F451

I'm wondering if my perception that oddball looking cars are not successful, particularly oddball looking sports/GT cars, is correct.

And there's no denying that the Pan has oddball styling. You may like it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is oddball.

Some oddballs/double baggers that come to mind, although not necessarily sports cars:

Edsel - most infamous oddball of all time.



Pontiac Aztec - vying with the Edsel for all time ugliest design.



There's got to be more, lets see 'em.

hacker-pschorr

IMO the VW Beetle / 911 are way up on the list. Look at what else was on the market when they were released.

EDIT - actually, so is the 928

bronto

Cayenne was/is considered oddball too.

BBX

The current gen Skyline will no doubt have a cult following and does look somewhat out-of-the-ordinary by today's standards. I'm sure it will look mild in a few years time...

Nightfly

Performance will often offset fugly, but only to an extent. When you're paying alot, the car should be pretty as well as fast and comfortable. I think the Veyron is ugly as hell, but it's ungodly fast. I think the Mazda RX8 is ugly too, but a bargain for it's performance. The 911 series past about 1972 always looked like a girl with a really, really wide butt and skinny top; nice if you like that kind of thing. They've made improvements over the years, but are still light years behind in beauty (pun intended).

Yes, the 928 was an 'oddball' when it was released, because everything else was so very ugly. It's still one of the most beautiful cars ever made, and it must drive the designers of new cars mad that they can't come up with a better looking design than something that was created over thirty five years ago.
They could have made the Panamera truly beautiful; and I think not doing that may well be it's undoing. In this auto market, it's already going to be difficult to sell expensive cars. Why make it harder? Or, maybe they're marketing only to 911 owners, who seem to accept that type of ugly as normal.

VehiGAZ

Total repost from the other Panamera-bashing thread, but here it is anyway...

The Isuzu VehiCROSS was a (sort of) successful oddball, in that they sold the 4000 or so units they planned to sell at a ridiculous premium over the Trooper, Amigo, and other models it was based on...

UncleMaz

Oddball but very cool...

F451

Yes, Beetle and 911 have to be up there with some of the longest running and top selling oddball looking models in their catagories. Both very successful.

Good examples.

And yes, the 928 was/is oddball IMO. I think the 928 could be considered successful, although it was never widely accepted by the Porsche enthusiasts then. I do think that is slowly changing, especially among the non-P car enthusiasts.

Does anyone know what the 928 sales numbers are?

Did it sell in comparable numbers to its competition (not sure exactly what that was - Vette???)?

Was the 928 a money maker for Porsche?

F451

Agreed. I love those! I would like to own one one of these days.

tveltman

THE AMBIGUOUSLY GAY DUUUOOOO!

F451

Duuude. Harshin' on my buzz...

BBX

haha... I see it..... lol

Ron V

[QUOTE=NeverLateInMyNineTwoEight;6829579]Yes, Beetle and 911 have to be up there with some of the longest running and top selling oddball looking models in their catagories. Both very successful.



Does anyone know what the 928 sales numbers are?

I think I've seen on here somewhere, from 78-95 it's around 60,000 world wide.

cali4sun

Model Model Years Numbers Made
928 1978-82 -17669
928S 1980-83 - 8315
928 S/S2 1984-86 -14347
928 S4 1987-91 -16213
928 CS 1988-89½ - 19
928 SE 1988 - 42
928 GT 1989½-91 -1620
928 GTS 1992-95 -2831
Total 1978-95 -61056

'89 S4 GP White/Black
'912E Silver/Black sunroof

Objects in mirror are losing