What Porsche has riding on the Cayenne

[jabb]

Recent Article about Porsche and the Cayenne.
If in your travels you should be asked about this new SUV
we should encourgae all those that are interested to buy one or two


Porsche hopes Cayenne spices sales

[Adam]

Some interesting facts...

Verbatim from the article...

"So far, the SUV is a hit. Porsche sales were up 26% in March, on the strength of 854 Cayennes delivered. At the same time, 911 sales were down 23%, and Boxster sales were down 28%.

With only two weeks of delivery last month, Cayenne was Porsche's top seller, a trend that should continue for the next decade if the company's plans pan out.

Riedel says Porsche made three important decisions after the one to build Cayenne:"

• To take on Volkswagen as a partner. While Porsche developed and engineered the SUV, the chassis for the Cayenne and mechanically similar VW Touareg are built at a VW factory in Bratislava, Slovakia. VW gets roughly 80% of the vehicles to Porsche's 20%.
  
• To have the Cayenne chassis shipped 17 hours by rail to the new Porsche factory in Leipzig, where Porsche adds the engine, drivetrain and interior. "We decided 'made in Germany' is still a vital piece of our brand," says Riedel, even if it is just assembled there.
  
• To give Cayenne a Porsche V-8 engine. "It was considered, and VW desperately wanted to sell us the engine, but it wouldn't be a Porsche without a Porsche engine."

[Adam]

Hey, after watching Porsche's promotional video (in the little teaser box, with the book) I am very impressed.

[Going out on a limb]

If I was "rap-star" rich, (instead of cake-hole rich ) I'd probably buy one of them. The Cayenne is an impressive package.

[/Going out on a limb]

[slater]

Yeah, if i had too much money and needed an suv, i would definetly buy one. I would rather have that than a pimped out escalade. IF I had too much money. which i dont.

[Wayne 962]

Hmm, this is an interesting topic, and I have a few opinions on it. First off, of course, you're going to have good sales the first month or so, seeing how you have marketing the thing for months and then all of a sudden made it available. A recent release of a 911 Engine Rebuilding book follows the same patterns.

I read that Porsche needs to sell 25,000 of these a year to break even on the investment. While I'm not sure if that number still holds, it's more like 2,000 a month versus 854. Porsche has about 200 dealers in the US. If all of those cars were sold in the US, that would make it about 4 per dealership, or one per dealer per week. Not too stellar when you put it in those terms. Wait a sec - just re-read the article. It does say that Porsche expects Cayenne to double Porsche sales to 25,000 - so that would indeed be a target of 25,000 cars per year.

I think that they are going to have a difficult time selling this vehicle. I think that the finished product is better than most people expected, although I'm not personally ga-ga about it. It's okay. I think that my choice for this category would be a 5-series touring wagon. Same amount of space, and a bit lower to the ground.

As the economy has brought people back to Earth, 911 and boxster sales are beginning to slow. The 911 and the Boxster are also becoming older, out-dated designs. The Boxster of 2003 looks almost identical to the Boxster of 1997. Ditto on the 911 (from 1998/99). When the Boxster first came out, it was almost a category-killer - nothing was in it's class or could really match it. The MR2 maybe, the Miata (not really), and the Z3 (probably the closest match, but still far away). Now, the field is very crowded (Z4, the Honda S200, 300ZX, MR2, MX-5, Audi TT, Merceded CLK, to name a few) and the Boxster has stiff competition. I personally think that Porsche needs to restyle the Boxster, if only slightly. Perhaps bring it back to the concept car look.

The 911 is still a good design, and the small changes I see coming will do it well. I also think that Porsche should offer a Boxster RS with a 911 engine, but that will probably be reserved for the aftermarket. The troubling point for the 911 is the 996 engine, which is more of a road engine than it is a race engine. I was talking to Tony Callas the other day, and he was reminding me of the stories of the early days of the 996 where all the cars were running the new engine and they all broke down (993s won). The newer Turbo and GT cars are based on the old 993 design, not the 996 engine design. The 996 and Boxster engine are very similar.

At 25,000 Cayennes, each dealership needs to sell 125 a year or 2.5 per week. That's a far cry from where they are at right now...

