993GT

Options also a great way for GM to prove 'track abuse' and void warranty???
GM at least where I am is known for HORRIBLE service/ squeezing out of any warranty claim...

skxf430

I would hope the Z06 is released shortly after the Stingray. And, if the new Camaro is a precursor to the Z06, this will make the new Z06 an even bigger beast on the track especially with its price point and a manual gear box.

trumperZ06

The C7-Z06 is expected to be released next year, a year after the initial C7.

My experience is that warranty claims have been honored... so long as you don't modify the drive train. This has been over a 12 year time frame, 1st an 01 Z06, then an 04 Z06, and then an 07 Z06.

Both the 01 and 04 C5-Z06's had rear axle leaks, the 07 C6-Z06 needed a replacement power steering pump... and new alternator wiring.

I had no other issues with these cars and all three saw extensive track time.

It does help to get to know your local service manager.

YRMV...

mdrums

Chevy is apparently honor warranty if used on the track for the new Vette and Z/28....cool huh?

perfectlap

Math probably works out the same...
What GM won't cover, you'll eat in the Porsche tax anyway.

And you probably have many more shops that will (competently) fix GM than VW in a pinch.

I'd be surprised if you come out ahead with the VW once all dollar-sensitive inputs go into the math, even if the GM needs a few more dates with the lift.

trumperZ06

Well guys,
looks like the Porsche/Corvette issues will be heating up.

According to today's Autoweek, Commonwealth (GM's Ad Agency) will be targeting Porsche in marketing the new Stingray.

We should see advertising over the next few months.

Carrera GT

I think GM would do well to focus on selling their new Vette to existing demographics. I don't see them making a lost of conquest sales from Porsche. A few disgruntled three-pedal enthusiasts might try a front-engine 'merican iron, but that's all.

If GM wanted to take the Vette heritage and put it up against the 911, the Vette is literally the only car on the planet that deserves to be mentioned in the same company as the 911. There, I think GM could make a case.

Autoweek seems to be doing some better writing, just at a glance. I've not bothered to look at it in years. And there's this "cool never gets old" ad by Spock for the R7 that, well, I don't want a sports car with an electric hatch like a minivan or the importance of carrying my clubs in the bag without removing the drivers (even I'm not that lazy) but there's some sharp gags in the ad.

wanna911

GM could make a case by stomping Porsche into the ground the last several years on the street and last couple on the race track (pro racing).

Porsche cant play both sides of the fence and preach heritage and pedigree meanwhile kicking both to the curb with and industry following, tech mobile with no relation to racing thats second string to its competitors vs its industry leading, pure race inspired predecessors.

Anyone who falls for that okie doke is in for a rude awakening when they get to the track. If you guys really think that some miniature population of people is all that Porsche are losing, you are in denial.

wanna911

Duplicate

Alan Smithee

The customers Porsche are losing is a miniature population compared to the population of customers it is gaining. Consider that 50,000 mostly new customers will be buying the Macan next year.

wanna911

POTENTIAL customers, that may or may not stick around after a year of ownership as there is little that distinguishes the brand, not to mention the justification goes way down on option for cheaper, better performing cars, or similar priced to more expensive cars with more aesthetic appeal.

Don't forget a street car with a big wing on the back is not for everyone. And it's not a volume vehicle.

50,000 for the Macan? So you expect Porsche is going to increase sales by 35-40% with one vehicle? Mighty optimistic of you. Even so 50,000 (or likely less) customers in a new and different demographic is not the same thing. Far less customers (and plenty of competition) at 130k+ for the base model GT3. But the kool-aid might look tasty.

Carrera GT

Stomping on what now? Kicking heritage to the curb? You mean the Mezger engine? Sure, that sucks a dead donkey.

Rude awakening? You think that a 991 GT3 will be stomped by a C7? No chance. Someone taking an RS 4.0 to the track could be annoyed to find a C7 in Z06 form (or whatever it will be called) is a quicker car, especially in amateur hands, but that's all conjecture and a year away.

