Holy SH*T.....

What a nimrod..

 

They already sold out to VW! My '12 991 is among the last "true" Porsches

My bigger concern is hoe the Carrera and cayman S can coexist. They are similar size, the interiors are now very similar, they are arguably holding the Cayman back.

 

that stiff carbon fiber body on the lambo really stays together when its being demolished.

 

You thaught him well LOL

 

Think of it another way. They clearly did something right with the money that comes in from the dillution. The 991 is the best 911/porsche to date.

Would it have been as good if it still was the only car in the lineup with less funds for R&D?

 

Excellent post ^^^^^.

 

I think it will destroy the brand. It will be like BMW and Mercs. VW should rethink their approach to the demise of the Porsche name.... They can make money with Audi.....

 

I would quite go as far that, however I think it is inevitable as they have migrated from once being a niche company in sports cars to higher volumes.. Bottom line to increase sales you have to broaden your product line.. and appeal to people outside of their core sports car business. We can all complain about it but it will continue to happen. I'm sorta hoping for a major flop in the SUV's to get them back a bit towards their roots.

But I do see it diminishing the brand and my fear is that one day Porsche could end up more like something like a Chevy, With a great premium car (i.e. the corvette) with a bunch of other throw away crap consumer cars. Brand appeal is always very personal, so it isn't anything that can be argued as right or wrong but there are some of us for example that probably wouldn't ever buy or look at a corvette simply because of a predisposition towards Chevy as a brand. That's not an arguable point it's just personal preference and perception..

Now that's extreme I realize, but at some point the 911's could become the corvette and Porsche more towards the chevy with a bunch of sedans and SUV's.. I don't really see it going to quite that extreme since Porsche is a performance company, but as long as VW owns I suspect three will always be pressure to introduce vehicles with a broader consumer appear..

But I'm selling my 911 the moment Porsche thinks about a minivan

 

Well at least it will still be premium. BMW and Mercedes are now making 4 cylinder front wheel drive hatch backs.

Basically:
Porsche is turning into what BMW was
BMW and Mercedes are turning into VW

Interestingly in 2014 Jaguar will have a higher percentage of sportscar sales within its line-up than Porsche.

 

I agree with others here, along with this post, though, Porsche is clearly doing something right. They are making cars that people want. Enthusiasts are being turned away (somewhat), but they are in the business of making money. Making cars perform better for everyone is not an easy feat, but this is where performance is headed - ACTUAL performance, as opposed to the thrill of the sensation. Some people prioritize one over the other. Do you want to go fast, or feel like your going fast? No one preference is right or wrong, but one is more likely to be bought by the general public and the other may not be.

It is a simple philosophy that I think Porsche moved to (before this latest generation), with the implementation of the 996 Turbo. They still offered other trims that offered the various experiences you are mentioning, but these trims are moving away as you suggested - in favor of other traits.

 

Porsche gives all of us who grew up in the pre cayenne era that feeling of what a sports car should be... however they are also a business and have made some excellent moves as one.

The sad thing for me is that in the past owning a 911 meant you belonged to a exclusive race car brand, you would pull it in for service and be attended to by people who work on race cars...

Now however you pull up to service and wait in long lines behind the exact same customers at BMW, have to go through bureaucratic nonsense and suffer things like what that poor fellow nmurray22 is going through.

 

This, I believe is a problem with the dealer, though, and not the manufacturer.

 

You are probably right, i have to get the ashtray lid replaced, they have the part, but the soonest date they can give me to bring it in is may 14th!

 

Wow, definitely dealership! Mine would squeeze me in their schedule and do something as simple in 15 minutes tops.

 

For that, at my dealership the guy who writes service would do it himself or get a tech and do it, have me pay for the part and not charge labor. They don't sweat the small staff and thus have steady customer for cars and service -me.