-Wayne

[SilverPoly]

Wayne at Pelican Parts wrote:
I also think that Porsche should offer a Boxster RS with a 911 engine

That's what I'm talkin' about. That would be a fun car!

I was talking to Tony Callas the other day, and he was reminding me of the stories of the early days of the 996 where all the cars were running the new engine and they all broke down (993s won)

That's why I still have an affinity for 993s.. though I'm really warming up to the new turbo fronts on the 996s.

[RazorRacer]

"Fred Schwab, the just-retired CEO of Porsche Cars North America, concedes, more consideration went into the cup holders in the Cayenne than in any previous Porsche."

That almost says it all. IMO, Porsche's lack of desire for making race cars is creating it's own path to being just another car.

[makaio]

I saw one last week, going down the freeway. It had distributor plates on it, so someone from a magazine was probably at the wheel. Anyways, I like it, and if I was in the market for an suv I would consider it.

[OVRSTR]

The lease on my '00 Audi 2.7t is up in two months. I've had three BMW's before and love them, but the length and elevation of my driveway neccesitates all or four wheel drive. Yesterday I went to my local dealer and took a long hard look at the pepper to replace my Audi as my everyday car. MUCH better in person, IMHO, than in the magazines but a couple of things bother me. The options list is typical Porsche...about five miles long and there are too many things that are optional that should be standard on a vehicle of this caliber and price. Secondly, the pricing is just plain nuts. Decently but conservatively optioned, the sticker on an "S" is about $67,000. If this thing was stickered $10K less I'd strongly consider it but at these numbers, I could be in an '04 MB E500 4-Matic with the sport package, heavily optioned for under $65,000. I think that's where I'm headed.

[RickM]

I just went to the dealer (Paul Miller, NJ) to take a look at the Cayenne.
To me it looked OK...I'd never spend the money they're looking for. To get that cash out of me I must be inspired or feel the vehicle compliments my personality. The profile resembled a tall Mini Cooper...especially with the aluminium window trim surround.
Sales manager said all Turbos were sold out early on and that they were getting quite a few "S" models that they didn't expect. Seemed to me the usual "Buffies" were there so they could be the first on the block to have the car. But, to be honest if people are going to buy a vehicle I'm glad it's a Porsche. I'd rather see a strong car company as opposed to a struggling one....more money for racing and new technology for their sports cars(Hopefully).

BTW, I was dissapointed when I went to the NY car show this past weekend. There was no Carrera GT! I was told that they were all pre-sold and didn't have one available to show. How LAME is that!

This is what I wish Porsche made as an SUV.....

[Wayne 962]

I hope they sell, but the current outlook is not so good. If they were flying off the lots (like the Boxsters were in the beginning) then they wouldn't even have ones for test drives. I drove by McKenna today on the way to Big Bear, and there were three or four out front. Not a good sight. Even worse was the 50-60 911s and Boxsters sitting on the backlot the other day at Pacific Porsche. They have a HUGE amount of inventory in stock...

-Wayne

[jabb]

I saw 2 on the road yesterday, with non dealer plates. So they are starting to show up but like others have said I think Porsche came to the party too late. Porsche needs to appeal to the more mainstream market to get people in the dealership to view the cars.... I do not see them doing this type of campain most buyers have no clue this car exists. If the buyer is aware, I think the Porsche msytique scares them away they should at least offer free maintance while the car is under warranty . Also like previously mentioned all the options are a-la-cart.... they need to package it better. I did drive one the other day while it would be a nice to have, an SUV to me is a utility type vechicle.... something to fill a need.... for less money I can get something just as nice to provide the same benifit ML or MX.

Lets hope that Porsche can pull this off, if they can not and go
wheels up.... lets hope that someone like BMW or Audi buys them out and not GM or Ford

[Dallas Aston]

Wayne,

That 25,000 cars you refer to are total worldwide production. Only 12,500 are slated for the US, so you need to cut your numbers by half. There is a good thread about how sales are going at:

http://forums.rennlist.com/, click under Cayenne, and check out the thread titled "Cayenne April Sales Number Released..."