h011yw00d

Old but pretty good article (blah, blah, enzo blah):

http://www.hemmings.com/hsx/stories/...feature15.html

My childhood dream car was always the 308. Found the 928 because that was what I could afford. Now I would still like to have a 308 but I wouldn't trade my shark for 2 of 'em.

tilac999

Good read, thanks.

worf928

Previous discussions of article:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...light=Hemmings

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...car-928-a.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...pressions.html

curt_928

I enjoyed that read as well. Thank you.

I like the "you need to GET the 928". Actually I liked the 928 before I even drove it as a teenager. I think this does the 928 a bit of disservice. It assumes that the 928 isn't desirable until you drive it for days and months, which is untrue.

My only gripe is putting a 1977 car with a 91' car. 14 years difference. C'mon. Apples to apples. do a 79' 928 and a 79' 308. I didn't used to "get' 308's until I had my Fcar. Now I'd love to have one. At our C+C, a guy brought his 308 and parked next to my friends 355. The flying buttresses were nearly identical. The DNA was visible right there. Visceral, cool cars that are totally the "driving experience".

h011yw00d

Nice article, Dave. Well done, man.

worf928

IMO, The article makes no such assumption, implicit or otherwise; it references understanding not desire.

A lot of folks "desired" a 928, bought one new, and then sold it pretty quickly because it didn't meet their expectations - whatever those might have been. They thought it was no good. However, had they actually experienced the 928 under all reasonable conditions they might have gained understanding of what the 928 is regardless of whatever expectations or preconceptions they might have had.

I have had conversations with numerous 928 owners who came to the proper understanding of the 928 years after they sold it and belatedly regretted having sold it.

There is a difference between "desire" and "understanding."

Thanks man.

tv

I don't agree with the 1st paragraph (personal experience) but do agree with the 2nd.


I posted once a qoute from a Porsche dealership garage manager who explained how the mechanics could not service these cars right from the get-go causing a lot of headaches. But even with that, sales climbed steadily from introduction until the body change in 87.

The body styling change had the opposite effect of what it should have had. Then the recession started and the huge difference in the currency exchange rate with the DM and prices rose. Price increase, recession, and unpopular styling change hurt it the most. The economy continued to suck and Porsche let the 928 wither on the vine performance wise compared to its competition and that was that. Throw in Porsche's idiotic and inept marketing for the car and it's fate was sealed.

FYI Porsche sold 3,000 vehicles in the US in 1993 compared to over 30,000 in 1985. They almost went bankrupt. 90% decline across all models.

EspritS4s

Production numbers don't really support the unpopular body update thesis (Wikipedia):
928 1978-82 17669
928S 1980-83 8315
S3 1984-86 14347
S4 1987-91 15682
CS 1988-89½ 19
SE 1988 42
GT 1989½-91 2078
GTS 1992-95 2904

Here's the yearly breakdown:
http://www.928registry.org/928%20Reg...IN%20table.htm

tv

sorry, can't make any sense out of that chart/info and there was only 1 real change 78-86 and 87-95. That's the way most people who don't discuss this crap all day long view things.

Sales fell off a cliff with the 87 restyle.

EspritS4s

Agreed, I misread the Wikipedia chart. Regardless 1987 was the third highest production year. I suspect the decline is more due to the aging platform and the economy.

Plus, the later years of the 928 fell during a time when top of the market GT cars weren't particularly popular. BMW and Aston Martin both had flops. It was the end of the Testarossa era. The Jaguar XJS was limping along and ended production about the same time. The early nineties marked the entrance of the Japanese trio (300ZXTT, 3000GT VR4, and Supra TT) as well.

Th Dude

I used to want a 308 until I found out they had NO horsepower.

tv

Gary in the US, the most important market by far back then 87 was the 7th highest year of production. Instead of going down to 1900+ from 2800 it should have shot up to 3500. At least that is what most people would expect from the intro of a "refreshed" look and more power. It was a bad move the first of many many bad styling moves from Porsche. (I like all 928's just pre 87's more)

Then the bush #1 recession did its magic.



308's are still a beautiful car, in fact better looking than what they make today, but that is all it had going for it in contrast to a 928.

michaelathome

I'll take care of my 1 in 835.

Dictys

As a owner of both a 308 gts and a s4, they are not comparable cars per se. The 928 is what you take if you what to get from London to Monaco in less than 11 hours (pace and grace) and the 308 is what you take if you want to take 3 days doing it via every twisty mountain road. People may disagree but this is my experience as a owner.

Neither car is fragile and the stories of the Ferrari going wrong is IMHO incorrect, a couple of years ago I took the 308 on a 2500 mile trip around Europe together with a older Porsche 911, the 911 was the only car which had a failure.

Vilhuer

And what little they have comes above 4k rpm.