Originally Posted by dr_r2r

Porsche 911 has to grow in size to accomodate fat americans.

Originally Posted by ADias

And you gloss the fact that the french arrested the Porsches to pick their brains and steal car designs, under the collaboration cannard, forgetting that the same Porsches save many people from the **** atrocities..

Originally Posted by dr_r2r

Porsche 911 has to grow in size to accomodate fat americans.

Originally Posted by winkingchef

Have you seen the size of German tourists these days? (especially from Bayern)
I think thou dost protest too much.

Originally Posted by Fahrer

Basically, I agree with you. My observation is that the younger crowd is not as interested in cars, in general ( this is, of course, a generalization!). It seems that video games and hand held devices rule the day. There are so many different cars and different distractions available today. I also agree that the 911 is desired largely by older drivers. My intellect tells me the Boxster is the better value. My heart says "this is what you always wanted since you were 16 years old in 1969!" I believe that many folks have high expectations of luxury for cars in this price range. Think about the perceived value of the Panamera vs. the 911. The 911 is relatively raw compared to many of its competitors. I think that Porsche has to deal with all of the above. Not so easy when there are a number of competitors.

Originally Posted by Marine Blue

Interesting to read everyone's responses.

I'm in my mid 30's and I'll be in the market for a new fun car next year. Yeah there are far fewer people my age that are into cars and it seems with every new generation the desire for fun sporty cars further declines.

Having said that I'm leanings towards a Boxster or a Miata at the moment. The Spyder is my preference as it embodies everything I would want in a pure sports car. Enough power (not too much), great handling, minimized excess and beautiful. Price and depreciation are the only two downsides. The Miata doesn't have quite enough power but more than makes up for it in the handling and shifting. It's not nearly as beautiful but for less than half the price and half the overall depreciation it remains a consideration.

I did consider the 911 briefly and it does have a few advantages including back seats for the kids and better resale over the long term but the reality is that my kids hardly ever go on drives with me and I really don't need the extra space. I haven't drive an modern 911 so I can't comment how its handling compares to a current Boxster but judging by what others here and elsewhere have said, the Boxster isn't as lively as the 911 but it is very connected to your inputs.

I think the Cayman is what the older 911 used to be and it's hard to argue that when you look at the overall dimensions of the car. Now if they would restyle the back so it looked nicer I think it would be a huge hit!

Originally Posted by winkingchef

Have you seen the size of German tourists these days? (especially from Bayern)
I think thou dost protest too much.

Originally Posted by 1BlinkGone

That's one thing that killed my wife's interest in the Panamera is the ungodly HUGE center console. Considering they are somewhat replicating that in the 991 isn't exactly giving me grins...

Originally Posted by texas911

I agree, they should keep it open, like on Ferraris.

Originally Posted by zanwar

They're using the same floor structure for both the C2 and the C4, so they need room for the driveshaft to the front wheels. May as well cover it with a centre console. Mid engined Ferraris don't come with four wheel drive so they have extra space. The Gallardo also has a centre console, just one from an Audi A4.

Originally Posted by surfer

I disagree. A lot of 20 and 30 somethings are avid car fanatics. Video games and car enthusiasm are not mutually exclusive, looks at the success of games such as Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5. I love driving my C2S and I love playing GT5. It's the closest I'll ever get to doing hot laps at Tsukuba and Suzuka. I'm no spring chicken but myself and 2 of my best friends are all in our mid-30s driving 997s.

Originally Posted by Mspeedster

I'm in my late 40s and I still love to play those games.

BTW, I'm extremely disappointed with Gran Turismo 5. It's a solid driving game, but 6 years in the making, I expected so much more. The biggest disappointement was not that it didn't contain Porsches, but the tracks and (non-premium) standard cars are poorly rendered compared Forza 3 or even Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. And they didn't even bother to add any of the 997 based RUF cars.