I think the misstep by Porsche is this:

- Brands are defined by their halo cars.
- Porsche customers are tiered in terms of the amount of passion they have for the cars and the brand, with the most passionate being the sports car drivers, and i would argue there is a huge gap between them and drivers of SUV's.
- By designing the sports cars to be closer to the sedans and SUV's, the company risks diluting the passion of their most dedicated and loyal customers - the true brand ambassadors.

It's a big risk - do you try to move everyone slighter further to the center in terms of passion for the brand (ie sedan and SUV owners slightly more passionate because their transportation is now more closely linked to the sports car, but trading that off by diluting the passion of the sports car owner as their car becomes more homogenized).

At the end of the day, I don't think SUV owners are nearly as passionate about their cars as 911 owners. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

^ My thinking is completely the opposite...IMO new Porsche sports car buyers...the 'passionate' sports car drivers, not the status seekers...don't GAF about the SUVs and sedans and could not care less what they look like in relation to the 911. That said, most new Porsche sports car buyers also own an SUV, so not sure how that works with your theory.

 

I'll jump in and say that it's works with Thinc2's theory because not every 911 owner is " passionate" or as I'd say a "core enthusiast". Many of those, including myself, would never ever consider buying a Porsche SUV and it turns my stomach to this day just thinking about it.

 

 

Agreed and the idea of a "sport" SUV is even more absurd and furthermore Porsche referring to the Macan as the first " sports car SUV" is p!ss my pants hilarious. A "sport" SUV designed for road performance is probably THE most ridiculous automotive marketing idea I've ever seen and that fact that it's been so successful just further confirms my suspicions on the intelligence level of the average consumer...... (this is the fight club thread afterall right????)

 

Agreed 100% on all counts.
I've never had the slightest interest in a Porsche SUV.
And like Dewinator suggests above, if I do purchase an SUV . . . its so I dont have to worry about it getting beaten up.

 

I've never cared for SUVs. In my opinion they became popular because people didn't want the negative vibes of a minivan. So, SUV to me is just a glorified minivan. I'd go for a Wagon if I had the need for the room.

I'm one of those that thinks of Porsche SUVs as just mere money makers for the brand. I guess all brands need those. As annoying as it is.

 

E46 has much better road feel than the E90. E46 is widely regarded as the last great M3.

 

You are 100% correct that Porsche's main lineup no longer targets the sports car buyer. They intend that the old sports car buyers step up to at least the GTS, or even the GT3, which is intentionally a shrinking niche market. A BMW executive I spoke with pretty much confirmed this. The reason is that car prices have grown faster than wages. So the bulk of the market which is buying new 911s is an older and/or more urban demographic. Even dentists can't afford a new 911 anymore, especially when burdened by rising home prices in cities and insane student loans (>$400K for dental school is common). The modern buyers largely work in the financial industry, or are a successful retired guy. The younger shopper (<45 years old) is too squeezed by rent and mortgage. People in the middle of the country don't have the good jobs anymore to buy many Porsches. And you can't really fully drive a 911 in NYC, Los Angeles, Hong Kong or Beijing. So the modern 911 buyer is looking for flash and brand recognition.

 

One of my cousins refers to new style SUVs as "poorly disguised minivans."

He hit the nail on the head. Minivan function without exuding a dead marriage vibe.

 

 

 

It looks like a profile pic of Jar Jar Binks

 

Oh no, much worse than the 996 (which in fact I think has aged very well and was far ahead of its time, but that's just me).

Even if you hated its looks, the 996 was the dawn of the golden age of sports cars. The 20 years that followed resulted in fantastic cars with performances that were unimaginable a few years earlier. Now, the next 20 years will be a slow march towards the horror of electrification and self-driving and the negation of the simple, authentic sports car, which at some point will most likely conclude with the end of combustion engines (due to either legislation or loss of infrastructure) if not of human driving or even individual car ownership. I think we will call it the ****ty age of sports cars.

 

Well said. This 992 represents a turning point. One we will look back at as a change in direction, an end of an era .... We can revisit in 5-8 years, but I have a feeling we are going into new territory here and one that will never match the last 20 years.

The face of the enthusiast is changing and aging. Porsche is targeting a new customer, whatever cute marketing nickname they've given him/her. It's really too bad, but we have choices where to spend our money.