Wow. Cayenne sales in tank . . . already.

[Eric 951]

Originally posted by island911
LOL, Eric. - I want one!

[
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Island,

I have a buddy on a Jeep site to which I belong working on the layout. I am then taking it to a lcoal printer. The Jeep guys all got a kick out of it too.

[Hawktel]

Lol Eric what Jeep site is it? I want to go check it out.


I think if they had raced the Cayanne and stuck it with a name like Toureg, (let VW have the Cayanne) they could have really had something else.

[techweenie]

I think it's funny that you guys are talking as if the Cayenne is "over" when the math that started this thread was flawed.

Cayenne sales for May are not down. They are up. 115 vs 103 for May 2004.

Year-to-date, sales are down 10% vs last year. But most premium SUV sales are down vs last year.

[CarreraS2]

My sales numbers are not flawed.

1st Quarter 2004 sales were approx. 4000 units

1st Q 2005 was approx 3000 units.

Around a 25% decrease.

Your numbers look flawed, though. If Porsche only sold 115 Cayennes in the month of May, they are in REAL trouble.

[techweenie]

Ack. Those were numbers from Canada I was quoting. Got fooled by the PCNA heading.

Numbers through May are now available, and Porsche says Cayenne sales will be equal to last year.

Best Month in History for Porsche in North America

ATLANTA, June 1 -- Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), importer and distributor of Porsche sports cars and Cayenne SUVs in the United States and Canada, today announced May retail sales in the United States totaled 3,291 cars, an increase of 25 percent compared to May of last year. In addition to being the best May result in the U.S., it was the best month in history for Porsche in North America. Combined sales for Canada and the U.S. totaled 3,567 in May, surpassing the previous record of 3,547 set in December 1986.

"We couldn't have asked for a better result in May," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, PCNA President and CEO. "With our fiscal year ending in July, we are looking forward to setting yet another sales record, thanks to our sports cars, which are hot, and the Cayenne, which will finish the fiscal year at the same level as last year."

In addition, dealers sold 544 Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicles, compared to 452 for the same period last year.

(the table doesn't display correctly here)

Go to: http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/06/01/110719.html

[techweenie]

"Numbers through May are now available, and Porsche says Cayenne sales will be equal to last year."

[Gene-o]

Originally posted by silver912e
Seems to me if Porsche updated the 356 the way the Beetle and Mini were updated they would probably sell a Bazillion of them. Of course they would end up being water-cooled front engined cars that lacked the soul of a real 356, but I still think it would be a very successful product

Isn't that what the Audi TT is ? If I understand correctly, the TT was originally meant to be the "New Beetle" equivalent of the Karmann Ghia, but VW passed it to Audi to sell instead.

That having been said, an updated 356 would be pretty cool. I doubt if Porsche could sell it cheap enough to be successful, unfortunately.

Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, Md.

[techweenie]

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
Tech, you, of all people, being taken in by corporate spin. What's this world coming to?!? They are always going to play around with the numbers. Not lie about the hard numbers, but present them in the best light possible by manipulating the time periods - "fiscal year" when that works, "calendar year" when that works best, etc.

I clicked on your link, and the chart contained therein.

It says as follows: Year to Date - Current Year: 5432
Year to Date - Prior Year: 7145

That's a huge drop. Cayenne sales are in the tank. Porsche will NEVER, EVER reach it's sales goals for the Cayenne. It's over.

Brian, you can think what you want. And I'm not saying you aren't justified just on the raw numbers.

But spokespeople for public companies have to be very careful about sales projections. The reason I'm not willing to write off the Cayenne is that there are quite a few months between now and the end of the year. May sales saw Cayenne numbers improve substantially over Q1.

PCNA's Boxster incentive program proved that the Porsche marketplace is very price elastic. Incentives -- especially lease incentives -- can make a huge difference in a model's acceptance. And Porsche has huge margins to play with in the Cayenne.

I'm no fan of the Cayenne, but there seems to be a pretty strong market for it in some parts of the country -- like SoCal.

