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SoCal Alan said:
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nberry said:
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JP66 said:
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nberry said:
As most know my biggest hang up with Porsche has been they way they have exploited the name in their quest for profit.



Ummm....don't all companies exploit their name in a quest for profit??



I should check this threads more often.

There is a difference between exploiting a brand/image and a name selling the product. Exploiting a brand means the manufacturer is going outside its product base to sell a product it is not known for. It uses its brand and image to sell the product packaging it as "almost" like the real thing.

Distinguish that from a manufacturer who is known for a particular product only sells that product. See the difference?

It is true a few of this manufacturers will license their name for products produced by someone else. Ferrari, Porsche BMW... all do this but usually these involve small items.

Porsche belongs in the exploitation category for the reasons enumerated above. The will build a pig put lipstick on it and sell if it would turn a profit. Companies like Ferrari will only build what they know and known for protecting its image regardless of profit.





Your definition of exploitation is fairly poor. Nobody gets exploited in a free market, in general.



I agree. That was a terrible definition. Exploitation to me is when a company milks it's brand and reputation by selling mediocre products with weak performance or quality, or products which don't even fit in their line-up at all.

A typical example are some Fashion designers like Chanel, LV and Dior which sell plain white T-shirt, cups and teddy bear with their logos on it. They know that their customers love the brand and will buy those products regardless of their quality or price. All just for quick revenue.

With that being said i find the behavior of some people on this board to be ridiculous. As soon as they see a non rear-engined Porsche with more than 2 doors they go "OMFG!! PORSCHE ARE GOING DOWN MARKET DEVELOPING A VW COMPETITOR!"
The Panamera is far from a weekend project. Porsche has invested over 1 billion euro in the car and is not a car simply designed to fill a whole in their line up. Like I have said before it's purpose is to retain it's customers who become fathers from selling their 911 and turning to MB, BMW and Audi for a more practical high performer like the M5 and E55.

Comparing Porsche to Ferrari is pretty useless since Ferrari doesn't even stand on their own feet. They are owned by Fiat while Porsche is the leader shareholder in VW.