[cairns]

"The people who get upset about the Panamera are generally those who put over 90% of value in how they car makes them look. Those people can't figure out the 'identity' of the Pana-beast, like they can for say, a BMW (or other cartoonish body designs out now. --Viper, Vette, RAM...) Anyway, that vanilla-identity really bothers them. Rather than caring anything about how well the car gets them from point A to point B they fixate on the value of the 'look' ...or lack there of.

For me, a car can have whatever "identity". ...I don't really care much if it's 'look' is a Pinto, Pacer, or P-car... It needs to be a good driver first. A well performing car with a plain brown wrapper has appeal to me. I suppose that's why both my 911 & Cayenne are both beige. --a degree of stealth, out on the road."

I disagree. Most people care about how the car looks- not how they look in it- and attractive cars sell. And at that price range I (and a great many others I'm sure) insist on looks and performance. When you're paying that kind of money why settle for less? I wouldn't buy the Panamera (and a great many other cars with excellent performance) solely because I think they're ugly. And the Panamera is, IMO, Oprah butt ugly.

If Ferrari's looked like Pintos do you think'd have even a scintella of the mystique and desirability they possess?

Porsche started with a clean sheet of paper- and the car could have been beautiful. It looks the way it does because some guy with an oversized ego with the initials WW got involved very late in the design process and started dictating rear seat head room and room for all his golf clubs. And because Michael Mauer totally lacks the talent of an Ulrich Bez, Sergio Pininfarina or Giovanni Bertoni.

Ulrich designed the 993 you know. Now he's at Aston Martin. Making beautiful four doors.