tv

A stupid article, who cares.

Our cars could almost be called Fuhrmann 928's. He was the driving force behind the 928. The guy's who came after killed it and the company.

tv

more drivel in this article I just found while looking at google about Fuhrmann, the 911 crowd are brainwashed with mis-information constantly, that's why they hate the car, along with no experience in one;


http://www.9magazine.com/the-man-who...rsche-911.html
" Much of the problem was due to falling sales in the U.S. and lackluster acceptance of their new designs, the Porsche 924, and Porsche 928. "



Factually incorrect, the 928 was a sales hit until 90

dr bob

The 924 program saved the company from bankruptcy. Otherwise insignificant in the company's history. Porsche saw fit to continue development of the car through the very rare Carrera GT version, into the 944 in it's various flavors, and on to the relatively luxurious 968 program before shifting their volume-focused eyes to the Boxster as the new entry level sports car.

In the history of the cars from the 944 and turbo variants through the Boxster and derivative Cayman, the factory has limited output and performance to levels slightly less than comparable-year 911 cars. Wouldn't want to confuse a buyer by offering the same performance at such a significantly lower cost. The 928 suffered none of those limitations on introduction, and easily bested the comparable-year standard 911 offerings in almost every performance category. It did so many things so effortlessly that the 'joy' of manhandling the back-motor cars was a gaping hole in the 928 driving experience.

Still, production numbers of the 928 are fly-specs on the production of the 911 over its many years. The 928 competed with other super-car manufacturers, for a market beyond the typical 911 buyer. That rarified territory, with relatively high prices per unit, just didn't have enough breadth to support continued 928 production. Of course, the Panamera picks up the front-engine performance car slice for Porsche, albeit with a much bigger, faster (off the showroom floor), 4-door V8 model that costs less in real dollars than the last 928 did. And they are selling more than a few of them.


My last 356, a '65 SC cab, was a rocket. 98 BHP, four wheel disk brakes, and a roof that folded. Why would anybody want a 911? I didn't, until I drove one. The 356 was instantly obsolete. I felt the same way when I drove my 928 for the first time, a casual jaunt from Denver to Los Angeles. Why would anyone want a 911? Good news is that the 911 has also evolved, and the newer versions are easily a match for my 928 in several performance categories. They still won't carry two sets of clubs and weekend luggage, and they lack the perceived exclusivity of the 928.

Sad but true: Most folks have no clue that you can buy an older 928 by the ton, restore it by the gram, maintain it by the pound, and enjoy it by the sip or the gulp.

robot808

That is awesome.

Shawn Stanford

What? No love for my Cayenne?

docmirror

I still recall hoping for something great when the 924 came out. Then we got to hear about it; A 4-SPEED! Drum brakes in back! A hatch back! Geez, might as well buy an AMC Pacer. As I recall, US sales were in a word - horrible. Once they got the kinks sorted out after a few years, things picked up but the first years were a disaster in the US, and to me, the stench never quite lifted in the later years, even though they got better. But still, top 5 non-911 to buy? YGTFSM...

renbry

well said Dr Bob !

Just looking up sales figures across the years -

928 - ~61000 over 17 yrs
924 - ~140000 over 12 yrs
944 - ~170000 over 9 yrs

the 924 was no slouch for sales !!

Vilhuer

Its nowhere near last one made.

docmirror

Well, the bananas at 'theSportsCarGuys' updated their list and took off the 959 as it's a 911 and put the 928GTS on the list. Now, it's pretty clear they didn't bother to drive any of the 928s, or do any kind of evaluation of them because if they did, surely the CS would be the right selection. Barring the CS for some reason as availability then the 89-91 GT should be next with it's 5 speed gearbox, same speeds and acceleration and no issues with the oil burning and which rods will go through the engine first. I guess there were a few GTSs with manual trans, but the GT still gets the nod for doing more with less engine.

Oh well, I guess for a bunch of prats who never drove or sat in any of the cars on their list they did the best the could.

G8RB8

Awesome! I hope my posting it here had at least a little to do with it.

curt_928

This article is a reflection of the Porsche market and perceptions in the market. No matter how much better the 928 is to a 911.. it's still not a 911, the quintessential Porsche.

The Porsche market has changed. The nitwits leasing Panameras and Cayennes have no loyalty to the brand the way a 911 owner (and 924, 944 928 owners) did in the past. They're onto a Lexus or Landrover as soon as the 3 years are up. I'm not sure this will change perceptions of the 928, just because they have the motor in the front.

Sad to say, it's going to come IMHO when all the rusten, beaten, rotting cars are off the road and when you really want one, there is only 1 (one) 1982 model with 80k miles on ebay listed for sale at $32,000. I don't see the market appreciating it soon.

linderpat

a keeper right there

renbry

Hi Curt_928,

I hope I represent a possible new market for appreciating old cars.
The 928 was always my dream car (along with the Countach and Testarossa) Now that sense, taste and money have a far better balance than when I was a kid, I went out and bought a 928 S4 for my 29th birthday last year.

I've since had the engine bay restored (more than the cost of admission!) and driven the S4 around Australia (with incredible pace and comfort)

What a ride !

I'm noticing more and more 'old cars' being driven by younger people (here in Sydney, Australia)
It seems that taste is never lost and people are realising that they can have an old car and have a kind of fun that they wouldn't have in their appliance-like modern car.

Hooray ! there's hope !

curt_928

renbry, I'd very much like it to be a trend...
Aus. and US are different markets. Who knows, perhaps one day exports might be from US to Aus. like from US to Jap. in the 80's. Here it seems the stagnant economy is preventing 20 somethings from buying a car, many are not even driving. You guys are lucky with mineral resources and proximity to Asia..

worf928

I scanned through the comments. The "bananas" got turned into pudding and the folks that did it were not 928 folks.

Nice to see that.