cobalt

IMO the SUV killed the 928 and nearly devastated Porsche as a company. The 911 was to be killed off but saved because it was a known quantity, cheaper to build and the average person recognized Porsche as a 911 or the car with the bug eyes as I recall people saying back then. The 90's hurt Ferrari badly and was barely saved by parent company Fiat, Lamborghini nearly folded until sold to Chrysler and Masserati did. Nobody wanted Sports cars anymore never mind one that cost the same as a starter home for most of America. The economy was in bad shape and IIRC most people were driving cars 10 years old in the 90's unlike today where they lease new every 3-4 years.

Sports cars hit their peak with the Miami Vice craze but people couldn't afford the high costs and leasing was barely an option as it is today. The SUV became the new fascination in America especially and everyone suddenly wanted one. It hauled the family around and didn't cost much and American car manufacturers were starting to lease them making it easier for the average person to afford a new car.

The 928 was never really killed it just was selectively retired and then morphed into the 911 known as the 996. The 996 IMO is nothing like the air cooled 911's and when I drive one I feel I am driving a rear engined 928 vs a water cooled 911.

The 928 had its place in history and it lives on in those that truly appreciate it for the machine it was. It can never be replicated and IMO has a place in automotive excellence that can never be taken away from it.

928SS

oops - right you are! thx! good info as always!

kccampro

My father was a long time employee of a Porsche-Audi dealer in Greenwhich Ct through the 80's and laughed as he read this thread last night... his response to the poll: expensive service. He used to say 928s were ‘junky’ due more too neglected service rather than the build quality of the car… but that’s the opinion of a used car manager who used to take them in on trade, so he had somewhat of a one-sided view. He's more of a 911 guy... what does he know anyway...

The employees at the dealership used to bet on which customer would have the highest service bill, 928s were a sound bet. Him and I had some good memories driving 928s when I was a kid the last time being a brand new manual GTS in 1992 which I will not soon forget, but he always thought of them as 'junky' based on the poor condition they used to come back to him on trade-in. Not sure why so many came back to him poorly maintained... maybe it was the cost of service that ultimately brought the car down. Unfortunately, my '83 is the wrong car to change his opinion on the mighty 928 as she’s hardly a cream puff.

Daniel Dudley

The 928 died in it's sleep after a long and happy life. It always mananged to keep up with the times, but in the end it was a 20 year old platform that few could aspire to. Really all of the points mentioned here apply, as it was hardly a case of ''Colonel Mustard in the library with a carving knife''. Lots of little factors, but what sticks in my mind is that they can take you to the stars, or bring you down in the dumps.

People don't buy Porsches to go down the dumps. And having been there once, they are not likely to return. At least not in a Porsche.

Fabio421

Cigarettes, alchohol and pain pills. It was sad really.

Airflite40

while it may have started with the reasons every one else is mentioning, I have to agree with Hacker and David:

Ultimately ODBII killed the 928, as well as the 968.

6mil928

Yea cup holders

Mongo

I think to hold price as responsible for the death of the 928 would be a misnomer since the 911 Turbo easily went for the same price as the 928 from 1996-on. Price had nothing to do with it, and I am pretty sure Porsche did not want to lose the 911 due to those who are afraid of 'change.'

F451

I can see you guys are avoiding this, but you can't hide the crazy cousin in the closet forever. Let's get it over with...

Marine Blue

After reading through this I have to conclude that production and warranty costs must have been a big reason why the car was discontinued. If Porsche wasn't making a killing then it just wasn't worth it for them to keep the car alive and I really believe that having the Japanese consultants come in and explain how to build a car for profit made a significant impact on Porsche as we see them today.

I'm sure if they really wanted to keep the air cooled engine alive they could have but it just didn't make financial sense.

cobalt

I don't see how. The GTS had more electronics in it than the 911 already. Eventually they had to go water cooled to meet environmental requirements which the 928 and 968 already were. When I work on a 928 vs a 911 it is obvious that the 928 was a much more costly car to build with a smaller market share. None of the models were selling by 1994 they only imported 411 turbos and around 1800 N/A 964's with about 600 968's and 100 928's. Not great numbers for any company to live by. The 911 was still the best seller at the time and more research had gone into it with a racing heritage which is what they were grasping onto. It also was an easier platform to modify for future plans and lent itself to using mutual parts on the upcoming boxster.

I have the original factory sales promotion info for the 90's cars and the 911 turbo was the most expensive model with the GTS second around $11k cheaper and the 964 following another 8-10 below that. I would say the concern over change was an argument that died 10 or more years before. The 928/911 arguments have been going on since it's inception and there were always two distinct sides to the argument. I had friends that owned both and it was like kids in the school yard screaming back and forth neither side making sense.

Funny I have all my records for both my turbo and my GTS the GTS has 61k miles the turbo has 36+ or so and The turbo records fill an entire 1" binder as the GTS is only 3/4 full. All Porsche's have had one issue or another no arguments there. I find the repair costs high side of a 928 to be nothing compared to the cost of repairs to the turbo. Loose a belt on a 928 and you might be looking at $8-10k rebuild costs blow an engine on a turbo and you are looking closer to $20K. The 928 suffers from more nagging problems than the 911 does.

We have a local mechanic now independent that worked for a local Porsche dealership for years until the late90's he was the local 928 expert and many times the other dealerships would send the 928''s to him to repair. Most dealerships didn't sell enough 928's to warrant a full time mechanic with expertise in this area. He said he would get more 928's come to him botched up by the other shops attempt to fix things they should never have touched and the customer usually paid for their incompetence. His opinion is that the market was soft for any of Porsche's products at the time and the 911 was the logical choice to salvage.

There was no way o keep the 911 air cooled restrictions made it impossible at any cost level. It was inevitable that they went with water cooled heads to keep parameters under control.

dprantl

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! I was waiting for someone to get the right answer.

My previous '86 was the most reliable car I've ever owned for 8 years and 70k miles, probably because no other person than me ever touched it mechanically.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C