"Gold chain and chest hair" ...???

[Decolliber]

Porsche's new SUV faces opposition - sight unseen

Reuters / February 14, 2002

DETROIT -- Porsche's entry into the growing sport utility vehicle segment later this year has rankled some devotees of the macho German sports car maker, who fear their beloved image of the ultimate road machine will be compromised by suburban sensibilities.

The Porsche Cayenne remains shrouded in secrecy. A Porsche Web site shows only the shadowy outline of the SUV, and its public debut won't come until late this year, perhaps at the Paris auto show in September.

But already, some Porsche lovers fear the Cayenne will attract a new breed of customers to the exclusive group of predominately male Porsche owners.

"People have talked about how they are worried about pulling up at a stoplight and seeing a suburban housewife in the Cayenne putting on her lipstick," said Nick Twork, an analyst with the automotive consultants AutoPacific. "It's a gold chain and chest hair brand, to some extent."

To be sure, with prices starting at about $42,000 for the Boxster and $67,900 for the 911, Porsche attracts an elite and car-loving crowd. Many Porsche owners are the kind of people who debate the merits of water- versus air-cooled engines.

Porsche counters that many Cayenne buyers could be current Porsche owners looking for more utility or seating space for their kids. Typical Porsche owners also have a foreign-made sedan and a sport utility vehicle parked in their garage.

FORK IN THE ROAD

But Porsche's own executives admit to hearing a lot of complaints lately that the Cayenne, expected to go on sale in the United States late this year or early next year at a price of $50,000 to $70,000, will divert the company from its sports car heritage.

Porsche expects to build about 25,000 Cayennes annually at a new Leipzig, Germany plant, with about 75 percent of those exported, mostly to the United States. The new SUV will raise Porsche's worldwide sales by nearly 50 percent from the 55,000 sold in the last fiscal year ended July 2001, Porsche said.

"From the time of the first 356 in 1948, Porsche has built nothing but sports cars. And now all of the sudden they are going in an entirely different direction," said Neiland Pennington, the executive editor of the monthly trade publication Modern Metals, who has owned four Porsches. "Porsche has been the specialist all these years and its got a cult following."

But Porsche says the Cayenne will not disappoint.

"We've received a lot of criticism that we are breaking away from our heritage by building something other than a sports car," Porsche Cars of America Chief Operating Officer Richard Ford said in a speech last month. "But the Porsche SUV will be different and better. Porsche intends to put the sport back into the sport utility equation."

The industry trade publication AutoWeek said that the Cayenne will offer three different engines, including a twin-turbo 4.2-liter V-8 engine capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 miles (96.5 km) per hour in five seconds flat, making it the fastest SUV on the market.

CAYENNE CROSSING

Porsche also argues that the Cayenne will ensure its independence and future viability. The company, which bills itself as the world's most profitable automaker, nearly went bankrupt in the early 1990s when the U.S. economy went into recession, the stock markets tanked and the sale of luxury goods dried up.

Perhaps dampening some criticism, German luxury automakers BMW AG and DaimlerChrysler AG have also entered the luxury SUV market with the BMW X5 and the Mercedes M-Class. Both the X5 and the M-Class have contributed to the growth of the German automakers, without apparently harming their brand identities.

To legitimize the off-road capability of the Cayenne, Porsche announced last week its Cayenne Crossing Initiative, a program to restore some historic U.S. trails accessible by SUVs.

Should any Porsche sports car lover still be perturbed, the Cayenne will also help fund the development of future Porsche sports cars, such as the high-performance Carrera GT, expected to cost between $350,000 to $450,000 when it goes on sale next year.

[BKOMAR]

I think they have Porsche and Corvette confused.....or was it Porsche and Camaro??.....if they had mentioned Mullet in that sentence...it would have been clearer! www.mulletjoe.com , Brian

[Superman]

Zero to sixty in five seconds flat? I dare say that will kick my SC's butt. Kick it good!

[Carl Bauer]

What's wrong with that?!? I was thinking of backdating myself to the gold chain and chest hair look!

[emcon5]

It beats gold teeth and back hair.

I hear Porsche is saying the Cayenne circled the Nurnbergring faster than the 996.

If I had a 996, I would be pissed.

Tom

[LeeH]

BTW, Mr. Twork's (the guy who made the "gold chain and chest hair" comment) e-mail address is:

ntwork@AutoPacific.com

if you'd like to drop him a quick note!

The receptionist at his office was very helpful!

[orbmedia]

In Porsche advertising for the Cayenne, they use the tag-line:

"THE NEXT PORSCHE"

What does that mean to you when they say that? To me, it's not a good sign for things to come. It means they're very serious about this being a very important part of the Porsche future.

[autobonrun]

How dare they generalize about men, gold chains, chest hair and Porsches?

I once new a lady that had gold chains and chest hair; but didn't drive a Porsche. I think she worked for the automotive consultants AutoPacific.

[bell]

hmmmmm..........i don't even know how to respond to that
but off the gold topic..............i think it could be interesting, a 0-60 run at 5 seconds might make it the bully of all suv's. i haven't looked into it......is it going to be a v-8 or a flat-six? i think it would be more logical to use an engine they know is tried and true in a flat-6 variety.
but twin turbos are fun no matter what kind of vehicle it is

my .02
bell
85'911 targa

[josh912]

The top of the line is going to be a twin turbo V8. And do they know V8s? Just look at the 928 and the half version, the 944. I think they might know a little about V8s, just a little.

