What I read was when the 998/991 comes along PAG may actually reduce the 911 model tiers. But as Gary said that will raise prices. PAG/VW may be more interested in larger volumes by introducing a $40k 'entry-level' Porsche.

 

Have to just wait and see .
Interesting to see that Porsche may head in the tier reduction future.

 

That certainly seems to be the case.

Gary

 

against my better judgement, i'll ask....

why do you keep mentioning that porsches are being sold at 10-20% off? how is that relevant to product choice? the discounts are applicable to both models. it's also applicable to ferraris and GM.

how does rationalizing a product line eliminate discounting? porsches are build-to-order vehicles. they're all made on the same line with the same logistical systems. what efficiencies would they gain? some 80% of the vehicles use either the 3.6 or the 3.8.

why would they reduce the top combination of coupe choices from two to one? who does it benefit?

for the record, i really like the carrera. i drove the hell out of them at porsche sport driving school a couple times. i just happened to find the carrera S suits my desire best.

 

I think at this point .. 5 pages .. maybe more .. it's a circular discussion.

 

Good point Larry; I usually unsubscribe from threads once they've hit 20-25 posts since either everything worth reading has appeared or the thread has been hijacked. My final comment is:

To non-Porsche owners a Porsche is a Porsche; base, 'S', gt3, turbo; it's only some of us here on 6speed who do all the oohs an ahhs on 3.6 versus 3.8 or special wheels or extra fiberglass hanging on the front.

As far as performance - last year at the Porsche Driving school at Barber Motorsports Hurley Haywood was at least 5 seconds faster in a stock C2 than any other instructor in a C2S. (If you don't know who Hurley is, shame on you.)

 

The issue of the available discounts on the S models seems to support Gary's contention that Porsche can lower it's overall unit costs by model diversity. It is very likely that the S model costs marginally more to manufacture than the base, since the only variable is the engine displacement, a simple tooling and minor parts adjustment to essentially the same engine. We're not talking 9A1 vs GT1. The base models have piled up because once the excess profit built into the S disappeared the cost threshold for those on the fence between the two models also disappeared. Perhaps in a continuously depressed market it would make sense to eliminate the base Carrera. On other note, the Carrera GT, the best Porsche could build, was a market failure w/ 1500 anticipated and roughly 1200 built and sold. Residuals have been mixed. The 959, another best, was also a market failure in its era. The capital investment in one apex or singular product which cannot be spread out down market or amortized over large numbers of units sold has not been a good model for the auto industry.

 

What the hell does it matter what the prices are? Buy the car in the configuration you want to drive. Be glad Porsche gives you such a wide pallet to pick form vs the mass market where you get (in the US) a choice between 2 or 3 fixed configs and thats it. Then drive your car. I'm constantly amazed (not sure why I still am) how wrapped about the axle folks get about prices when buying and reselling the cars.

 

Haven't read all responses but Porsche makes other models. Everyone has a budget or amount they are willing to spend. My choice was between a Cayman S and a Carrera. I picked a Carrera and spent as much as I was willing to spend. For sure I wasn't going to drop another $10,000 on top of that for a Carrera S. Maybe the Carrera S should be dropped? Why settle for a
Carrera S? GO Turbo, GT3 or GT2 if a Carrera isn't enough for you.

 

Because money is the currency of life . It decides what's bought or sold. It decides what's made or makes it to the scrap pile.

 

type997,

Your story is EXACTLY the same as mine. By deciding on the 911 instead of the Cayman S we essentially already spent an additional 12-13K over what we originally intented to spend. There was no way in heck I could justify another 10K on top of the 12-13K extra that I already talked myself into.

Oh and by the way to everyone reading this thread. I just visited the Porsche website a few minutes ago and it seems now that the difference between the 911 base and S has now increased to 11K. As we all know Porsche is a company that is never shy about prices so perhaps they felt it was time for an increase the price of the S another 1K.

 

Curious to hear why you think they did that.


Could it be that the the extra 1K "S' price widens the gap which might move the many base units still on lots that haven't sold ?
Could it be that a center radiator may come in 2011 "S" and someone has to pay extra for it?

 

yrralis1,

My experience with German companies in my own business (non-automotive) is that they take on a different business philosophy than US companies. When US companies sales slump they tend to lower prices in an effort to move units at lower margins to maintain the bottom line. German companies on the other hand tend to raise prices in tough times trying to eek out more profit from each unit sold and maintain the bottom line. I couldn't tell you which philosophy works the best but I have a feeling it's a simple matter of Porsche trying to maintain their profit margin.

I believe it was adias who stated all 2011 "S" models will have a center radiator and also that the bluetooth phone interface and universal audio interface will become standard on all 911's. If this is the case then we should definitely expect a price increase across the board for 2011 models.

Please correct me if I'm wrong adias, I don't want to put words in your mouth but I thought you reported the above in a thread about a week ago.

 

Unsold Carrera and Carrera S models around NC are about 50/50.
Looks like Turbo owners need to hang out in their own forum if they can't play nice!

 

+1 My Brother