After accepting the position with the State Department, I immediately knew it would mean parting with my beloved Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, aka ‘The Crimson Fury’.

I have always been a car guy, specifically a luxury/sports car guy, and since graduating from college in 2007, I have had some pretty cool cars. In order since graduation, I have owned a 2004 Mustang GT, a 2008 Infiniti G37S, a 2009 BMW 335i, a 2015 BMW M235i, a 2015 Lexus CT Hybrid, a 2013 Tesla Model S, a 2015 Mercedes GLK, a 2017 BMW X1, a 2017 Tesla Model X, a 2018 Abarth Spider, a 2019 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, a 2020 Tesla Model 3, a 2021 Porsche Boxster S, and finally, a 2022 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.

I have always been a Porsche fan, and when they started producing electric vehicles, I knew I had to have one (Porsche handling and performance without Porsche costly maintenance is an automatic win). I have really loved my Tesla’s over the years, and the convenience of owning an EV with no gas fill-ups and oil changes, made it an easy decision.

Last summer while stuck in security purgatory, with no end in sight, I locked in an allocation for the beautiful car you see above, and in November 2021, I took delivery. Stupid of me to buy a 6 figure car when I was likely to end up getting an offer with the State Department, but it was also my last hurrah to have a car I really wanted, especially knowing I wouldn’t want anything super fancy in countries where a nice car can attract unwanted attention. I also was stuck in security investigation knowing my list of foreign contacts would bog it down, and figured I would have a year or so with the car before I would have to abandon it. Whomp whomp.

As soon as I accepted the job offer, I shed a small tear for my Taycan. It is such a phenomenal car. Looks amazing, wagon practicality, fast as hell, handles like a true Porsche, and did I mentioned it looks amazing? With different EV charging standards outside the USA, not knowing if I could even charge it, and Porsche making us sign a 1 year no export clause on these cars, it just wasn’t in the cards. Not to mention, this thing bombing around the developing world would put a huge target on me that screams, “rob that guy”.

I originally planned to keep it until I shipped off to DC in April, but when an area dealer made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, I jumped at the opportunity. I thankfully still have an extra car to finish up the last couple months of work here, and with the used car market being just insane right now, it made financial sense. Thankfully I didn’t take a hit on the purchase, and actually walked out ahead with the $7500 EV tax credit I got for buying it last year.

Now I am not sure what I will buy once I learn my post destination, or if I will buy anything at all. There are so many variables and restrictions by country that there’s no point in buying anything now. I will say, the Toyota RAV 4 or Honda CRV seem to be the official car of Foreign Service workers everywhere due to ease of maintenance and finding parts, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I go in that direction. Either way, whatever I end up with, I’ll be sure to post it here.

Farewell again Crimson Fury. I barely knew you, and hope you make someone else as happy as you made me.