Porsche To Release a Q5 Based Baby Cayenne, Audi R4 Will Sport Porsche Technology

good news from audi, but not sure bout the porsche name rokster though

— Audi4Life (View Profile)

Posted on 5/24/2007 9:04:07 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

This is crummy news. I was hoping the Cayenne would be a failed experiment, and now this. Too many models for Porsche = bad business. Didn't they learn their lesson in the early 90's?

— t_bone (View Profile)

Posted on 5/24/2007 9:24:27 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Roxster is a terrible name, and Audi is in danger of cannibalizing their own sales coming out with all these new models. That's especially true for coupes, which are lower volume vehicles in the first place. The R4, TT, and A5 are all coupes that will presumably be in the same pricerange, there's too much overlap there. Even with the ridiculous number of models Mercedes has there's little to no overlap between them so they're not competing with themselves.

— JRobUSC (View Profile)

Posted on 5/24/2007 9:35:09 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

The name is terrible. It is more akin to a late-1980's hair-metal band than mini-Cayenne. Speaking about horrible names, I dislike the naming of current Porsche vehicles. Whatever happened to using numerics? They sound much more pleasing to the eye than Boxster, Cayman, and Cayenne.

Porsche's bread-and-butter 911 hasn't had its name on the buttocks of its car for quite a long time. Instead we are flanked with titles of Carrea to Cabrio to Targa, which is not as evocative as the infamous triple-digit unless a bloke is driving around a GT3 or GT2. It is bizarre that such an iconic name does not appear on any of the cars. As if when you see a 911, it is preternatural to know that it is a 911 so there is no need for it to be embossed onto the car.

Imagine going to a local Honda dealership to see a fleet of DX, EX, LX, and Si cars without the Civic moniker labeling? As if marketing researchers thought that as iconic as the Civic is in the world of economy-boxes, people know what the car is and there is not need for the name to be posted so instead the package-variants are we get on the rear-bumper. That would be strange but Porsche has managed to pull it off.

The Cayenne sounds more like an ingredient for chili-sauce than a techno-laden motorsports-derived SUV. Yes, I think of cayenne-peppers when I hear someone talk about the Porsche's overweight beast. The Cayman, what the flip is up with that name. When I first heard the Boxster-coupe was to be called the Cayman, I thought of the Cayman Islands. The name is so bad, Porsche had a microsite educating people what a Cayman alligator is before the car made its debut. If a company has to educate people the name of their car is not derived from a tourist destination but instead a small yet agile alligator is probably not a good name to begin with.

Alphanumerics or just numerics would have sufficed. Picture the Cayenne named after a US military tank, the M10. It just seems a lot better than a pepper with wheels and good ground clearence. Try saying it out load.. 'Porsche M10 Turbo'. Then give 'Porsche Cayenne Turbo' a try outloud. The latter doesn't have the merits nor feel of a heavy yet devastatingly quick 4x4. Just the very fact that there is a tourist-Island called Cayman, it sounds too posh as oppossed to a well-balanced and extremely quick car. Porsche could have ressurected the 914-moniker. Whatever. With the current trend of Porsche names, do not be suprised if the next P-car that comes out will be called the Porsche Cassarole.

— richardp996 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/24/2007 11:14:51 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Wrong anatomical organ, not pleasing to the eye but the 'ear' instead.

— richardp996 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/24/2007 11:15:50 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

I don't like the name either.However it is completely right for Porsche to expand its market capability. You know what's coming next after the Roxster. A baby sedan to take on the 3 series called "Tanamera"

— mini22 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/24/2007 11:43:45 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

A similar name, rockster, was a recently failed BMW motorycle name.

Let's not forget, Cayenne is no failed experiement, it is 40% of sales! It made the company rich so hopefully they can stay independent and develop better sportscars.

— supermoto (View Profile)

Posted on 5/24/2007 12:06:40 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

richardp, I disagree on the 911/Cayman/Cayenne issue. The "Porsche M10 S" would not sound good, it sounds more like a motorboat or machine gun than a car. Furthermore, Cayman is not a bad name- unlike "Roxster," it rolls off the tongue, and I've gotten completely used to it. The 911... your analogy was completely wrong. The Civic is not really a constant icon, because Honda keeps changing it. It's never the same design as its last generation, except maybe the mid-90s versions. The 911, on the other hand, has its own unique shape, and anyone could point one out without mistake. There really is no need to put it on the trunk; it just adds clutter. "Carrera," "Turbo" or "GT3" are just fine, thanks.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 5/24/2007 4:12:56 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2