2 Responses to “Porsche buyout will drive away customers”

1. Ryan says:

   November 3, 2009 at 7:03 am

   A couple of issues with the specifics here:

   First off, I couldn’t agree more that Porsche heritage needs to be maintained and any watering down of the brand would be sacrilege to enthusiasts. But, in regards to some things said in the article, you realize there is some irony in you saying “Imagine the identity crisis that Porsche owners would go through if their $70,000 sports cars were basically identical to a Beetle” when the original 911 was, in fact, a very close relative of the beetle. Also you state that because of the skepticism that greeted the 944/24 and the 928 Porsche has not revisited a front-engine configuration… until the Cayenne almost 8 years ago, and the new Panamera this year…
2. Henry says:

   November 7, 2009 at 7:48 am

   Here are some beginning quotes I felt deserved a response.
   “if Volkswagen used Porsche parts it would be sacrilege to the sports car maker.”
   “Imagine the identity crisis that Porsche owners would go through if their $70K cars were basically identical to a Beetle”
   Well, you should see the faces when Porsche Cayenne owners realize that the same block, cylinder head is shared with the VW Golf.

   The Porsche 911 is the evolution of the air cooled beetle. The air cooled VW Beetle was designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche (who is the founder of Porsche). After WWII, the Dr. Porsche used the Beetle to create the 356 which evolved to the 911 and its 911 variants. The Beetle is the great grandfather of the “flagship” 911 that everybody is throwing a temper tantrum about it.

   There has always been historical collaboration between Volkswagen and Porsche. Does he know that the Porsche Cayenne, engine and chassis is the same VR6 found in VW Touraeg and the VW Golf? Or how about the VW New Beetle RSi which suspension was tuned by Porsche? These are just some recent examples.

   Or did Lowney also forget that Porsche also makes tractors? Shocking isn’t it. How about when Porsche redesigned the V-Twin for Harley Davidson in their motorcycles? I’ll wait for the brand elitist heads to explode.

   If anything, Porsche has diversified and made “cheap 911 variants” on its own and collaborated with Volkswagen which I described above. The brand snobs were the same “enthusiasts” that were throwing temper tantrums calling the following models sacrilegious when they were released by Porsche:
   Boxster – Labeled by brand snobs as a hairdressers car / the Porsche with panties.
   Cayenne – Labeled an abomination, how dare Porsche make SUV’s and tarnish their image! (yet is Porsche’s best seller)
   Cayman- Labeled by brand snobs as the poor man’s Porsche, who can’t afford a 911. (yet handles better)
   Panamera – Labeled the second abomination of Porsche. Oh! The humanity!

   Now that Porsche has been absorbed by VW, there have been cries that Porsche is going to be defiled. Rest assured, we will still see Porsche making 911’s, as much as Lamborghini makes Murcilagos and Bugattis make Veyrons. By the way, the takeover doesn’t have anything to do with the recession stated in the third paragraph. It was a high stake gamble by Porsche attempting stock shorting Volkswagen shares which backfired and caused Porsche to become insolvent.

   The article and commentary shows the ignorance in the brand snobs who think that Porsche should stick with just exclusively making the 911. Do the brand snobs know any sort of Porsche history? Porsche almost went bankrupt in the 90’s because all it made was the 911! It also demonstrates how little those brand snobs know about cars and how to run a business.

   Porsche as a business can’t put all their eggs into one basket (the 911). Face it, the 911 is a flawed design. By having the engine behind the rear axle, it upsets the weight distribution. They know they have to diversify. The article brings up the 928, 944, and 996 as failures. Yet theV8 is in the Cayenne which is the best selling model, and all Porsches in the lineup including the 997 GT2 is watercooled. However by diversifying Porsche’s product line it will be beneficial for all. For example, the Porsche Boxster returns as the spiritual successor to its historic roots as the spyder/speedster while boosting sales, and the Cayman is quietly known as the humble superstar that is crippled by Porsche to not upset the 911. The Cayenne SUV is Porsche’s bread and butter in sales. You want the 911? Sales of the Cayenne and other models allow the 911 to make sense to build and allow it to improve. Once you have profit from the Cayenne and other cars, now you have money to perform the necessary R&D in weight distribution, PASM R&D, electronic stability for the 911 to remain a contender against other vehicles such as the ZR-1, Viper, Scuderia, GT-R. But the amount spent on the 911 is causing diminishing returns, because you can throw so much at the 911, but you can’t go past a design flaw!

   Heres another excerpt from the article I felt needed to be addressed:

   “Porsche owners do not want to associate their cars with everyday car owners” “People buy Porsches because of the image”

   Porsche was never a luxury brand first; it’s been and is a performance brand. As a Porsche enthusiast I don’t buy Porsches because of the image, but because of their engineering and motorsport history. I look forward to seeing Porsche under Volkswagen as it would bring financial stability and allow Porsche to concentrate on making excellent sports cars that are relatively attainable. However the above statements demonstrate what’s wrong with America, and owners / people who actually believe in them shows they are brand snob douche bags. They don’t appreciate the driving, handling, performance and historical characteristics of a Porsche. Apparently from the takeover and the article it shows who is a real car enthusiast vs. badge snobs. I hope Porsche loses those brand snobs businesses now they are owned by VW and good riddance.

   Those so called “more than you can afford pal” (TheFast&TheFurious quote) brand snobs should jump off a building after realizing they own a “Volkswagen” instead of a Porsche, or take their designer clothes, their trendy sunglasses, and their bluetooth to the nearest European luxury dealer and purchase a car to fit their inflated ego. Those car manufacturers would be more than happy to take your lease payments to impress the ladies (probably gold digging skanks) at “da club” and live the MTV lyfe with your madd sweet whip brah. Don’t forget to down your tequila patron / chardonnay / bottle of cris to boost your confidence impressing the ladies on how sophisticated your (insert luxury brand) is cuz its madd tyte euro and image is everything! Fo realz dawg. They’ll need the ‘drank’, since those “enthusiasts” feel inadequate now that Porsche is owned by “lowly and common folk” VW and need to overcompensate by using cars as status symbols.

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