Just spoke to my local dealer which attended Porsche even in Arizona. They are saying that Porsche is going to cut their production to 25% to keep supply lower so they could bring prices back to the way they were and stop discounting cars.

I wonder if this is a sales BS or this is really going to happen?

 

Hmmm, would be very interesting to take a look into.

 

I'm sure it's true. They've already started:

http://www.caradvice.com.au/34123/po...uction-report/

 

Are you sure that the guy said Porsche would cut production "to 25%", or if instead maybe he said or meant "by 25%"? I can believe cutting production by 25 % which would mean they would make three-quarters as many cars as they had been making. Cutting "to 25%" would mean they would only be making one-fourth the number they had previously produced.

 

It wouldn't make a lot of sense to cut production to 25%, probably by 25%. Porsche's sales have declined, but not a quarter of what they were last year. The link below might be a little outdated, but would give you an idea of where the year 2 year volume changed.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/30/p...sales-decline/

 

I'm sorry, I meant by 25%.

 

One of the dealers I was working with earlier in the year kept trying to sell me on the same plan that Porsche would cut production in order to maintain demand/price. That was May timeframe, and the best deal they would do on a 09 C2S was about $5K off. Now the '10s are here and they are doing everything they can to unload the '09s. It wouldn't surprise me if Porsche did cut production, but it does appear to be odd timing given that EOY is coming, which is when every manufacturer tries to get aggressive. I also wonder how the introduction of the Panamera might play into 911/Cayenne production in terms of generating additional interest in the new model by having less inventory of the other models.

 

They can cut production al they want but the memory of huge discounts on 09's will be remembered. When I looked at Gt3's and heard the words "MSRP" I said no .

Conclusions
1) I'll keep my car .
2 ) I see a lot of Gt3's listed on dealership websites.
3) I still see 09's c2s cars listed .
4) even with the "moment" not all the cars were sold .

How anyone can expect to offer large discounts to asking MSRP withoit some gradual incremental increase sales strategy boggles my mind.

I think they all forgot at how quiet it was when so few were buying the cars before the discounts.

I believe that the consumer lesson learned in the volatile economy was to evaluate spending .

I evaluated mine ,, and stopped short of buying a Gt3.

 

It is interesting that everyone has a very low stock on 4S or no stock at all and 90% of 4S that I came across both online and at the dealer had bucket seats.. I guess there is a reason why they are not popular, because of the seats. Does anyone buy buckets seats for every day driving?

 

The South Florida dealerships have 4S coupes and cabs last I checked. None have sport bucket seats at this time. The launch meteor car did .
I agree that the seats are out of character for the typical C4S buyer seeking a little comfort .

Had Porsche launched a "sport" version daily driving car with a preferred color , factory aerokit, pse, sport suspension and lsd, Pdk and chrono , ultra light forged wheels and sport bucket seats , with bose ... for lowered package pricing of 105K ... THOSE cars would have sold . Some buyers want this just as others prefer more comfort.

Instead they launch cars like the white (no chrono) C2 . the green c2s, the C4s with bucket and worst of al the brown targa with no chrono and PDK. How can anyone wonder why the cars didn't sell well ?

 

You have to remember that changes in production numbers take months to be realized on the showroom floor. Production/Consumption feeback loops are not very quick to respond because the previous months/years of high/low production will need to be cleared/replenished in the pipeline. Porsche is likely cutting production to get ready for the next version of the 911 by eliminating the glut of 997.2s by 2012.

 

Yeah? I agree, some cars out there have terrible configuration.. I don't know how is it with Porsche, if actual dealers configure cars or it is up to Porsche manufacture how to configure them. With BMW dealers come up with their own configuration so they need to know what sells and what doesn't. I will be on the market for a slightly used 09 C4S and hope I can find one with options and color that I want. As of today I have researched entire web and 95% used 09 cars are C2S.

 

yeah porsche really screwed themselves and dealers with those launch cars...terrible set of options and for the most part bad colors. I think the C4S with normal seats would have sold much better. The cab color of blue/gray was terrible too. Whoever chose those launch cars should be fired.

 

agreed. The 997.1 launch cars were much better and did have alot of the 'must-have' options. I hope when the 991 comes out, Porsche will step up to the plate and offer some very nice cars! BTW...when does the 991 come out?