Porsche has a purchasing office here in the Detroit area. They source parts from all over the world. Such is the nature of today's auto industry.

This is very interesting . I would like to see this article !

I am in the same camp as you Mikkel , that's why I like the cars that most people on the board have 64-89 , that was a good 25 years of heritage and soul.

BTW how many countries were in the older cars . I am aware of the the alternator , A/c compressor , my permatune ignition( which may or may not be original) my tires.

What else?

I like the Mini comment , it AIN"T a mini , it is a fun car but the soul is gone

No statement could be more true! If you think Porsche parts are expensive now, if everything was built "in house" they would be twice that bad (or more). I toured the Ducati factory when I was in Italy. They had frames from one manufacturer (yes the frame), wheels from another, etc, etc. The only thing they did in house was assemble the engine and bike. It was just a big parts house with an assembly line!! (except for the engines)

Germany is in trouble.

They've rcvd E. German sociallists, and have huge unemployment.

.. .and now the more smart $marks are employing Japanesse.

That is sad.

The last time Germany fell behind, they started a war.

Right on, HardDrive! GM has done the same thing to Saab, they're worse every year.

I have an Aisin tranny in my Jeep Cherokee. It is the same case used in Toyota Supras and Dodge Dakotas. The thing is awesome. I can just imagine how much better an Aisin would be 10 years newer than mine, and made for a Porsche 997. You can abuse these trannies and they keep on shifting fine. I can't say the same for my 915.

I guess it's sad we won't see any more G50 stuff, but whatever, the car lost it's soul in 1998, they might as well use the best, most cost effective supplies they can.

The Aisin tranny, transfer case and locking hubs are what make the Landcruisers so bulletproof. The only real offroad vehicle still manufactured IMHO.

Stick to engineering Island, you're a bit off base here.

As for the Aisin, yes, it's a bitter pill to swallow. However, in my mind, the 915 gearbox is the worst engineering fiasco in the entire SC-Carrera line. Porsche had all those years to perfect a smooth, precise shifting mechanism and they dropped the ball and fell over it. If there was a Honda tranny that would bolt in to my SC and handle the power, I'd be all over it.

ianc

I don't think anybody "acquired" anybody, it was an equal merger from a business standpoint. Having said that, by Daimlers own admission there have been significant lapses in quality of Mercedes products since the time of the merger (you can argue whether or not that is merger related). They have sunk to the bottom of the JD Power ratings and are struggling to bring themselves back to the top, which they will....just had a few bad years I think.

OT, but not off base... But back to cars:

I'd rather they get the top components from whoever makes them than use something inferior or so expensive it can't be bought. Japan has some top notch sports & race car engineers - some are at Mazda, some are at Seichiro Honda's place...

Some of the comments above are akin to terroir in wine. That's fine, but cars ain't wine. It you want that "purity of place" thing I'm not sure who still has it... RR maybe?

German cars still have a definable feel that no other country's cars have -- ditto for the Italians & British.

Ya mean this isn't in OT yet? (it should be)

On your second part there, (engineering) .. .

You answered your own question with the key prase "and handle the power. .."

I've had both apart. The Honda gears are small, like toys .. the 915s are heavy-duty.

The properly functioning 915 can be shifted fast . .. in fact if you don't shift them fast, you have to wait that much longer for the syncros to pull those big gears to matching speeds.

Shift the Honda box fast (often) and you'll feel the flex in the system right up to the point that fatigue steps-up and hands you a broken shift-fork. (ask me how I know)

That said, the Japanesse are quite capable of producing whatever the Germans spec.

It's just sad that the Germans can't utilize their own people (cost of business) . . oh, right . ..we're not in OT ;)

I don't think the 915 is inherently bad. I think a lot of the original owners did'nt understand how to use the equipment they could afford. I think you will find originalk owners who had a clue did not have problems.

For example, I believe in the owners manual for my SC it reccommends depressing the clutch pedal and than waiting several seconds before putting it in reverse. How many yuppy scum owners did that?;)

Maybe the 915 is not the best , but it seems to work pretty well for the purpose of these cars - Hi Speed carvers and tourers - if you want to drag race get a ricer :cool:

Hah! That's good. And I'll bet the "Harley" black jackets and the rest of the street wear is make in Hong Kong.

Some people are under the misconception that when a manufacturer (company A) outsources a part to company B, then the quality of said part is a result of company B. Well, that's partly correct. Company A has the ultimate responsibility to spec the part to manufacture, down to the base materials and whatever quality issues they wish company B to comply with. If what gets hung on the car is crap, it's the fault of both company A and B; B for manufacturing below or to spec and A for specing a low qualtiy part and/or allowing B to deliver the product below spec. Often, the bottom line is the main criteria, sometimes it's the engineering or lack thereof.

Conversely, if it's a well-engineered part like the Aisin gearbox mentioned above, then it's a win-win for all, customers alike. It's cheaper in the long run to have long-life parts, both for the consumer and consumer's perception of brand quality.

Someone mentioned Toyota. Like most manufacturers, most of their components are built by vendors, but their engineering specs, quality control and build techniques are such that one doesn't notice (or care) of the origin of the parts. BTW, they build Toyotas and parts in the USA as well.

Lexus was voted no. 1 in the last JD Powers "fewest defects" survey. It's basically a luxurified Toyota, but people don't care because it's luxo and screwed together so well.

Sherwood

Re: Somethings rotten in Stuttgart!
 

if this is true, can I ask for a dscount when buying one? :D

Mercedes' quality problems are of their own making. Chrysler's JD Power quality index is higher than Mercs after all. One need's to remember that the quality index applies across the whole line so if the American made Merc SUV's have a much lower quality than the german made cars (which I believe they do) than the index will make them all look bad.
-Chris

Actually, in their annual survey, JD Powers ranks individual cars as well as all cars by brand name. Here's the latest:

http://www.whatcar.com/News_SpecialReport.asp?NA_ID=214562

Guess what is no. 1 for the "Roadsters and Coupes" category?

Sherwood

Actually it is probably made in Pakistan or Thailand.

I may be wrong, but I thought that only the Harley-mechandise labels where made in Thailand. . . .you know, the ones that say "Made in the USA"

;)

Re: Somethings rotten in Stuttgart!
 

Did you know that your H4 euro headlamp upgrades are made in the Checzh (spl) republic?

Japanese are great engineers and builders. I would not be swayed away from that alone. Just because it built in Japan it was still engineered in germany. Outsourcing is a way to go these days if a company is to keep their heads above water. It is truly a small world now and getting smaller.