[Serge914]

So the best option would be a hybrid 356 look-alike with performance and equipment matching the Lotus Elise and selling around $40K. Can they do that if they dont have to develop the technology ?

[Eric 951]

Originally posted by Hawktel
Lol Eric what Jeep site is it? I want to go check it out.


I think if they had raced the Cayanne and stuck it with a name like Toureg, (let VW have the Cayanne) they could have really had something else.

Hawktel,

The website is IFSJA(International Full-Size Jeep Association)

It is for all Full-Sized Cherokees, Wagoneers, Grand Wagoneers, and J-Trucks.

[techweenie]

Originally posted by island911
good one, pwd.

It is funny, how people forget that diesel-electrics have been around for ever.

Regenerative braking is the only twist that gives hybrids a second glance.


Techwee, good point. Though I thought that the whole idea of a hybrid was to have a clear conscious . . . that you're being more 'green' that the other guy . .. that you get to drive whatever type of planet polluting/massive heavy-metal battery lugging device you want ... as long as it means well. . . .and has that green cliche HYBRID logo on the back.

Okay, lets say you are right about the "size" thing. What are the greeners going to do when they reallize that their hydrogen hybrid need to be huge (to handle the hydrogen w/o massive inefficient compression equipment) ?

I'm a major investor in an electric/hybrid vehicle company. I've been knee-deep in this stuff for 6+ years. The energy gained by regenerative braking on a lightweight vehicle is more beneficial to the marketing aspect of the vehicle than to the battery charging.

As to size, it's rumored there will be hydrogen-powered notebook supplies on the market in 18 months or so. The previous inability to make these things small has been supposedly overcome.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by techweenie
As to size, it's rumored there will be hydrogen-powered notebook supplies on the market in 18 months or so. The previous inability to make these things small has been supposedly overcome.

Gentleman's bet on whether the TSA allows them as carry-on?

[techweenie]

Originally posted by BlueSkyJaunte
Gentleman's bet on whether the TSA allows them as carry-on?

I'm not taking that bet. TSA confiscated a Microsoft Zune prototype last week. Anything they don't see every day will be confiscated.

[Rodeo]

If used Cayenne pricing drops low enough, I'll gladly trade my Honda Pilot for one.

Anyone with a Turbo S out there that wants to swap, let me know

[Tervuren]

I like the Cayenne, but I'm not in the funding bracket to purchase one. A Turbo would be a very fun vehichle.

[Britwrench]

Seeing how Porsche have now bought another few percent of the VAG group and hold a controlling share majority, it will be interesting to see what happens to the Cayenne.

[Tervuren]

One more note - again, I don't have the money for a Cayenne at the moment, but when it comes to a "green" "freindly" car, the current crop of hybrids is not what comes to my mind, they are luxery cars, not economy cars. Build a smaller lighter car, and you will be ahead of the ballgame.

I want a Lotus Elise, its one of the few brand new cars that holds what I want from a car - a car, not a mobile living room/office.

The Cayenne, is loaded with gadgets I'm never realy going to need, but it is IMO a fairly versitile vehichle, especialy if you go with the adjustible suspension options. I just don't have the confidence that they will not be maintenance intensive twenty years down the road. - I want to own a car longterm, I'm not into always moving to the newest model. (Hey, I drive a '86!)

[island911]

Well, it's six years latter. I now have a Cayenne, But did I miss the hydrogen-powered notebook revolution?

Originally Posted by techweenie

I'm a major investor in an electric/hybrid vehicle company. I've been knee-deep in this stuff for 6+ years. The energy gained by regenerative braking on a lightweight vehicle is more beneficial to the marketing aspect of the vehicle than to the battery charging.

As to size, it's rumored there will be hydrogen-powered notebook supplies on the market in 18 months or so. The previous inability to make these things small has been supposedly overcome.

oh, yeah... back on the main topic....

Toyota drops plan for widespread sales of electric car. - Reuters

how 'bout that..

[vash]

funny stuff!!

you crack me up island.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

And, in other news, 6 years later I still think the Cayenne is ugly and NARP. And Porsche did so well with it that they over-leveraged themselves into getting bought-out by VW.