Feedback from last week on our Porsche rumors
An avid Auto Spies reader gives us his .02
Don't get me wrong:
I love the brand and what Wiedeking has done is absolutely phenomenal however, If the company decides to stretch the brand further from its "true sports car" origin by focusing on financial performance to the detriment of "sports car performance" they will be the donkey hitting the same stone twice. In the Eighties the Company's CEO at the time, Peter W. Schutz, focused strongly on financial performance (he had a marketing background) and held off technical development (4-wheel drive, engine development) because it was to costly. Instead, smaller improvements in interior, colors, options etc. were implemented and introduced as the best thing since sliced bread (you gotta love marketeers....).
End of the eighties when money got tight, demand dropped (first hit) and the public realised overnight that the 911 in its form at the time was outdated (second hit). This almost lead to bankruptcy in the early nineties and it is a miracle the Company has recovered. If the Company now once again focuses to much on financial performance (i.e. downgrade the Boxster because it makes more profit on the 911, eventhough the Boxster is superior to the 911 in roadholding) and forgets about what building the ultimate sports car is all about (i.e. build a Boxster with the 3.6 320 HP 996 engine, or perhaps even more powerful engines. in other words: making the best of what they got) it will, in my opinion, have disastrous results for the Company in the not to distant future. Not building the best car they can because building a inferior car makes more money is an insult to the company's proud history.
The customer can be fooled, but only up to a point. Please build it! For the Company's sake and for the cutsomer's sake!
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