Porsche no longer a sportscar
Rc et al,
here is an interesting brand commnetary
http://www.autoextremist.com/page2.shtml#Rant
and here is the porsche comment. i know some of you find a use for Cayenne, but..... what outcome? thanks for your comments
"And then, there's Porsche. Refashioning itself as a company with a "diversified" product portfolio in order to position itself for the future, CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and his band of accountants turned Porsche away from its own heritage, traditions and history in order to enter the truck business. The plan was to orchestrate short-term profitability, with the added benefit of fortifying the company for the long haul so that they can continue to do what they do best - build sports cars. And on paper, Wiedeking was right. Porsche is ringing up huge profit numbers, and high-fiving is rampant in the halls at headquarters.
It's great to be brilliant, right?
Sure it is, except for one key thing: Porsche once was one of just two exclusive makers of sports cars left in the world, along with Ferrari. Now, Porsche sells more SUVs than it does sports cars. Wiedeking insists that Porsche can continue to do this with impunity, that no matter how many trucks they sell, Porsche will always be known for its sports cars. But at some point, the wheels will come off. Right now, Porsche sports car sales are down overall by 25 percent, with Boxsters down over 50 percent, just in time for the release of a new 911 this fall.
Porsche was once known as one of the world's great builders of racing cars, and its legendary founder insisted on racing to improve the breed. Yet, Porsche made the decision to stop competing for the overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans six years ago in order to pay for the development of the Cayenne. At some point, the people buying the Cayenne will not only forget what Porsche once stood for, they won't care. At some point, the only Porsche people will recognize will be the derivative, bloated SUV that's littering the shopping mall parking lots of suburbia. And at that point, Porsche will have officially "jumped the shark." It will have squandered its legacy, turned its back on its founding principles and become just another car company - and the ultimate punch line to a very bad joke.
Brand authenticity? Porsche destroyed it - and its credibility - with one fateful decision. "
here is an interesting brand commnetary
http://www.autoextremist.com/page2.shtml#Rant
and here is the porsche comment. i know some of you find a use for Cayenne, but..... what outcome? thanks for your comments
"And then, there's Porsche. Refashioning itself as a company with a "diversified" product portfolio in order to position itself for the future, CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and his band of accountants turned Porsche away from its own heritage, traditions and history in order to enter the truck business. The plan was to orchestrate short-term profitability, with the added benefit of fortifying the company for the long haul so that they can continue to do what they do best - build sports cars. And on paper, Wiedeking was right. Porsche is ringing up huge profit numbers, and high-fiving is rampant in the halls at headquarters.
It's great to be brilliant, right?
Sure it is, except for one key thing: Porsche once was one of just two exclusive makers of sports cars left in the world, along with Ferrari. Now, Porsche sells more SUVs than it does sports cars. Wiedeking insists that Porsche can continue to do this with impunity, that no matter how many trucks they sell, Porsche will always be known for its sports cars. But at some point, the wheels will come off. Right now, Porsche sports car sales are down overall by 25 percent, with Boxsters down over 50 percent, just in time for the release of a new 911 this fall.
Porsche was once known as one of the world's great builders of racing cars, and its legendary founder insisted on racing to improve the breed. Yet, Porsche made the decision to stop competing for the overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans six years ago in order to pay for the development of the Cayenne. At some point, the people buying the Cayenne will not only forget what Porsche once stood for, they won't care. At some point, the only Porsche people will recognize will be the derivative, bloated SUV that's littering the shopping mall parking lots of suburbia. And at that point, Porsche will have officially "jumped the shark." It will have squandered its legacy, turned its back on its founding principles and become just another car company - and the ultimate punch line to a very bad joke.
Brand authenticity? Porsche destroyed it - and its credibility - with one fateful decision. "
