Correct!

 

That's where I am speculating the 1K increase.

 

Nah... These are current prices. Expect another price increase for '11 models.

 

Mid year increase ?

 

This is one of the most interesting threads I've read on this forum. I, for one, appreciate an intelligent debate between knowledgeable people.

If I can add a little something here, I think that the "prestige" factor should not be underestimated when discussing cars pushing 100k. I live in West Los Angeles and Irvine. The first day I drove my Porsche C2 up to West LA, I must have noticed about 30 or so 911's (I'm not exaggerating). You can't imagine how many little girls (in their teens? maybe in their 20s?) drive turbo cabs, and how many proud wives cruse to the Chanel store with the top down on their covertibles whose tail reads, "Carrera 4S."

Now, I do admit that I don't know these people personally. But I can basically guarantee that they know nothing about the mechanical differences between a C2 and a C2S, let alone how to drive these things. The words "flat 6" means some type of lipo procedure to them, and the most important difference between the C2 and a C2S for them was the "S" on the back of the car and those really pretty red calipers. Oh, and the fact that it's the higher model car than their neighbors'.

You might say, well, that's not the typical Porsche drivers. And I would have to disagree. Things have changed quite a bit since the days of the P car as the pure sports car. For every one of you guys that spend countless hours driving, enjoying, discussing, and researching your it's-like-God-built-it-himself P cars, there are probably at least 5 ******bags/spoiled child/housewives that buy these things simply so that he/she can look good and enviable on the streets. But you can't be the guy or girl with the "base" model 911! So you better fork out the extra 10k (or whatever it takes) to get the extra letter in the back so everyone knows you paid extra for this car.

Basically, the point of the base model (if you'll just entertain this thought for a second... This, I know, is hard for some of you guys to swallow if you don't live in Los Angeles and don't see this bullsh*t everyday) is so that people buy the "better, more expensive" S model. If every seat in an airplane was business class, it would simply lose its allure to most people. It's not the seat itself; it's that the average guy cannot afford it, but I'm in it. There was a recent study done that actually showed that while money itself doesn't bring happiness, the perception that you have more money than your peers actually does make people happy. It's all about doing better than the Jones'.

So if you got rid of the base/S caste system, then some of the allure for the higher model car would be lost. I believe that the base models that sit unsold in the lots actually help the sales of the S cars. To me, this, in part, explains while S cars sell better than the base models.

I think the debate here so far has been strictly theoretical, because you guys are actual enthusiasts who know the difference between the engines, the suspension, and the brakes and are discussing market forces based on these facts. But in my opinion, it's much more simple than that. Most people pay for the S car because they know it's the "higher model" than the base, not necessarily because they can feel the difference when driving the car (as mentioned previously, what average driver pushes these things to the point that the difference can be felt?). Porsche fully understands this, and that's why the hierchy exists. Because the base car exists, the S car buyer feels better about himself when he drives off the lot.

 

911Rookie--interesting post.
The question is: is L.A. the norm, or the exception?
In my area (ohio/michigan) , a porsche is a porsche. With the exception of a few rich urban areas in the U.S. (which includes L.A.), I think that perhaps we are more of the norm--that is, the base/S are indistinguishable to 99% of people.

 

La is not the norm. 911s are pretty rare down here. And 98% of people don't know there's an S and base.

 

Right you are, but maybe 99.8%. and if anyone is worried, for $12 you can buy the plastic 'S' from any dealer; spend another $200 for some quad tips to replace the ovals and even us "experts" won't be able to distinguish the two.

 

This is exactly my point. 911s, or any car that pushes 6 figure price tags, are rare anywhere in the world. But in places like Los Angeles, it is casually ubiquitous. A dealer in the LA area told me that a disproportionate number of Porsches are sold in the Southern California region. Like, a huge chunk of them (can't remember the percentage but it was pretty shocking). Just in my condo, there are 8 997s (incidentally, all S models) parked on the 2nd level of the garage where I park. There are at least twice as many on the first floor and 3 more on the 3rd floor. And I live in one of the more "average" high-rise condos in West LA.

