Bull

BTW, I have heard this discussion, or very similar, every decade since the 911/912 were introduced when I was a teenager!

jla3317

The vast majority of car owners are not "enthusiasts." Once Porsche determined to increase the number of cars it produced (water-cooled engines only/996 production, plants in Finland, Cayenne SUV, etc.) and broadened its market, it should not be a surprise that the company's target buyers are no longer just afficianodos of the marque. Isn't the Cayenne the best money producer ever for them? Porsche still makes cars for enthusiasts, for people who love a Porsche because it is a Porsche. Whatever the company has to do to continue that tradition is fine with me.

Pedro356C

In the 50s and 60s Porsche built its name on the track and by 1964 a 356's cost was similar to a brand new Cadillac...the person who chose Porsche back there, was the real "enthusiast"... they bought the car for driving pleasure...there are many of enthusiast still around and "we" bring status to the marquee...if Porsche can sell today a product that means status, it's thanks to its racing heritage and us enthusiasts...

The funny part of the survey is the "utilitarian" group...who was buying Porsches in 2002 for utilitarian purposes??? To carry golf clubs? Is it utilitarian? ;- )

Sobe

Good thread .............. if I could afford it I would move to the world of Ferrari and look into a 430 .......

Rassel

First of all, thanks for the posting the information it was interesting indeed.

I have a feeling that there is a difference between those who purchase a used Porsche and a new one. Second thing would be about the status buyers, I think it's correlated with a financial status. When economy drops, the sales of Porsche also drops. Mostly because the status people hold back. The enthusiasts, I think are not as much affected, since they have a more hardcore approach on why they should have a Porsche.

Porsche are very dependent on the aftermarket service, since it is a great revenue for them. Therefor it is important for them that the enthusiasts sucks up all the used Porsche. If they are supposed to do that, they can not just make a yuppie brand, it needs to have some very very solid content in it.

farmerjohn

Is this any different from the 1980's when all the yuppies were buying Carrera's and BMW's for status?

The only problem with relying on "status Buyers" is if the manufacturer gets lazy, which hasn't happened yet, IMHO.

Pedro356C

Hi Sobe...maybe you are a Ferrari enthusiast!!! I'd never spend this kind of money buying a 430...I'd get a 1964 356 Carrera II GS...I'm definitely a Porsche guy since I was a kid and although I have great respect for many cars (especially vintage ones) I'll always choose Porsche...

For me a Porsche is meant for driving pleasure instead of transportation...I'm not getting a Cayenne unless they present a better deal than BMW...why??? Because the SUV would be transportation!!! I'd gladly get a 993TT for the same money though...for my pleasure not status or transportation...

I think nowadays the vast majority of Porsche buyers does not know what is a 996 or 997...they just buy for status or "middle age crisis"...I know for sure the Cayenne is a status icon among women at least...just ask around...they don't care if a Touareg was a joint developement and could provide almost the same transportation features, it's still missing the status quality...on the other hand there's also a small number of people buying modern Porsches for their technology advances and new features...many times more comfortable rides with the same Porsche drivability and feel...I know people who own 356 and 997 under the same roof!

Hi Rassel...I don't think the enthusiasts will suck the 996 fleet at all...these cars will depreciate or will go to "status seekers" on a budget just like the Boxster!

Bull

When we bought our house 5 years ago, my wife was certain that I liked it because the seller had a 996 Cab sitting on the Rotary lift in one of the garage bays (of course not!). Upon meeting the owner, I of course started talking Porsches. About three sentences into the conversation he told me that he didn't realize that 911s had been aircooled until the year prior to his '99. He then told me that it was his first Porsche, and that he had "owned Corvettes and Celicas until they made me a full VP. Then it was time to get my Porsche"...........

pcar964

I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do with their money, if they want to buy a car for status, that's their business. But saying "there's nothing wrong with that" is a strange thing to say - if someone's motivation for success is to buy things to impress other people, obviously that person's life is pretty sad, and their priorities are all screwed up.

I don't blame Porsche for capitalizing on this market from a business standpoint, but when they become a company where the enthusiast crowd is irrelevant, as we have seen with used boxsters and 996s, the market will become weak, and brand loyalty will begin to wither.

The funny irony is, the reason the brand will lose its "image" is because of the market being flooded with so many used boxsters/996/997s... the same people who buy the car for "image" will lose interest in Porsche because they have become so common! So in the end, I believe Porsche may opt out of producing sportscars altogether, in favor of the more market-stable 4 door models (cayenne, panamera, etc).

Pedro356C

RIGHT ON...

Rassel

My bad, I'm still living in the air cooled world.

Pedro356C

Yeah Rassel...you actually live at the top of the aircooled world!!! 993TT ;- )

ceboyd

LOL.. me too.. but I guess I'm on both sides of the fence with my boxster S as my summer daily driver....


...but I'm an enthusiast through and through (make no mistake about that!!!)

texas911

BS.

Rassel

Pedro,
I've always had this fix idea, that the day I'm happily married, I'll get a 993 Convertible for my wife! A white one, standing right next to the black TT. Yummi!

I even got the Turbo S "engine"
But over at the Turbo forum, I sometimes feel like I drive a Yugo. There are some serious cars over there, Jeans GT2 conversion is a slayer.. So impressive how much performance there is, waiting to be put in to our cars. If someone actually feel they are trading in their 993, just to get better performance, there are soooo many things that can be done before the 993 has to toss in the towel.

I actually have not much of a problem with the "status" owners. My world rarly cross theirs. Once in a while, they show up at the track, and expects to beat every one since they have brand new GT2 and get passed by cars costing less than a quarter of the GT2.

Btw, I almost hit a pole today. I met a Carrera GT and stopped looking at the road. First time I've seen one in real life. Driver was about 35 years old with a wakeboard in the passenger seat.... Lucky Bastard....