Short answer: No. Never. Buy a Kia and be glad you have four rubber tires underneath you.

 

Car companies are first a foremost companies, and last time I checked no car manufacturer was listed as a non profit. They have shareholders and shareholder want profit and to get profit you need sales and to get sales you need products people want and good marketing. Just like diet pill that as sold 20 million bottles and will make you loose 20lbs in a month, you need to take all marketing as what it is half truth's, catch phrases, and highlights without details. Look at Ferrari just since the 360 there have been racier models of the 430 and now the 458. Are these actually track cars no but they sell because some people just like bragging rights. Ferrari will build you a track car even store at their track all you need is 1.5 million. All of the cars mentioned here do have one thing in common they are classified as passenger vehicles and that is what they are. The clever marketers want you to believe you have a car ready to hit the track, but that little half truth that's missing is that your warranty is for a passenger car, not a track car. I have had great experiences with Porsche over the years they have sent me some very special gifts (I guess after 40 cars they think you should get some special stuff) and when my Ferrari 575 had a small botch in the paint they sent someone from Ferrari North America to inspect and spent 17k (yup that right 17K took 3 weeks) to have the panel redone to my satisfaction. Does Porsche have a history that no one like to discuss, yes. D they always have the best customer relations, nope. But if I stopped buying products from every company for those reasons I'd have to make most things myself. Lets face it the days of a bunch of people making cars for the thrill of it and for those who love to drive are long gone at Porsche. They are now just another car company who sell cars to soccer moms, business execs, and would be race drivers.

 

Mr. Price, I simply cannot contain my curiosity about what line of work you're in to be able to afford such a large number of high-end cars. (Caution: I'm a journalist by training and nosy by nature.) Perhaps founder of the Price Club??? Wall Street? Early Yahoo! VC?

 

I am an author, designer, and owner of several business's (I never made past the 8th grade and was homeless at one point in my life so I had a lot to prove to myself). Though when it comes to cars I am at the "been there done that" stage of my life. My name is also not Mr. Price.

 

"Is Porsche a company we should buy their products from?"


Is there another company we can buy Porsche products from? More specifically, is there another company we can buy a 911 from? Until there is no sleep lost on this subject here.

 

Prices for Porsches have gone up in the last few years, just look at the dollar v. the euro.

I bought my 1st euro for $0.88, today it was $1.25, that has something to do with the price of admission.

I saw a loaded Cayman S the other day, $84k. I paid $85k for my C2S when Porsche was offering 0.9% interest and times were tough…

Now it's 2014, sales are strong, and a new C2S is $125k. Porsche has 2 SUVs (I screamed blasphemy when the 1st one came out, but it sort of saved them, shows how wrong I can be).

Now, PDK is the future, or an improved version. I can live with an automatic trans, but would really like to see Porsche up their H.P. game.

Cayman S puts out 325 H.P.? It should be closer to 400. It's hard to finesse your way on a long straight.

The C2S should be 450+ H.P. Make the 3.8 more like 4.0-4.2 liters.

Before heads explode, I know H.P. isn't everything, look at the entire package, yes, I know. But you can get some very QUICK cars for a lot less money. I am not talking about the kid with a 600 H.P. 1995 Mustang.

The latest Corvette (gaak) is a bargain, Mustangs are very quick cars, for a lot less than a C2S. The latest Camaro is a beast, $65K out the door.

I'm not selling my Porsche for a new car, but if I were new to the sports/performance market, I don't know if Porsche would even get my attention. I know that they are not for everyone, they have never been H.P. monsters (Turbo excluded), but again, Porsche sells more SUVs…

Strange times, strange times indeed.

 

WHAT?

I enjoyed this thread up until here. You cannot disable Launch Control. Impossible.

Welcome to the 6th year of the GT-R, where it is still sold with a warrantied LC. I thought this wasn't even news in the last 5 years, but apparently there are those who don't know. It's okay to not know things about a car you are not interested in, but I find it courteous to keep my uninformed comments to myself. Opinions, however....

I've had good service and bad service from just about every manufacturer that was mentioned in this thread.

The worst was Honda - not even comparable to anything else. I have opined many, many times the dealers can single handedly change one's mind about a brand. Sometimes it makes financial sense to build a loyal customer, sometimes it doesn't. It's all about business. Dealers, like Porsche as a constructor, are there to make money. I don't think many can deny the experience that the Boxster/Cayman and 911 offer. But as was mentioned - the performance bar has moved. Has Porsche moved with it? Sure, maybe not as quickly, but they are still on the leading edge of several sports car lines (Corvette, F-Type, etc...).

But now that 'Murica is offering this new Hellcat (700HP) cars for $60k (sticker - without getting into markups - because that isn't manufacturer profit), the Stingray is just over $50k, the newer 600+HP Z06 for several more than that - value comes in to the picture. Those with certain priorities have choices. This is good for the industry as a whole, and most car manufacturers in general.

However - it seems that original tone of this thread seemed angry, or betrayed. I'd suggest that those were just business decisions. I'd speculate that based on the absence of the OP, a decision was made with a wallet.

I have a personal issue with Porsche cost vs cost options. I don't think there is anyone denying the experience the Boxster/Cayman or 911 offers.

 

Well said.

Bottom line..if you don't like Porsche, don't buy or drive their products!

 

Who else would you buy their products from?

 

indeed...

 

Porsche has become a more family friendly luxury automobile. That's for certain. I for one don't like it.

 

Eh, the new Cayman GT4 suggests to me the opposite.

A rear-engined 2-seater coupe, not engineered for comfort. What happens when you make a broader spectrum of products - is more people buy these products, which then allows a broader spectrum of products.

It does perhaps remove the exclusivity of owning a 911, but this is sword is two-edged.

I do see it as diluting the service experience at the dealerships, though..., but that is only based on my personal perceptions/experiences.

 

What is the rear-engined, 2 seater coupe you are referring to? The GT3?

 

Just read an article, GT4, Mid-engined twin turbo, but @ 400 h.p.

If I went to the time and trouble to turbo a 3.8, it would be faaaaaar more than 400 h.p.

If it's a 4 cylinder, I'll wait for the 991 variant w a 3.8 TT.

 

Right. The GT4 is mid-engine though, not rear engined as previously poster indicated.