I don't know how embarrasing it is... the race-version M3's have V8's and maybe an ***-wuppin is just what Porsche needs to re-invigorate its racing program. A motorsport rivalry is a good thing for all of us.

 

Yes, what I can't understand is, if Porsche felt they needed to broaden their market segment presence, why didn't they build a 4-door sedan? They could have made the best-performing, coolest 4 door on the planet. And the addition of 2 doors wouldn't have offended everyone like the SUV. Hell, I would be interested in something that looks and drives like a Porsche but I could put my children in (not that I could afford it, but...). And they could've made plenty of bread doing it. An SUV? I just shake my head in wonderment.

Thaddeus

 

Not wanting to take sides or anything but did Porsche admit they poorly engineered the 911 which was plagued with engine problems up until the 3.2L motor of the late eighties?

As a wannabe 968 owner, are the issues with the pinion bearing and variocam fixable, or are they inherently problematic?

The 924/944/968 line is to Porsche what the KCar was to Chrysler. It got them through the bad times

As for the SUV, well I am afraid Porsche is 3 years too late in bringing that to market. The SUV craze has peaked, the economy here and in Germany have taken a turn for the worse, and Porsche will suffer as a result. What may save them and the whole SUV fiasco may well be the new 928 that will share engine and drivetrain systems with the SUV.

 

Tom, you can read up on the pinion bearing problem on a page linked from www.968.net.

It only seems to have hit a few hundred cars (maybe 350?) of all model years at widely varying mileages. Those of us who haven't seen it yet kinda hold our breath waiting on the jet-engine roar. It can be fixed, and apparently stays fixed, but is in the $2-3K range to do so; Porsche has been less-than-helpful in many cases. BTW, it's six-speeds only, not Tips, and hits both cabs & coupes. Getrag's assembly process apparently overtorqued the pinion nuts at random intervals.... D'oh!

The Variocam wear issue likewise is unevenly distributed; mine looks fine (tensioner ramps, chain, sprockets) at 66K; failure seems to usually be around 100K or more, so it's less of a black eye for Porsche; but they've never, AFAIK, acknowledged it as a needed maintenence item. Similar problems exist for the S2, and (I assume) the S.

jim, probably more'n you wanted to know...

 

While I fully agree with the sentiment, and I truly believe they could have gone a better route than an SUV, I am pretty much in favor of almost anything that will avoid Porsche having to be bought by Ford or GM or something like that. Imagine Porsche being purchased by GM. And then GM enforces thier quality control on Porsche? Suddenly the variocam and ring and pinion problems are minor. Porsche should, however, sack thier marketing heads. This SUV is seriously way too late. This is nothing but a gross misjudgment.

 

I agree they are a bit late on the SUV, but do you not still think they will sell every one they can make this year? I know there is a fairly large waiting list at my dealership. As well, now they do not really have to do as much development for the engine in the next generation 911. How they will fit a V8 in the *** of a 911 I dont know but that is the plan...so I have heard.

 

jim968, maybe it's because Porsche didn't do any offroad adventures with any of the 924/928/944/968 series of cars, nor did they market an AWD version. What Porsche are trying to do with this "heritage" campiagn is show how Porsche is not new to the world of all wheel drive or offroading. A part of Porsche's heritage that has absolutely nothing to do with the water cooled Porsches.

Don't get me wrong, I love the water cooled Porsches, but they had nothing to do with the heritage Porsche is referring to.

Just a thought...

 

Dan, AFAIK, the 356 (from memory, also pictured in the brochure) had no serious off-road heritage, either (unless you count all the VW-based dune buggies & Baja Bugs, and various unintentional off-course excursions caused by terminal lift-throttle over-steer ).

"Heritage" is not a selective term; it's _all_ of what was, not just the "best" or "most applicable" parts....

Jim, not that I brag about all of my past, either

 

"but did Porsche admit they poorly engineered the 911 which was plagued with engine problems up until the 3.2L motor of the late eighties?"

NOT TRUE! The 2.0-2.4L motors very very good other than the chain tensioners which was really not as wide spread as advertised, and with the pressure upgrade, modern lubes and fuel run forever. The 2.7L was really the only 911 motor with major problems and that was due to the combination of Mag case, thermal reactors, misc studs, and large displacement. The 3.0 was probably the most bullet-proof motor ever (but still had the occasional tensioner problem), and the 3.2 has some rod bolt problems at high RPM but is other wise pretty bullet-proof as well, early 3.6 had head gasket, and clutch problems which seem to have appropriate fixes. Basically though any of these engines (other than the 2.7 warp issue) has updates than can correct the issues.

 

JonM thanks for the correction. I thought the problem was more widespread. I guess I can broaden my 911 search

Jim968, didn't the 356 enjoy a successful career in hill climbing races (when they were a rage), which is about as close as you get to off-road racing, without leaving the road?

 

The 924, and the 924 turbo have been raced off road many times, not sure about the 944, and AFAIK the 944 turbo was never off-roaded.
Ahmet