Bashy

This news was told to me by a friend who has connections to Porsche. It may not be news to some of you but parts of it was news to me.

Porsche intends to mass market the Boxster, Cayenne and Cayman. They have a four door sedan called Panamera coming in 2009 which will also be mass marketed, meaning sub $99,000 price tag.

Porsche will, starting next year, raise the prices of the 911 series [using the Euro/Dollar exchange rate as part cover.] Porsche intends to make the 911 and its derivative cars [turbo, Gt2, etc.] more exclusive. These cars will eventually be priced not to the mass market.

Comments Please.

Dock

Like the Turbo and GT2 *are* priced for the mass market now??

c4bliss

Isnt there one in every garage?

Bashy

In 1972 I seem to remember a house in Beverly Hills, California going for $40,000 to $50,000.
The average sales price of a home in California in 1972 was $28,810.

In 1972 a 911 with options cost about $14,000.
In 1972 a 300SEL 4.5 Mercedes cost $21,000.
In 1972 a Ferrari Dino 246 GTS cost $14,000.

Relative to the cost of a house [in percentage terms] is a Porsche cheaper today or more expensive?

Can more people [as a percentage of the population in the USA] afford to spend $125,000 on a 911 today than could spend $14,000 on a 911 in 1972?

Dock

Are there more wealthy prople in the U.S. today versus 33 years ago? Sure. Does that mean those wealthy enough to buy a Turbo or GT2 constitute the "mass market"? No.

Zippy

I like the idea of moving the pricing up on 911+ cars. Economically, Porsche would be better off for it. They could produce less 911+ cars, at a higher margin and net the same earnings from the product line. This would also help out residuals for the 996TT imo.

Bashy

I lived in Southern California for twenty-five years. I now live in Florida.

When I arrived in Southern California I had a 911SC which I drove across country. Coming across country I did not see another new 911SC or another Porsche for that matter. When I arrived at my new home in Southern California I saw Porsches at every traffic light. Other new ones like mine plus Porsches of all ages. A Mercedes was called a Beverly Hills Chevy.

Now in Southern Florida one sees 911 Turbos, GT2, etc. every day, many times a day. It is no accident that the largest Porsche dealer in the world Champion is located in Southern Florida.

What I am saying is that in certain wealthy urban parts of the USA Porsche 911Turbos, Gt2, etc. is a mass market car and has been for at least twenty-five years.

This I also suggest is Porsche's [car company] target market. This is where they sell the majority of their cars. Hence, Porsche is marketed and sold to the mass market urban crowd.

If you want a non mass market Porsche in this urban crowd then you get the Carerra GT.

Dock

Taking Southern California and South Florida and using those two markets to claim the GT2 and Turbo are "mass market" Porsches is a matter of looking through a soda straw and saying you have the "big picture".

The "mass market" of the United States and Europe is more than just a few nodes of wealthy people.

Bashy

If one does not look at the rich one is not looking at the Porsche market regardless of where they are. So having money is a given. What we are talking about is the mass market among the rich.

Dock

Ok. So you're saying that Porsche is in the future going to price the Turbo and GT2 out of *that* market...the "rich" market?

Who will buy them then?

Bashy

I do not know for sure if Porsche will indeed do as I have heard.

However, If they do then I suspect the buyer will be the person who buys a 360 Ferrari now or cars of similar type.

I have spoken to a fellow who works at a dealership that sells Porsche, Ferrari, Aston, Maserati only. He tells me that it is the mind set rather than affordability which decides which car a buyer at his dealership chooses. Most of his customers can buy anything they sell regardless of price.

If the person feels that reliability, functionality etc. is important then that person is likely to buy a Porsche. To decide on which Porsche then speed, looks, functionality among the Porsches rather than money decides. If they like the attributes of the Italian cars [looks, more expensive, thus more exclusive] then that is what they buy. Affordability is not the issue in making the purchasing decision.

I am not to the manor born. This kind of thinking was a big surprise to me. I worked and studied very hard to be able to afford my first Porsche. I lived in the northeast when I bought my first.

When I got to Southern California I attended a Porsche Club meeting. I was told by many members that they also owned a Ferrari etc. at the same time. My education began.

The cost of the car in some cases helps to make the purchasing decision. I had a so called friend at the time who is a lawyer. He went for a ride with me on the weekend in my 911SC. He was shopping for a Porsche. He told me I like your car but I would never buy a 911SC too many people own one, read people I do not want to be perceived as. So he bought the more expensive 928, which gave him endless problems. He did not care. He projected the right image he thought.

"The rich are different than you and I." F. Scott Fitzgerald

Zippy

I don't think they would price "out" of that maket, but they could definately stand to shift a little up market in the pricing structure, sell fewer cars and net the same. Residuals would benefit for all. Maybe they are listening to the current "masses" complain about residuals.

JP Schnitzer

Zippy is on to something....Prices for our Turbos might be at the low point. When the new 997's start to come out they will be VERY expensive compared to a slightly used 996.

aj02996tt

Buying Turbos and/or GT2s is not even remotely a stretch for me, but I don't think I'm rich. The 911 line and up will become exclusive only when Porsche sells 150K+ of their other lines per year. The 911 line has always been a "semi-exotic", being expensive but affordable to the upper-middle class, and unless there is some dramatic performance breakthrough or at least a decade of new branding, this will not change. I always get a kick out of the two-bit billionaires who drive nice cars.

Bashy

Zippy, I agree with you. That was in essence what I was trying to project.

The turbo, Gt2 etc. would go up, but not to compete with the Carrera GT in price. I think you are abosolutely right that would [and I am being selfish here] make current owners of Turbo, GT2, etc. enriched.