Guest89

They have made their bed with their LMDh and Penske choices.

I was messaging (politely) with Walliser a bit during the race (I went to most IMSA races when he was in charge of the factory GT motorsport effort and got to know him a bit), and I have a few friends who were at Le Mans in the VIP setup at the Experience Center next to the Ford Chicane. A pretty morose scene from the firsthand accounts, especially after the 75 retired and the Jota car had its big off at the Porsche Curves.

It’s just my opinion, of course, but I the company to me - and particularly the Porsche “brand” - are very different propositions to what was the case even 5 years ago. I have Rennsport Reunion tickets, but I will probably sell them - I’ve lost interest.

96redLT4

^^Let me know if you want to get rid of a corral pass. I waited too long and they are all sold out.

brake dust

Still don't know why several years ago Porsche had a major shake up of their drivers. Letting Tandy and Bamber go was a head scratcher. Two of their best drivers.

Guest89

Tell you what; set yourself a calendar reminder and we’ll circle back on this. Mine is a 991 GT3, and I can’t recall if the corral pass is specific to the generation or not.

If we make a deal, I’ll obviously sell it to you at face value.

I know both drivers a bit; I’ve probably spent a few hours chatting with them over the years. I got drunk with Nick (and a few others) after Porsche won Petit Le Mans overall in 2015. I had a few beers with Earl after the Road America race in 2018 or 2019 (he was staying for a Michelin tire test the day after the race, and I was killing time before driving back to Chicago).

Porsche was happy to let Earl go, and he was more or less happy to be gone. He lived in Kuala Lumpur for awhile but now lives in Nashville. I was in Caddy hospitality last year at Petit Le Mans (same location that Porsche used to have, overall setup very similar to Porsche’s, price ~1/6 of what Porsche charges now!) and hung out with some of his friends from Nashville.

Nick is back with Porsche and was *technically* on loan to GM.

subshooter

Blondie:

BigRed911

EVs are a joke to a purist. Porsche is following suit and catering to the pressures of the global enlists driving the EVs down our throats.

GrantG

I’m not an EV guy, but I don’t feel as though EV’s are being driven down my throat - if I don’t want one, I won’t buy one.

If at some point they make an EV that is attractive to me, I will considering buying one…

BHSAAA

When states like CA (and others) say all new cars must be electric by 2035, hard to not feel it’s being shoved down the throat. Don’t get me wrong, I love the straight line of a Plaid or Taycan Turbo, but they are much more practical for the around town trips and the eco benefits are overstated and the eco costs understated. It was pretty funny that the day after CA announced the mandate they asked owners of electric cars to reduce charging so the grid wouldn’t fail.

raymort

What other states have said this?

Besides the way SF, especially, is going, will anyone be living in CA in 2035?

soulsea

At some point all car companies will simply be interior/exterior designers and will depend even more on marketing over driving dynamics.

People will pay more for one brand over another the same way people do for Sub-Zero/Viking over KitchenAid, but the food that comes out of either doesn't taste any different.

BHSAAA

New York, the federal EPA rules proposed to manufacturers are so strict 2/3 of new cars in US would need to be EV. Did I mention the European Union has the same 2035 mandate….

raymort

Well, what % of cars are high performance cars? 3% of sales? Sounds like this market is just fine with those regs.

And who cares about the EU? Porsche is still making the Cayenne TGT even though it’s not available now in the EU because of these regs.

The US, China, and Middle East will provide enough demand for NA cars even if EU and CA bail on them.

Diablo Dude

I'm 4th generation.
They can bury me in my NA car here.

I will still be living in the world's 5 largest economy with $3.6 Trillion GDP and driving my NA cars on some of the greatest roads you can imagine.
Great craft beer, great food, good tunes, good weather, and NA is all I need. I feel fortunate to have gone to F1 races when the engines were still NA.
And a buddy in Carmel that I can hang with during Rennsport Reunion.