[JR_NYC]

In my opinion, they're diluting the brand, which can have a near permanent long-term impact. Does Mercedes still have the same image and perception of brand quality that it once did? Does an S-class today still have offer the same level of status? I don't think so. You see an S-class and it's ho-hum. Porsche is a brand of sports car and they should stay that way. Milking a brand for all the sales it can generate will be ruinous in the long run. The marketing world is full of examples of this yet executives continue to make the same mistakes and not just in the auto industry. One idea would be to create a downscale brand, the opposite of what Toyota did with Lexus. In any case, a minivan or any other non-performance car would be an idiotic move. But hey, that never stopped anyone.