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by josh912
The top of the line is going to be a twin turbo V8. And do they know V8s? Just look at the 928 and the half version, the 944. I think they might know a little about V8s, just a little.

Josh...perhaps you are keeping the faith just a wee bit too much? 928? 944? Not very popular models, and that's an understatement. V8s? Golly shucks, even I am not old enough to remember when Ford first produced one. V8 technology vs. Porsche, with it's history of Boxer engines? Sorry, I've owned P cars since '66...but when it comes to experience with V8? Nope, Detroit rules the roost. Josh? I haven't even started about the small block GM V8...

[Joe Bob]

http://suncoastporsche.com/html/media_gallery.htm

Check out the Cayenne video....

[pwd72s]

Thanks...I checked it out. ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[josh912]

Originally posted by pwd72s


Josh...perhaps you are keeping the faith just a wee bit too much? 928? 944? Not very popular models, and that's an understatement. V8s? Golly shucks, even I am not old enough to remember when Ford first produced one. V8 technology vs. Porsche, with it's history of Boxer engines? Sorry, I've owned P cars since '66...but when it comes to experience with V8? Nope, Detroit rules the roost. Josh? I haven't even started about the small block GM V8...

Not going to argue againts Detroit's V8 muscle, thats a battle loooooong lost. I was just saying that Porsche has produced V8's and that they aren't foreign to them. I firmly believe that the boxer 6 is Porsche's trademark engine, and that its what they do best. But a V8 is nothing new. But lets not forget where it all started, the flat 4! Hehehehe

[old_skul]

Originally posted by emcon5
It beats gold teeth and back hair.

I hear Porsche is saying the Cayenne circled the Nurnbergring faster than the 996.

If I had a 996, I would be pissed.

Tom

If I had a 996, I guess I'd be in the market for a Cayenne.

[Oldporsche]

From the last statement in the article, I guess that Porsche is banking on the premise that this car will be a good seller.

From my experience of the Porsche Motor Corp., the writer assumes that Porsche will move profits from one model line to the other. NOT! (or not very much) Thus the demise of the 924,944,968, 928 etc. That is just not the philosophy of the company.


Good luck,
David Duffield

[Z-man]

Originally posted by pwd72s


Josh...perhaps you are keeping the faith just a wee bit too much? 928? 944? Not very popular models, and that's an understatement.

-I beg to disagree, especially regarding the 944 series. Do you know that from 1976 through 1995, (The years they produced the 924/944/968 line), Porsche made over 330,000 of these front engined 4 cylinder water pumpers? (Source: this website, 924/944/968 tech specs.)

So, you're saying that 300,000+ cars in about 20 years time is "Not very popular?" We may not have the heritage or lineage of the 911 series, but the car is still a fantastic engineering marvel, IMO.

Anyone know how many 911's were made in that timeframe? (The 911 tech section doesn't have that information)

The 944 series may not be well accepted by the 911 crowd, but it certainly WAS a popular model, and it still is.

Putting on my nomex suit,
-Zoltan.

[L Sjoberg]

Jeez, this almost reads like a love fest for an SUV named after a frickin' pepper. The reason Porsche is the "most profitable" automaker is because their reputation for building the world's best performing and most reliable "sports cars" is unmatched, and allows them to charge an equally unmatched premium for the privilege of owning their brand. Of course, the fact that the 996 and the Boxster share platforms and parts doesn't hurt, either : (

The reason the X5 and the MK didn't hurt BMW or Benz is because those companies build saloon cars, NOT sports cars. Sure, they're sporty and all, but the same type of person who would buy a 5-Series is probably just as much in the market for an SUV. Anybody seen any gold-chain wearin', chest-hair havin' macho types driving a Z3 or an SLK lately?

Porsche, more and more, is trading on the name of the marque and relying on that name to allow it to add ridiculous mark-ups to half-a** cars. Most of the 996 and Boxster drivers I see every day fit the keepin'-up-with-the-Jones' weenie mold a heck of a lot more than the traditional "macho" tinkerer mold who used to buy Porsches. Anybody remember the Porsche ad campaign with the "not to meant something to everyone, but everything to someone"? I wonder sometimes who that "someone" must be to long for a 996, Boxster or (it hurts to even type the name) Cayenne...

Sorry for the rant. Must be it's a Friday in February in Michigan, which means no early morning drive in the 911...

[david c.]

I sent the writer a tasteful email. I'll let you all know if/how he responds.

Dave

[69 Soft Targa]

Hey Guys,
Received my PANORAMA yesterday. It contains an article titled "Me And My 924". Interesting to read this article after the comments by Paul and Zoltan.

Originally posted by Z-man


-I beg to disagree, especially regarding the 944 series. Do you know that from 1976 through 1995, (The years they produced the 924/944/968 line), Porsche made over 330,000 of these front engined 4 cylinder water pumpers? (Source: this website, 924/944/968 tech specs.)

So, you're saying that 300,000+ cars in about 20 years time is "Not very popular?" We may not have the heritage or lineage of the 911 series, but the car is still a fantastic engineering marvel, IMO.

Anyone know how many 911's were made in that timeframe? (The 911 tech section doesn't have that information)

The 944 series may not be well accepted by the 911 crowd, but it certainly WAS a popular model, and it still is.

Putting on my nomex suit,
-Zoltan.