if you include the boxter... there sure are alot of folks gutting nice cars for track use.

 

I sure as hell hope the Cayman becomes the 944 of the Porsche line.
No other car since the 944 has caught my attention. I wanted a 944 when I graduated from college in 1986....it took 11 years to finally get one....by then the prices were reasonable.

Hoping for the exact same thing with the Cayman.

 

my opinion, no.

do i think there will be another 944/968 type Porsche? Yes, Porsche is going to be forced into it. follow the thought...the CAFE(corporate average fuel economy) is going to have to be 35mpg by 2013(3 model years away) the panamera best's like 25mpg out of the base v8(as of now, there will be a 6), the base 997 gets 28, the boxster/cayman 32(not bad) the truck gets at best 23mpg. so the average fuel economy for porsche is right around 26-27mpg. they have a new v8 diesel for the truck, that'll up fuel economy for that by about 3mpg, still not enough.

based on that logic a small 2 door sports coupe, maybe a smaller(hopefully better looking) panamera, with a turbo 4 cyl up front and the trans in the back is the best bet. if need be, get rid of the cayman and boxster, offer the new 968 power wise at like 245hp n/a and a turbo version with 290-310hp. pricing will be low for the n/a, maybe 40k(low for Porsche mind you) and the turbo up to 70k, by 2013 the 911 base price should be around 80k, they're already 75k or so. and if anyone recalls a few years ago, they were many rumors of Porsche making a turbo 4cyl for the boxster.

the biggest question of all of this, how is Porsche going to meet the CAFE requirements?

VW already mentioned they would like to try and only run the panamera for one life cycle(2010-2017), if it sells well then maybe play with the car, a new 2dr gt(928). CAFE will affect parent companies, so VW will need to get Porsche and Bugatti up to higher mpg.

if there are any announcements from vw/Porsche for a new 968, i'm getting it. my 944 keeps braking, i fix one and the next brakes, i want a damn warranty but the same fun, and i'm not buying a miata

 

i would love to see the ballance sheets for all models the past 25 years.

what cars made what money etc...

 

I think the 944 is far more practical as a daily driver and they really are two different cars. I really wish the Cayman was a front engined car at times (I love the mid engined feel but hate having my motor under carpet)

With that said, the Cayman has the closest driving feel to the 944 series I have found so far. I drove to my local dealer in my 944 a couple of years ago, and took a cayman s for a spin. The steering, handling, etc was very similar. Which is really a testiment to the 944. In general, I described the cayman as a faster 944.

But..the cars are different,

-Four seats vs two
-6 cyl vs 4 cyl
-mid vs front engine
-giant (for a sports car) practical trunk vs two small trunks. etc etc

I would say they are in the same place in the porsche lineup price wise.

 

monetarily, i think the 944 was the car that kept Porsche going through the late 80's, i do know the 924 pulled em outta hell. the 993 didn't sell well, same with the 928 gts. i think Porsche was kinda lost in the 80's. the 944 turbo was as quick as a carrera, the 928 was quicker than all 911's but the turbo and the 959. it came down to if the buyer wanted all out speed and some luxury(911 turbo), full luxury with a bit of speed(928) or a car that was all around well balanced(951)

 

But I paid 1K more for my N/A than my 951... there may be deals to be had on the horizon... and I believe we are starting to see them now...

 

yea we're seeing deals, but that's because dealers don't wanna keep cars on the lot, there's a c6 vette for sale by for 28k with 30k on the odo, but great if not mint condition. however there's an 05 boxster for 22k up the road under private sale.

there will always be deals, but just like any car, you gotta know what you're looking for, what to look for, and what to expect for the price.

911's sure as hell don't hold value, 04 911 turbo for 38k not that bad for the performance. i'm between a 996 turbo or a 951...it's really going to come down to what i can find for the price