Frino

[QUOTE=KANSAS997]Anyone else already tired of hearing about the Cayman in all the mags, online, etc. QUOTE]

I conveyed this precise sentiment very recently to the Excellence Editor, Pete Stout. Last two issues of Excellence were Cayman-centric, with little or no editorial coverage of 997-based models. Pete responded with the following in regard to upcoming issues, "997 GT3 RS is on deck, as is Champion F77, 997 4S Targa, regular GT3, 997 Cab and hopefully more..."

I checked out the Cayman S when it first came out and found it to be a very impressive driver's car. My wife sealed the deal, however, when she cast the Cayman driver as someone who looks like they can't afford a 911. Strong words that some will likely find offensive, but she made the right call as far as I was concerned.

Chris C.

This debate will go on for a long time, as it is in fact fueled by Porsche's decision to tune down the 987 cars to not impinge on the performance and sales of the 911.

Porsche should put the 3.6/3.8 in the S variants of the 987s from the factory, and let the market choose. People who want the classic 911 look, mystique and handling feel and/or need the rear seat will buy it. People who like the (arguably) more agile, 550 spyder derived, mid engine 2 seaters can have their cake too.

BMW puts the M motors in it's Z3/Z4 cars, even though it makes their 2 seaters a tick faster than their performance coupes. The 2 seater market is self limited. Porsche is creating the controversy where it need not exist.

Wouldn't it be far more fun to debate the driving style and tactics of Lucas Luhr or Hurley in a 3.8 Cayman vs. 3.8 Carerra?

The 987s are terrific cars. Anyone judging someone in a Cayman or Boxster S thinking they can't afford a 911 has 1. never driven one and 2. is indeed reflecting on their values not mine.

Long live the 911, but give us choices Porsche.

OCBen

You can't draw that conclusion, since obviously those sales figures include used cars as well (how many 993s did PAG build in 2005?).

One could just as easily conclude from the C/Boxster sales figures that there is high turnover with these cars -- owners for whatever reason are not happy with them and so they change hands quite a bit. Those numbers must represent dealer sales figures and not sales in general including private sales, etc. -- obviously at least one 993 changed hands this year! So if these are dealer sales figures, they represent used car sales as well as new.

Jeff, do I need to send you to remedial reading class?

Paul523

Ben- believe it or not I think the stray 993/ 996 entries are in fact NEW CAR sales... museum pieces shrink-wrapped in dealer showrooms. Several P- dealer websites show four/five year old 996's new, never titled. The 993 was cryogenically frozen for a decade? don't they do that in California?

mooty

there will ALWAYS be a 911, dont worry guys.

"those who opt for cayman can't afford 911's", not really, i have had 3 GT3 among dozen other 911's and i bought THREE caymans for myself so i can have different colors to match my suit (white, b black, s grey).

997GT3RS will be here sometime next year i hope.

i know it gets tiring to see all the cayman press now. as a cayman lover, even i am bored with the press. they all say the samething. but look back when 996TT was released, it was covered everywhere by all presses as the BEST. then C4S came, it too was covered to wazoo and touted even better than TT for daily use. it's just marketing. the press has to write something to make money. when the GT3 and RS starts to roll in, you will see more coverage on those for sure.

OCBen

If so, I envy the guy who got his hands on that shrink-wrapped 993 or the cryogenically preserved one!

Yeah, Paul, but that last line in the chart clearly indicates how many of those cars sold were Certified Pre-Owned.

mrpc12

I just traded out of a Cayman S and into a 997 S Cab. The Cayman definitely handles better and is a better value. Also, since there aren't that many of them on the road yet it gets much more attention from non-Porsche enthusiasts. Maybe the Guards Red helped too but I had many people asking "what kind of Porsche is that" and saying "that is a beautiful car". The 997 Cab is so common nobody even notices it.

Alan Smithee

Nothing says that 993 was preserved; it just means it officially came off the factory MSO. Could have been driven by a dealer owner for the last 8 years.

That last line indicating CPO cars is in addition to the new car sales.

I will give Porsche marketing folks credit...the Cayman may have stolen Boxster sales, but in the process they've sold more cars that are most likely less expensive to build at a higher price. I never would've guessed that strategy would work.

icon

ben,
the figures are for new cars sold through porsche dealers in the united states of america, w/ the exception of cpo's that are lumped together at the bottom.
so it's 8378 (NEW 987) vs. 8432 (NEW 997) year to date through the month of august in the year 2006.
hope this clears up your state of obvious confusion!

OCBen

Neither did I....

You're reading into it what's not there.
Doesn't say that at all. And it doesn't explicitly say "new car" sales either.

OCBen

You'll need to find better data than that from an authoritative source (PCNA), which should be publicly available.

It's that brand new 993 sold last year through a dealer that renders those figures suspect. .... If it was indeed new car sales they were hoping to illustrate, they should have dropped that 993 altogether, instead of raising eyebrows by including it.

Dr_KarlB

Mooty,
Ive gotta ask... Why do you have three Caymans ?

sullic

I had every intention of replacing my 2003 M3 with a Cayman S.

When I went to drive one, they also had a C4 on the lot. I drove them back to back, and I couldn't believe, but I prefered the C4. I liked the fact that it was a bit larger inside, was quite, compared to the Cayman S, and liked the feel of the drive versus the Cayman S. I think I just wasn't accustomed to a mid engine car, so I liked the C4 better. Who knows, but I ended up with the C4.

if they make a all wheel drive Cayman S, I will likely move to it in the future just to have something different. I get a bit of snow in MD, so all wheel in my only car is a nice to have option.

I like hearing about all sports cars, so bring on the articles.

OCBen

Do you have a link? Hopefully somewhere there is an explanation of what is being presented. ... Remember. No attribution, no citation.

Paul523

Aye carumba Alan!... I was being facetious when I said the 993 was frozen in liquid nitrogen!! I agree that finally coming off factory MSO is how it could get tallied as a *new* vehicle.