I'm pretty sure I disagree with you on all counts, but I'm not sure I can read meaning into your sentences! : )

As for miniature populations, no I wasn't referring to little people, I think the numbers are clear cut: the total volume of GT3 sales is a rounding error on the P&L at Porsche and completely invisible to the dark overlords at VW. I think it's fair to say that the GT3 survives in the 991 only because it can share so much more of the Carrera. I think if the GT folks went to management and said they still need their own production line and unique parts, tools and long term support in the field, the GT3 would be history.

As it is, love it or loathe it, going to PDK opens up a (much) wider buyer demographic and that is a reasonable compromise. But we've been blown out of the third pedal fox hole and now we have to wonder if the even Carrera will have that option in the future. The thing we could hope for is to see GT3 sales increase to the point that a third pedal becomes a realistic niche market again. Clearly at present, Porsche can't justify a third pedal offering. I imagine that comes from observing sales of the 991 for its first year in the market. That, to me, means they can't justify the whole of the GT3 line-up unless it's successful as a PDK offering.

So it's a conventional strategy to go to market giving the customer no option but to either buy the product or not. If the GT3 doesn't sell as a PDK car, Porsche could justifiably say the brand no longer supports the "track day" driver market.

Coincidentally, I was reading some of the Corvette owners' comments on the C7 as they lamented similar concessions and compromises. I sympathize. They question how GM makes the excuse that dual clutch boxes can't handle the power and torque of the mighty V8, but then Porsche puts PDK in the Turbo. The grass is always greener. F'rinstance, the Vette has had signature tail lights from day one, but that was thrown out by some design twit thinking the "new" Vette had to be distinctly different and got some comments in a focus group suggesting it's hard to tell a C6 from a C5. That's like saying it's hard to tell a 997 from a 996. Now the C7 looks very much like a Camaro and the 911 looks like a VW Beetle from the front and like an Aston Martin from the rear. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

From inside the bubble that is Rennlist, we see only a small facet of the total Porsche ownership population and it's not a representative sample of their customers or their expanding product line, which is characterized by compact SUVs and diesel or hybrid family sedans. How long before the 991 Turbo gets a KERS or electric drive to the front wheels with regenerative braking and a sales message based on emissions and fuel efficiency?

I'm quite excited about the 991 GT3 and I even like the 991 Turbo, though the price is just absurd. I have misgivings about the electric steering assist, but I'm guessing the 4WS will be with 911's just as 4WD is now a permanent feature. How long before the Cayenne and Panamera get 4WS? How long before Audi gets to share the parts bin?

I think the 997.2 RS will go down in history as the last stand for 911 drivers, but I'm keen to at least try the 991 GT3 on for size -- and probably the RS after it -- so at least I can know first hand. In any case, I wouldn't be surprised to find myself driving a C7 track car for a season and I wouldn't want Porsche to interpret that as a "conquest" sale so much as a "no contest" self-inflicted defeat on their part.

perfectlap

Porsche ditched the round VW headlights, went with the GT1 headlights (last car to win overall at LeMans) and ended up selling enough cars to save the round light company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. 200k Carreras.
GM of course have no history such bankruptcy issues. Doing more of the same is a good, forward-looking plan.

Also, I was parked behind a Camaro last weekend. The design of the Stingray tailights is much more developed/finished. You'd have to be Mr. Magoo to confuse the two. The Camaro's rear looks like a cheap imitation of the new Stingray's. Round tailights would really look out of place on such a cutting-edge design. And historically, the original Sttingray Corvette did not have tail lights exactly like a 1980's,90's,00's unremarkable looking Corvette.
The later Singrays of the 60's had very small soda can-sized round lights but that wouldn't work on with the futuristic design theme of the 2014.

trumperZ06

In any case, I wouldn't be surprised to find myself driving a C7 track car for a season and I wouldn't want Porsche to interpret that as a "conquest" sale so much as a "no contest" self-inflicted defeat on their part.

After a lot of excuses this may sum up the current status regarding Porsche/Corvette management's attitude regarding marketing.

Mike in CA

Automotive preferences aside, that was great!