera, they can also afford to lose
one and replace it with far less financial impact to themselves than I
would suffer if it happened to my miata.
 I do, however, have to wonder what the teenager's insurance rates are
going to be like.

Pat