Spyderidol:
I post the link to the article below, not because it is any good (some mistakes are easily detected) but because it shows that others are having the same discussion we are having albeit with somewhat different conclusions in each case.
It is not just coincidence. It is not that some of us are getting old and grumpy. It shows that the path Porsche have chosen to take, raises some questions.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/defining-porsche/article4253918/
The article is interesting but the problem is not the Cayenne or the Panamera per se but the Cayenne/Panamera V6, Diesel and even the Hybrid to some point. I "understand" a 250 hp engine in a Boxster but I don't "get it" in a Cayenne or Panamera. This isn't Porsche anymore.
Retaining value? Are you kidding me? Look at the value of used Porsche and tell me where that "value retaining" is? My Carrera GTS Cab was almost 140k EUR new. Now my dealer would sell it for 105k EUR...with only 4500 km on it, one year old. The car "lost" 35k EUR in one year. Value retention?
My dealer also has a fantastic 997 Carrera 4S with PDK, Sport Chrono, PSE, etc. New car price was over 130k. Now he sells it, car has only 17000 km on it, for 85k EUR and I bet he would gladly accept 80k EUR for it. Before going for my C63 AMG Coupe, I was actually also considering this C4S but since it would have been my daily driver to my business...
Fact is: 90% of the Cayenne and Panamera I see on the street in Germany are...V6 or Diesel. Now people like me would think that it would hurt the Porsche brand name but I think it doesn't. We are hardcore Porsche enthusiasts, this is why we are so critical about Porsche's model strategy. I have to confess however that it seems to have worked for them pretty well so far.
Let me give you an example: I was sitting with my wife, my kids and some of my wife's female friends(they just had spanish class there, so I met with them) at a cafe. At some point, a Cayenne V6 or Diesel (black brake calipers) parked in the parking lot and all my wife's friends looked at the Cayenne and said "what a wonderful car" and "the most beautiful Porsche...". Being a Porsche freak (and all ), I told them in a very annoyed tone "but this is a Diesel or a V6, this car is so slowwwwwww". My wife's friends looked at me, one of them said "who cares, this is a Porsche" and another one said "you can't drive fast nowadays anywhere" and other stupid stuff (I just hope they don't read this... ). I was quite surprised how much they liked a simple Cayenne V6 or Diesel.
That said, I think we lost a little bit the sense for reality. We are driving expensive cars, some of them with exceptional performance and when we see a Cayenne V6/Diesel or even a Boxster, we tend to brag about it and feel disappointed. Well...most people can't even afford these "weak" Porsche cars, so you can take a guess what they are thinking about you and me when we actually don't understand how they can like cars like a Cayenne Diesel.
Yes, Porsche has become a mass producer of cars, no doubt about it. Is it really that bad though? The fact that I see many Cayenne or even 911 on the street is a huge advantage for me in Germany: I don't stick out from the masses too much, something I would definitely do in a Ferrari or Lamborghini. I know that somebody living in L.A. or in Miami or even in Dubai wouldn't care too much, on the contrary, some of these people would probably to stick out from the masses but I don't. The Panamera Turbo S I ordered is already a problem for me, I just realized it after driving around in my Porsche Panamera loaner for the past two weeks. I barely see Panameras in my hometown and the car is really something special here. The mass production also has another advantage: Quality. The quality of Porsche cars got much better over the past couple of years, just compare a 996 to the current 991.
We are a tough audience but to be honest, I think that so far, Porsche has done everything right...to survive. Of course I would have loved to see more power and better performance in their model range and instead of a 250 hp Diesel, I would have loved Porsche to put that monster V12 Audi Q7 Diesel in a Cayenne or even Panamera but it didn't happen.
Get over it: The Porsche we all knew in the past is...gone. Forever. We may not like it but I'm still looking forward to the next 991 GT3, 991 Turbo and even a Panamera Coupe on the way. I can't help it, I still love Porsche.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (at Porsche right now), BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4