nope...just kidding guys their still making it...

I know this topic has been overdone like an American flag on a car antenna but bare with me here I need to vent...

To me this is equivalent of the recently laid off enron employetts posing in PLAYBOY for dinero. Has Porsche lost ALL dignity? Let's face it, a part of the Porsche experience is owning a car from a brand that makes NOTHING BUT sports cars. I remember in the 80's Porsche used that as their marketing ploy. Will Ferrari make an SUV? The ghost of enzo would come to life and haunt every italian craftsman. BMW sold out....fine Even Cadillac and Lincoln....OK Porsche? It may be easy for a soul like me to gripe about a vehicle I surely can't afford but I'll never say a word to the 911 guys. They have the cash AND love their cars, the best of both worlds. The problem here is will your average Cayenne owner even know how to spell the name of their SUV? I KNOW (and I'm no marketing expert) that nobody with this vehicle is going to know CRAP about their car. And there's nothing wrong with that, just don't drive a Porsche then. There are plenty of LS400 owners who own fine automobiles of which they know absolutely nothing about and are perfectly content with. But to date there are very few Porsche owners who don't know how their engine is cooled let alone where it's located.

Atleast Porsche didn't give it a number designation. I don't want to sound too much like Bush but there's something "evil" about this. Sure the horsepower is staggering and it has technology to boot but after the SUV fad dies down will this do to Porsche what the K car did to Chrysler in the 80's? Porsche doesn't need that type of image. It's putting a Website on the back of a boxer, it's the big VIAGRA sign at comisky park, it's ENRON dammit!!! Houston has a great new ballpark but it will forever be scarred because of the Enron years. This Cayenne will do the same to Porsche. Just like the GM loyalists shy away when you discuss the Aztec so will the Porsche guys when this topic is brought up. The Porsche name is branded on history and lineage and the few bucks Porsche will gain with this model surely won't suffice for the regret Porsche lovers everywhere will face years ahead.

 

Was it not Ferdinand Alexander Porsche himself that stated, and I quote, "At Porsche, we only build sports cars."? The poor bastard must be spinning in his grave.

 

... well it is called a Sport Utility Vehicle

 

He's got a point...

 

[quote]Originally posted by exc911ence:
<strong>Was it not Ferdinand Alexander Porsche himself that stated, and I quote, "At Porsche, we only build sports cars."? The poor bastard must be spinning in his grave.</strong><hr></blockquote>

If thats what he really said, then he was lying. Porsche makes all kinds of things. In fact, they were to first people to incorporate the all wheel drive system. Porsche has been building everything from tractors to tanks, to amphibious cars, to jet engines. Let them run their own business. Its not like any of us would have been lying up to buy any of their new cars anyway, most of us... They don't care about us, they care about the people that have the money to buy these cars. Once its bought your on your own anyways like most companys these days, sadly. I'm tired of this topic, I don't know why I keep reading them.

 

[quote]Originally posted by Tim Strayer:
<strong>

If thats what he really said, then he was lying. Porsche makes all kinds of things. In fact, they were to first people to incorporate the all wheel drive system. Porsche has been building everything from tractors to tanks, to amphibious cars, to jet engines.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Ferdinand was somewhat forced by Hitler during WWII to make tanks and the like. Ferdinand was an engineer at heart, and he believed that innovation through engineering could lead to success, not by supplying 500H.P. SUV's because the American market finds them popular.

Innovative would be to create a car like the 911, 240Z, Integra GS-R, 2002, and the like. These cars created their own subculture. Instead of following in the footsteps of the $$$ Porsche could unilaterally create a car that would wake up all the sleeping car lovers out there. PAG banked on the boxster I don't buy this they need money talk I think they just want more of it.

But I agree Tim...this Cayenne stuff is makin me sick...

 

Not to mention he build fire engines/trucks in Germany well before the internal-combustion engine became feasible. It incorporated electric motors in the hubs! Talk about things coming around full-circle, eh?

 

Porsche is making this SUV to diversify its product offering, period. It will add to the bottom line, reducing the chance of the marque getting swallowed up. Like Aston Martin, Lamborghini, etc etc etc. If it helps the survivability of the company for the long term, isn't that a good thing-even if you don't like the car?

 

[quote] Innovative would be to create a car like the 911, 240Z, Integra GS-R, 2002, and the like. These cars created their own subculture. <hr></blockquote>
Hey 5050, why'd you leave US off the list? Porsche owners (through PCA especially) are a subculture, which can be broken down further by model.

Damian, I don't recall the numbers, but when I saw the huge sales projections I started to worry about Porsche's future. The development cost and by extension the production run needed just to break even are a bit high, unless SUV demand increases.

 

Dave, they plan to make 25,000 units in the first year. They'll all sell, I'm sure. How many high line SUV's do you see a day around here? If I try and pick up my kids at school I can't see over the damn X5's, ML430's, Range Rovers etc. Not to mention those Subdivisions, oh I mean Suburbans. The current Porsche management turned the company into the most profitable auto firm in the world. I think this will work out fine.

 

I've hesitated commenting on the Cayenne issue for a while, but I think it's going to work out fine too.
I don't particularly like the thing, but it really does make a lot of sense. I recently heard (please correct with figures if I'm wrong) that nearly 60% of all 996 sales last year were tiptronic cabs. And from what I see on the road I believe it. If that's Porsche's NEW car buyer's market, then the Cayenne will fly.
But more importantly - I LOVE that their building new engines! High performance sports cars? IMO, you only go so far with 6 cylinders. And from a purely HP perspective, I think the Cayenne will be pumping out a better ROI than a 996 or a Boxster.
My hope is that the Cayenne gives the company more flexibility to build a new car that I actually want to put myself into.

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" /> ,
Clem

 

Guys, what you don't realize about the Cayenne, is that it was the only way that Porsche could get around the 911 snobs not buying any front engined Porsches. Do you really think they are developing a twin-turbo V8 to put into their truck? LOL.

If you look closely at the rear of a 928 GTS, and compare it to a new 911, you will see a striking resemblance. I believe that Porsche is slowly but surely weaning the airheads one step at a time.

Actually, I didn't like the Cayenne, at first, but I believe it is going to be one hell of a vehicle. There is definitely a market for the car, and based on what I've seen/read, I think it might redefine what an SUV is. It is definitely the first SUV I would consider buying. The only problem is that its probably going to be another 10 years before I can afford one.

 

I did include Porsche with the 911 because it created it's own subculture through it's design. To say that the Cayenne will be a "different" type of SUV is bogus. There are ALL types of SUV's out there. Big ones, small ones, fast ones, slow ones, cheap ones, expensive ones, SUV's for chicks SUV's for grown men the only difference with this one is that it will be a little faster for MUCH more money. Nobody's creating a new segment in the SUV market, they've all been created.

Very interesting comment about trying to get the rich porsche folks who wouldnt dare drive a front engined porsche...that whole transition theme makes alotta sense.

In the end though if this is what it will take to save Porsche from the same fate that Lamborghini had (although I believe if Labo followed Ferraris model of racing instead of just selling high prices autoz to a small market segment they'd be better off)....but in the end if this saves Porsche from being taken over then I guess it's the lesser of two evils...

...atleast I can save face by knowing they atleast didn't copy the front end of the 944.