This may not be the proper forum for this conversation, but........I know there are many a P-Car devotee on this site and am curious to hear your thoughts. In particular, does this merger help or delute the Porsche brand? I understand, I think, that it helps the finances of Porsche that may in turn help with product development....a positive. On the other hand, I can't help but think about comparisons to Acura/Honda, Lexus/Toyota and so on; more of a brand image sort of thing.

Will this affect Porsche loyalists buying behavior? Better or worse P-Cars? Comments about people driving P-Cars and being told it's nothing but a fancy VW (blasphemy)?

What do you think?

 

Mr Porsche designed the beetle and then used VW parts in the 1st Porsche. Today Porsche is using parts of the VW SUV for the Cayenne. We will have to wait and see if VW parts end up in the 911.

 

As a counter point, what do you think Lamborghini, Bently, and Bugatti owners think about VW owning those companies? Or what about Fiat owning Maserati and Ferrari?

As long as they do not try to get overly involved, then it should be fine.

 

I suspect that most Lambo, Bugatti or Bentley owners rarely give it a thought though I do recall seeing an Audi stamping on an engine part of a Lambo recently.
But I do continue to wonder whether Porsche, VW ownership notwithstanding, is in a very stable place. It's neither a low-end high volume brand (e.g. Toyota or VW), nor a high-end low volume manufacturer (e.g. Ferrari or Lambo). And history has not been kind to businesses (and other endeavors) that are 'in the middle'. Surely VW's pockets are deep enough to sustain Porsche whether they return to profitability or not. But should Porsche continue to struggle, it will be hard to tell whether VW 'went corporate' on them, of that without substantial changes, a standalone Porsche would have disappeared.
Taking it all in, I think it's a good thing. VW is a financial buffer in hard times, has a deep parts bin and engineering depth that could be useful, and has a combined volume that gives them critical mass in purchasing and global coverage.
The likely greater risks to the brand and to the essence of Porsche are increasingly stringent eco and safety requirements that will force the redefinition of sports cars. The next year or two, such as the new GT3, might just be the best of the breed forever.

 

i am hopeful that your last statement is dead wrong.

 

It will be interesting to see if they actually go along with their "Auto Union."

 

Me too.

 

As with any takeover, the ones who truly benefit are the M&A bankers and lawyers who advised on the deal. My opinion, but these mega companies never really seem to deliver on the projected synergies or economies of scale. VW will spin them off in 3 or 4 years to a private equity concern after the Panamera doesn't meet volume expectations and/or cannibalizes Cayenne sales. Guess I've become a cynic.

 

The most interesting part of the whole Porsche - VW situation is that if VW does indeed wind up bailing Porsche out and makes them one of 10 separate divisions of the parent company, Porsche will still own a majority interest in VW at 51% . So does that mean that VW, being that parent company is the ultimate owner of Porsche's stake in VW ? One thing is for sure, this whole situation is setting historical precedent in the world of unfriendly corporate takeovers. And remember, Porsche put themselves in this position when it set out to take over VW buy purchasing VW stock at prices well above the market value of VW. It was the return to normal of VW's stock price that did Porsche in. Great stuff really.
As for the question about a VW - Porsche union, the 2 companies have always been very closely linked from the very beginning. The question is how will an official union of the two affect the perception of Porsche's die hard supporters ? In my opinion it is the perception of the Porsche brand in the minds of their customers that sets Porsche apart from every other car company in a very unique and finite market nitch. It was the very strong brand image, and an aging monied male population, that brought Harley Davidson back to life not so many years ago. If the consequences of a VW-Porsche merger result in a change in or better said a reversal of this perception, the impact on Porsche could be significant indeed and unpleasant for the brand faithful to watch.