GrandLaker

I guess I will quit using my high beam assist so I can "be more engaged" with my car.

neanicu

Let's face it : the majority of buyers are clueless about what we're talking about here. And,as with everything else,the majority rules. We can't really oppose and fight.
Porsche,like other manufacturers,has not gone completely clueless when it comes to making a driver's car. But they are building what the market is asking. You can't stop selling fillet mignon in your restaurant if that's your best seller.
So it's " bye bye manuals " and " bye bye " whatever else is next that involves the actual process of driving and welcome to Adaptive cruise control,Adaptive lighting,Lane Assist and Massage seats.

drcollie

If you go back to the Porsche forums about 1998, when the air-cooled was on the way out and the water-cooled 996 was coming, the angst was much the same, if not even more agitated.

While the 996 was not well received, 997's and 991's are...and no one who likes a modern cars has missed the lower HP air-cooled engines. (But they ARE collectible). Expect the 991.1 to be likewise.

Winegums

I'm sure you'd be using a type writer and sending these replies through postage if you had the choice right? Because the interwebs and electronics ruin the experience of communication at distance surely?

neanicu

You can use plenty analogies. They just don't apply the same.

997s07

Exactly. Some people maybe do not get the joyous feeling of shifting gears or executing perfect heal toes that we do. They may be able to do it just as good as any of us, but they just don't get the same satisfaction as we do. That's OK. But crapping on others with silly and illogical analogies is what makes the discussion run into a wall.

Petevb

Much of that angst proved justified. Porsche profits went way up with the 996, but quality and durability went way down. Until the 996 you could expect any Porsche to be track capable. After it Porsche made a track-spec (GT3, GT2) and a street spec (everything else). It was a far bigger change than simple air vs water cooling, and history (and depreciation) proved many of the concerns raised completely correct.

You use the 996 as an example of customer fears being unjustified. I see it in many ways as the opposite. The change saved Porsche and helped build it into one of the most profitable car companies on earth. However there's a lost decade of Porsches (other than GTs/ Turbos) with unreliable engines and poor build quality that don't do the company proud. The resale value of these cars alone made for a relatively painful ownership experience.

Sometimes customer angst is overblown. Other times it says something important. Customers were also angsty when the 928 was brought in to replace the 911. We saw how that turned out...

DerekS

I'm on my 6th Porsche and second PDK vehicle (Targa 4S.)

I do miss rowing the gears at times...sometimes I miss it a great deal, in fact.
But my left hip has an old Lyme injury and it hurts, so I gotta deal with what I can have.

neanicu

Sorry to hear that. I certainly feel stupid when I'm pushing manuals on this forum and some simply can't have them because of objective reasons. Enjoy the car sir!

neanicu

If you are thinking about buying a Porsche,but can't decide on the transmission choice,feel free to PM me. I will ask just a few questions regarding your planned usage of the car. If I think it's appropriate,I shall steer you in the right direction.

DerekS

Oh that wasn't my intent! I was a die hard manual fan too.

STG

Future generations will grow up knowing a car as a "mode of transportation" only. There will be no joy or excitement in driving. There will be no actual "driver involvement" other than telling the car where to go.

The "transport vehicle" will be driving itself because humans are more dangerous than computer driving programs.

My friends we are the "blacksmiths" and "cobblers" of our age. Soon to be extinct.

The future looks promising and sterile at the same time. Computer programs will control the what, how, when, and for how long.

If we are too dangerous for our own good, we will be deleted just like the manual transmission.

strumbringer

STG991 - think you're being a little melodramatic? I like a good manual too, but there's plenty to enjoy driving a PDK, especially if you shift it manually. Not the same, I agree, but not sterile or "no joy" or "no excitement."

STG

I was just talking about the driver becoming extinct. Driverless Apple/Google cars. Options taken away from us. A bit off topic I suppose.

Nothing to do with PDK vs. Manual. They both do the same thing! One with just a bit more work. Same result. Whatever floats ones boat. I could care less.

I have a PDK and like it, so I'm "in the club" I have a blast driving.



My friend. Plus, it looks better!

ipse dixit

But lets not lose sight of the bigger picture.

The change from air to water cool engines, like you say, helped make Porsche one of the most profitable auto companies in the world. And while some may bemoan some of the iterations of the 911 that resulted from the corporate change in philosophy, let's not forget that none of us would probably be here even discussing this issue but for the fact that Porsche made a corporate decision to change. And modernize.