Quote:
SoCalHoosier said:
I believe that companies such as Porsche can do so much more...
However that would mean that they wouldn't be able to give us sub-par upgrades such as the 997. The fact is that Porsche should never have produced the 997S... THAT should have been the standard 997. But somehow they have suckered the public to pay 10K more for their vehicle without them raising the MSRP.

Porsche knows how to work it.



Porsche really has the engineering capability to make the best sports cars in the world. Take a look at what they can accomplish with a 3000 .lbs GT3. Imagine what they could do with a sub-2500 .lbs mid-engine platform with 350hp.

However, they are a business, and things are going extremely well for them. Cars like the Noble are in a very niche market. People like the fact that they can get excellent performance from their 911 Turbo, and then drive it to work everyday. How many people are willing to sacrafice a lot of comfort for just a little bit of weight savings on this board? Even Lotus is adding creature comforts to their cars to expand marketability. Porsche could probabably make the Boxster just as comfortable in a 2500 .lbs package, but they would sacrafice profits. Also, Porsche likes making their mainstream products very well balanced, and for good reason. They should have good performance AND comfort. If you can make two cars of equal performance, but one car feels very raw and the other feels sporty but comfortable, I know which one they will make. I know which one will sell too.

Philosophically, not sure you can compare a 911 with the kind of cars Noble likes to make, other than the GT2/3. Lee Noble isn't interested in making a C4S-like car at the moment, but we'll see what happens. If he had the resources, would he be making dynamic suspensions and dynamic steering? Not so sure.

- J

PS: Aston Martin is a luxury brand, but Fisker's new philosophy is to keep cars simple. He wants to keep the AMV8 comfortable, but snug. He was involved with the 993, so I wait to see what he can do with the AMV8.