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“Your devoted husband and my caring father is home,“ Twin Daughter No. 1 screamed to her mother.

“Your adoring husband and my loving father is here, so let`s get that hot dinner on the table pronto,“ Twin Daughter No. 2 ordered her mother.

The reason for the greeting was that Dad pulled into the drive in a 1991 Porsche 944 S2 cabriolet. Had it cost $40,000 less you would call it a convertible, but for $50,000, cabriolet is more suitable.

Had it been a Yugo or a Hyundai Excel, the salutations would have been:

“The lug`s back again. Lock the liquor cabinet,“ from Twin No. 1.

“Throw some fresh mayo on the tuna, the old man`s home,“ from Twin No. 2.

The Maltese put the episode into perspective. He simply strolled up to the 944 and baptized the steel-belted radial. Canines of Mediterranean ancestry obviously don`t put as much import on $50,000 machines as do a pair of impressionable teens.

The 944, or any Porsche for that matter, is an experience. It`s not just a car but a motorized image. It`s speed and a noisy exhaust and wind blowing what`s left of the locks. It`s chin tilted forward, nose pointed upward, eyes focused ahead to avoid the stares and glares of the common folk admiring from a distance.

But mystique and 40 cents won`t even get you a can of pop or a bottle of imported water today. It`s one thing to look good, but in today`s market you have to act a bit special, too.

In that respect the 944 was a bit of a letdown. The 3-liter, 16-valve, four-cylinder engine teamed only with a five-speed manual boasted an impressive 208 horsepower rating, but the 208 horses performed as if geldings. The power rush fell short of expectations, which may explain the surprisingly high 17 m.p.g. city/26 m.p.g. highway rating. The 944 had more show than go.

The 5-speed manual was a disappointment, too. Try tilting chin, pointing nose and staring at the horizon while reachingdown and maneuvering through five forward gears as you depress and release the clutch.

This was a convertible, a car in which you slap the top down, hop in and cruise the open road and those scenic little hidden twisting byways without lifting a finger except to redirect the AM/FM or signal a turn. The 944 has verve and flare, but we wish it had a four-speed automatic.

The 944 hasn`t offered an automatic in a couple of years. This fall the 944 is replaced by an all-new successor dubbed the 968, which will offer Tiptronic, the Porsche system that brings four-speed manual and four-speed automatic into the same floor console so that the motorist can choose on his or her own to shift or to sit back and let it just happen.

Though the new 968 comes out this fall, Tiptronic might not be offered until after the first of the year. Loyalists will be pleased to know that only a six-speed manual will be offered until then.

Tiptronic is the system Porsche br ought out so that those who don`t know how to handle a manual or who don`t cherish its presence in the 5 p.m. rush hour as much as they do when alone on the interstate on the weekend will be able to enjoy a Porsche. Again, for the steadfast loyalists, there will be a six-speed manual-only version of the 968.

We also found that the 944 loved to dart nimbly into or out of any twist in the roadway, but was a bit stiff on the open stretches and didn`t take as kindly to the tar marks as $50,000 sedans would.

Porsche boasts that the 944 comes with a race-tuned suspension with “firm springs and shocks, hefty stabilizer bars and rigid bushings.“ The automaker doesn`t lie. Firm, hefty and rigid all help to provide the balance needed on wavy pavement, but all contribute to a hefty dose of bump and grind on the straightaways.

The list of standard goodies includes power brakes and steering, cast alloy wheels, 16-inch tires, integrated rear spoiler, front airda with fog lights, air conditioning, power windows/mirrors/seats (heated), cruise control, AM/FM stereo, heated windshield washer nozzles, trip odometer and digital clock.

Safety is a chief concern, and antilock brakes and driver- and passenger- side air bags are standard, as they will be on the new 968.

You can wait for the all-new sheet metal this fall and the availability of an automatic, or grab a 944 now. Why not wait? It would be startling if the 1992 968 didn`t start at about $5,000 more than a 1991 944, which starts at $50,350.