at this point in my life I would say 911. I love the sound of a flat 6.
My first car was a swing-axle Karmann Ghia. It always seem to me to capture about 75% to 80% of the 356 experience. At least that was what I told myself as broke student with no prospect of owning a 356 at the time. 
Ahhh, an unanswerable question...
911
I think this hypothetical question strikes at the heart of the collector car hobby. Certainly the 911 is a better car by almost every measure of performance, efficiency, and safety. Cars in general, not just Porsches, keep getting better. BUT a newer 911 will never evoke the same smile as the 356, or any classic car. Most of us admire mechanical elegance, and find satisfaction in the driver involvement that an old car requires. A part of us yearns for the simplicity of the old machines. And we revere cars that have survived the decades, in spite of everything. They get cooler as the years pass. But then there's the part of us that wants air conditioning and cruise control. Occasionally, we have to actually DRIVE an old car to recall how basic they were. Give me the 356 to polish and cruise around the neighborhood on weekends, but the 911 for actually going places. And if it ever (God forbid) comes down to choosing one car, a museum piece doesn't really meet my needs.
fidelity101 wrote: 356 coupe Because I don't want to go fast, I just want to be old and classy. The curves on the car are just excellent. Probably has a lot of trim pieces made out of real wood. Basically like an ideal grandpa car for me.
The only PROBLEM is that with a car like that, I'd want to get a tweed cap and stringback gloves and do TSD rallies. Not the "WTF was the rallymaster thinking making this rollercoaster a CAST 40" kind of TSD, but the "Look at the pretty leaves and bridges" kind of TSD.
I get that feeling every time I sit in a 107 chassis Mercedes. They're not fast, they don't handle well, but they have a kind of dignified class to their impracticality.
Woody said: Is that 356 from TN? If so I think I know that car. Yes.
Going back to this, is that maroon one for sale? It really is a sweet car. I went on a drive with the 914club over to the Dragon and that guy came along. It is all 356, for example the seats were a little worn, but to me that added character to the car. It was pretty cool seeing that thing go along the Dragon.
Also perspective wise I think the pics throw it off a little. The ones you posted make the 356 look much larger than the 911, but is actually smaller than the 911.
I still want a 356.
911 and as new as I can afford. The 356 is a sexy car but I'd feel guilty about autocrossing or putting it on a track.
I have some semi-perverse ideas of a dream 356 and as fun as they would be it would likely be just as applicable to a Beetle. (and those have never really done the trick for me)
Realistically those ideas wouldn't make much sense on a 911 and the newer platform would just be be that much better of a DD and really is a different beast.
Now if only someone would drop off a shell of either in my driveway...
The question is a little vague to me. When you say "911" in these terms, I see 40+ years of production and improvement to pick from. And it's not like all 356's were the same either...
911, but not that 911. My interests start with the long hood cars (that I can't afford), skip over those big bumper ugly things (with the exception of the early turbo cars that I can't afford) and then pick back up with the 964 which is actually pretty again. I'd rather hot rod the ever loving E36 M3 out of a Ghia than put the money into a 356.
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