But the elitist attitude taken by the millionaire buying these cars cannot be unique to LA. If I'm a guy with lots of money, used to sitting first class, living in a top-notch neighborhood and eating out at the finest restaurants, I'm not gonna go into a Porsche dealership and buy the base model 911. It doesn't matter that I'm not gonna be able to tell the difference when driving back and from the office, or that the base model is a very capable model.

And that's why, I think, from a pure business standpoint, the base model has a niche.

 

911rookie,

From what I know of the LA area, you bring up an excellent point. In West LA (a.k.a. Beverly Hills) it's like one big pi$$ing contest to see who's got the sickest ride. This is why you have folks like Ryan Friedlinghaus of West Coast Customs fame who will take a Porsche, Bentley, Lambo or whatever straight off the showroom floor and customize it to your heart's content. What if Ryan Friedlinghaus had decided to open up his custom automotive business in (for a random example) St. Louis, MO? He would probably have gone out of business in a few months. LA is one of those odd micro-economies within the US that can sustain businesses that no other area can.

Have you ever looked at the National Porsche Dealer Locator?

http://www.porschedealer.com/dealer/usLocator/

Take a look at the LA area and you'll see that there are more dealers there than anywhere else. There's even one in Newport Beach which by the way, the locals like to call "New Porsche Beach" (yes, I know the "e" the end of Porsche is supposed to be pronounced but they don't do it when pronouncing this).

The folks at Porsche are no fools and they know that to some customers it's almost like a game to see how much they can spend on a 911. I don't know about any of you guys but when I was researching my car I found some of the options were there for people who have what I like to call "stupid money". For instance, how many of us are willing to pay an extra $800-$1100 for what they call deviated stitching? I mean, really, why does Porsche charge so much just to change the color of the thread? The thread has to be used anyway. It's not like yellow thread costs more than blue thread or red thread, right? The same goes for seat belt webbing. And then there's all those silly leather options. Is there really any advantage to having your air conditioning vents covered in leather? Even if you have "stupid money" to throw at an option like this it's not going to last too long. Think about it. Leather isn't meant to go from hot to cold like that and with the humidity in the cabin and condensation coming out of the vents how long can something like that look good? But people with "stupid money" don't give a f*ck because they'll only have that car for perhaps a year at the most and then move on to something else that costs even more.

Sorry but that's exactly the part about Porsche that I don't like - the "prestige" factor and if Ferdinand Porsche were alive today I'll bet he wouldn't like it either. From everything I've read about Ferdinand Porsche he was an engineer's engineer and not some high-brow stuff shirt. I bought my 911 because of its engineering, performance and heritage. Not because I could get the air conditioning vents covered in leather or red stitching in the seats.

 

This thread is really interesting to me... as this was a dilemma I ran into last year when I bought the 997.2 Base.

When I was shopping for the car, I knew that I wanted the car in white, no if's or but's. At first, I was shopping for a white 997.2 S in particular, however, they did not have any stock throughout Canada. I would have to place an order at the dealer to Germany. However, they were projecting a wait of 3-4 months... but I really didn't want to wait that long.... so long story short, I bought the non-S.

In the past, I have always bought the higher-tier of whichever car I bought... main reason being the higher-tier car are usually more "well equipped", most of the time, the car manufacturer (ie. MB, BMW, etc..) package it a way that, if you fully option the lower tier model, it would almost be the same price as the similarly equipped higher tier model. I guess this is how they "add value" to generate a higher profit margin. (As we all know, the option list is where the real money is for car makers).

But for Porsche, it really doesn't make much difference. For example, you would pay for BT phone module in the "base" 997.2 as you would in a C2S, C4, C4S & Turbo; you would pay for a sport seat, etc, etc in the same way.

So, the main reason I make the decision for the C2 is that, I thought, with CAD$15k I save by buying the C2, I can do so many upgrades to the car to match or exceed what is packaged in the C2S. (wheels, coilovers, exhaust, intake, brakes, etc..). I know, I know... the engine is 3.8 vs. 3.6, but in reality... the difference is marginal, unless we are talking about the 997 TTs.

Anyways, that's my opinion and what I did, honestly, I am very happy with that decision.