Panamera: Milking the Porsche cow?
We've debated this numerous times - especially the issue of Porsche marketing versus actual Euro for Euro performance.
IMO Porsche is milking the cow with this car. Pure and simple.
They need to keep generating profit if they wanna keeep and/or expand their share of VW stock, and they have learned from the Cayenne, that people will eat anything up raw as long as it has a Porsche badge.
Hence this abomination in the shape of "Panamera".
You can rest assured that the car will work exactly they way it is supposed to - i.e. satisfy the carefully mapped target audience.
It may well be a stroke of marketing genious, since many men want to buy a ("real") Porsche - and can afford to - but for practical or profiling reasons choose not to. The Panamera is the answer to their prayers: A luxury family car with a scent of sportscar. This will either sell like crazy, or you may end up even further dividing Porsche owners into those who purchase "real" Porsches (meaning the sportscar lineup) and those who are wannabes, and buy the "pop" Porsche. In time this may potentially damage the brand.
From a business perspective the Panamera could very well be a wise move, one that will probably end up making Porsche even more profitable - but from the POV of someone who is passionate about Porsche, this is populism and opportunism at its worst.
Soon we will have two "bastard" models in the Porsche line-up, and Porsche will by no stretch of the imagination be able to call or market themselves as true sportscar manufacturers any longer.
Some will argue that Porsche would have faced rough times had it not been for the Cayenne.
True. But havent they cleared the finacial abyss by a mile now? Do they need more Cayenne marketing ploys?
Once Porsche was passionate about making cars. Now they just seem passionate about making money. Shame, shame, shame.
What's your take on this?
IMO Porsche is milking the cow with this car. Pure and simple.
They need to keep generating profit if they wanna keeep and/or expand their share of VW stock, and they have learned from the Cayenne, that people will eat anything up raw as long as it has a Porsche badge.
Hence this abomination in the shape of "Panamera".
You can rest assured that the car will work exactly they way it is supposed to - i.e. satisfy the carefully mapped target audience.
It may well be a stroke of marketing genious, since many men want to buy a ("real") Porsche - and can afford to - but for practical or profiling reasons choose not to. The Panamera is the answer to their prayers: A luxury family car with a scent of sportscar. This will either sell like crazy, or you may end up even further dividing Porsche owners into those who purchase "real" Porsches (meaning the sportscar lineup) and those who are wannabes, and buy the "pop" Porsche. In time this may potentially damage the brand.
From a business perspective the Panamera could very well be a wise move, one that will probably end up making Porsche even more profitable - but from the POV of someone who is passionate about Porsche, this is populism and opportunism at its worst.
Soon we will have two "bastard" models in the Porsche line-up, and Porsche will by no stretch of the imagination be able to call or market themselves as true sportscar manufacturers any longer.
Some will argue that Porsche would have faced rough times had it not been for the Cayenne.
True. But havent they cleared the finacial abyss by a mile now? Do they need more Cayenne marketing ploys?
Once Porsche was passionate about making cars. Now they just seem passionate about making money. Shame, shame, shame.
What's your take on this?
.
'Supernormal' meaning anything over and above 'break-even' profits. Do you have even the faintest idea what you are evangelising about??? 
For heaven's sake, Nick, read any undergraduate economics textbook before you embarrass yourself further. 
The irony is that, with each gaffe you make, they each lose the exclusivity that you prize so highly! 
