Now if they could only make the Cayenne look as good as the Toureg, they might be on to something...

Honestly, if the sticker on a Cayenne drops into the mid 20s, I might be interested when it hits 3-year-old-used-car status.

Cheap and buildable. Could be fun actually...

Greg

 

This isn't quite as bad as the hack job on the original Cayenne Forum.
There were quite a few self-proclaimed auto manufacturer busniness analysts' and part time/racer/seers offering up doom and gloom as to how the Cayenne was the downfall of the Marque and racing programs by said Marque.
The profit line was originally 35 - 40,000 units which eventually changed to somewhere in the 50,000 unit range offered up by some industry rag.
As it stands now wether the company is forcing the Cayenne on dealerships or not with or without incentives and wether or not they are selling like Hotcakes remains to be seen.
Some folks observe stashes of unsold products and others say the local dealer sells everyone they get in...
Bottom line on the product is going to be told within 3-4 years of first showroom apearance. If you delve into that BBC editorial and others linked to it the math is actually showing the Cayenne to already being close to the 1/3rd of all New Porsche sales that the BBC says Porsche is trying to achieve. At the low end of production around 30 - 35,000 units a year the Marque doesn't have to sell all TT models to re-coup developement and new construction costs within a reasonable 10 year period.
The diversification may or may not offset the volatile niche sports car market fluctuations, blah, blah, blah .... that's Weiderkings problem, not mine.
While there is no current F-1 program Porsche is heavily involved in racing programs and according to the CEO that will not change. Seeing as how NO ONE has caught Weiderking lying or fudging, yet ... I'll take him at his word. I read recently that there is also a VW, V-8 that is to go into a lower end Cayenne which not only reduces costs but outperforms the V-6 version across the board ...we shall see.
In the mean time I'm in Jessa's camp , if I can pick up a max optioned Cayenne to blow away 911's in the twisties and still jack it up for the rare boonie run, tow as much as my F-150 Ford usually hauls, has legs equal to a lot of 928's, and get it for 928 prices.......where does the waiting line start?

 

Sadly, Porsche's biggest problem is that their new car line up is boring and way over-priced (hence most profitable car company)! 30% of sales coming from an SUV, and nothing interesting with the balance of the line up except the un-affordable Carrera GT. Porsche had something good in the mid 80's building 911 / 924 / 944 & 928's. Until the new 928 comes in '07, there's nothing much of interest.

 

DETROIT - U-Haul is forbidding its stores from renting trailers to customers driving Ford Explorers, citing product liability lawsuits involving the popular sport utility vehicle, a newspaper reported.


U-Haul International Inc., North America's largest trailer rental company with more than 17,000 outlets, implemented the policy Dec. 22, saying it can no longer afford to defend the lawsuits, The Detroit News reported in Thursday editions.


"U-Haul has chosen not to rent behind this tow vehicle based on our history of excessive costs in defending lawsuits involving Ford Explorer towing combinations," the company told the newspaper, adding that the move is "not related to safety issues."


Joanne Fried, a U-Haul spokeswoman, declined to disclose how much the Phoenix-based company has spent defending lawsuits involving Explorers.


"The decision is not based on one accident," she said. "It's based on several different lawsuits going on for several years."


Ford Motor Co. spokesman Jon Harmon called U-Haul's decision "surprising and disappointing."


"This is all about runaway litigation and trial lawyers forcing businesses to make unfortunate decisions for fear of lawsuits," he said.


U-Haul was involved in a lawsuit that Bridgestone/Firestone settled out of court in September. It involved three college students who were injured when their Firestone-equipped Explorer overturned while pulling a U-Haul trailer.


Bridgestone/Firestone is currently trying reach an agreement on a $149 million settlement of 30 class-action lawsuits because of defective tires.


Although federal regulators have said there isn't enough evidence to show that the Explorer model contributed to the tire defects, many of the problem tires were equipped on Explorers.


A bulletin issued to U-Haul dealers last month said the company's decision was "based on the negative perceptions of Ford Explorers ... we are separating ourselves from the negative public perception and its potential consequences."


Ford has maintained the Explorer is safe. In 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (news - web sites) traced Explorer tire failures and resulting rollovers to tire manufacturing flaws.


