Hurst your too rational. Cars are all about emotion. What generates emotion differs from person to person. However, if the object remains primarily the same but with enhancements, after time the emotional attachment begins to wane.

So it is with Porsche. It was an icon to many of us when we were young. It had a special place in the automotive world and people coveted the car. However time has a way of dimming the luster of an object unless the object is modernized and refreshed.

I believe many Porschephiles have lost the strong emotional draw and are trying to find reasons to purchase the car. Thus the undue emphasis on hp, performance and racing. They want something special and extraordinary because that is how they remember the car.

Porsche is not marketing to the Porschephiles. It wants the general auto buyer and competes in that expanded market segment. Up until now, very successfully.