Fried said the rental ban applies to all model years, even though the Explorer was redesigned in 2002, improving its rollover rating. It was voted "tow vehicle of the year" by Trailer Boats magazine the same year.

 

And Thennnnnn.
This is a tail chasing arguement with the usual arguements from Pro and Con alike - no hack here just different taste.
Some argue that a, relatively, inexpensive Porsche in the $30 - $36,000 range would "cheapen" the brand, Yet VW has a Boxter look alike - Concept R - pending that supposedly could come online in 3 years from approval that may or may not flog a Boxter S for, yep, $30,000!
Porsche would have to upgrade the Boxter -mo' money- ad nauseam-.
So we keep the quality and lose production/sales cash flow.
As for the Cayenne being way to expensive especially the TT all trimmed out, it is. But there will be buyers. Just look at Bently, Mercedes, Bugatti, Aston Martin, Jaguar, maybe Audi, different flavors filling high dollar niches'.
Don't get me wrong development is great, but it priced the 928 out of reach for most folks and the price jumped during a major slump -bummer-, yet the 911 series kept developing and plodding along .
A lot of folks love the 911's -not me- consequently, they have a strong following and a heck of a lot more EXPOSURE than the 928 ever did.
If the Cayenne can control costs while developing -What more can they do?- It'll be around production wise for a long time, if not, we have a good shot at being 2nd/3rd hand owners of a $90,000 sleeper SUV for cheap in about ten years.
A great hauler for our trailered sHARKs in the future.

 

Jim,

What are you seeing them selling for? I remember reading some of the notes on rev 1 teething pains. If the cost was reasonable and the infant-mortality stuff was already cured, one of those in black might be a good replacement for the aging Explorer.

Tim, you got a garage to put one in yet? Mine's getting close...

 

Actually I was hoping to use yours dr. bob

 

-Frankly, I think that the V6 powered Cayenne will probably be the big hit in the US.

The VR6 engine used in the Cayenne is an excellent engine. This compact unit was originally designed to put 6 cylinders in the space of 4, while allowing transverse mounting with a transmission mounted completely at the output shaft. This allowed greater "crush distance" for improved safety. The engine has a split crank, a narrow 15 degree V angle, the same firing order as an inline 6, and under full throttle it develops a unique sound not unlike a V8. It is extremely smooth as well.

Think about it: The average Cayenne buyer is someone who wants an SUV, but want's something a little more upscale than the Blazer or Explorer. BMW X5's, MB ML's, and Lexus RX are their targets. On a whim, they stop at the Porsche dealer to have a look. To their surprise, they find a nicely executed SUV with a very competitive price tag....and that fabulous gold-plated shield on the hood. A little haggling, and it comes home with them.

Since this car is well engineered by the folks in Wolfsburg, it gives them very little trouble, and the 6 cylinder gas mileage isn't all that bad. They drive it for years, taking their friends for rides...who are also suitably impressed. Suddenly, people who wouldn't ever think of stopping at the Porsche dealer are doing just that.

-I just suspect that the V8 and V8 turbo versions of this car might be a little too pricy for the average SUV buyer....they would appeal more to people like us, who love cars and especially love cars that go fast. And also, the notion of a very fast car probably intimidates quite a few people. But as the folks in Stuttgart know...that name sells and it looks like they are taking advantage of it. Hey what the hell- those folks are getting a pretty decent vehicle anyway, even if it isn't something I'd care for.

N!

 

To the best of my knowledge, most of the Cayenne was developed by Porsche in Weissach. So, I see the Touareg as a Porsche engineered VW, not the Cayenne a VW engineered Porsche.

The Cayenne V6 engine uses VW's short blok, but the heads and intake are Porsche specific. That's a significant part of the engine, I would say.

And before too long I'm sure that Porsche will offer a V10 turbodiesel version of the Cayenne. That one will beat the turbo in torque and most driving situations.

But all that does not make the Cayenne any prettier...

A British magazine wrote something like: 'If the Cayenne secures Porsche's independence and the 911, then we will even live with this uglly all wheel drive vehicle'... Ouch!