You guys think the Cayenne will actually sell?

[John Brandt]

I can't help but wonder that they might be jumping off a cliff with this thing, with the stock market in the toilet. I also get the feeling that the Sport Ute craze is waning.

Wot say you?

[jurhip]

The regular SUV market may be waning I agree, but the Cayenne is not very normal by SUV standards, performance wise or pricewise. I think that they will sell great to people who have the money, want room and performance, and a feeling of safety. Mostly people trading in their BMW X's for a Porsche.

Hopefully Porsche will take it racing too.

[bento]

do you really think that porsche will take it to baja or something of the like. maybe they:ll run it in the pikes peak class against those crazy sillouhette (i know that spelling must be wrong) blazers and toyota trucks. i:m not sure how i feel about the cayenne, but it would be cool if porsche mopped up at the peak with jeff zwart (i think thats his name) consistently winning showroom stock in a porsche turbo.

just a thought.

db

(yes, the cayenne will sell to the aforementioned bmw trader-inners (is that a word?))

[RazorRacer]

This may be top secret, but I have rationalized that it's part of the SCWPD. With our wives in their SUV's, they will be clueless to our passion.

Wife: "you spend too much time in the garage and not enough time with me.

Husband: "honey, I bought you a used Cayenne (most of us can't afford a new one, so it may be some time before this part of the plot comes into play).

Later:

Wife: clueless.

[Jim Sims]

I expect them to readily sell every unit they make; even with the state of the stock market there is an incredible amount of disposable income out there. I also expect many of them will be sold to women for lots of different reasons: prestige, room, versatility, safety, reliability, and even performance. Cheers, Jim

[JWest]

What makes you think the SUV craze is waning? I have not seen evidence of this, although maybe I have missed the clues.

[s_wilwerding]

I also expect that they will sell well, regardless of the sport ute market. There's a lot of people that like the clout of driving a Porsche, but need more room than a 911 offers.

Regardless of the job market/economy/stock market, there will always be people with disposable income, especially in the upper ranges (which is obviously where the Cayenne will be selling).

[JavaBrewer]

I disagree with everyone here except John. I'm seeing a slow return of the big luxury sedans on the San Diego highways in place of the $$$ SUV. Porsche is WAY, WAY, WAY too late in entering the SUV game. The big buck luxury SUVs are going to pay for the current economy, Toyota, Range Rover, Cadillac, BMW, MBZ, and now Porsche, will no longer fly off the showrooms like they were a year ago. SUVs are old hat and not that impressive anymore. Those that "need" them will continue to snap up the Fords and Dodges.

As far as the Cayenne goes its already small target market is growing smaller by the second. Pikes peak, honestly now, how many people (in the market for a SUV) even know what that is? Winning in Baja takes rock solid, simple technology that can be fixed on the side of the road. I've not seen the Cayenne up close yet but I would bet its anything bug simple or solid.

[s_wilwerding]

Originally posted by dmoolenaar
Those that "need" them will continue to snap up the Fords and Dodges.

I don't think the people who are in the market for a Ford or Dodge are the same people who are in the market for a Cayenne. Hmm... let's see, a Porsche or a Dodge?

Also, I've seen a few articles saying that the BMW SUVs are selling quite well. Around here (Omaha, NE), there's still a big market for luxury SUVs, like the BMW, Acura, etc.

[Overpaid Slacker]

They'll sell every one of them -- not that the majority of buyers are going to be the type of people you'd consider to be a Porschephile. There are plenty of overaccessorized, overfed, daytime-television-watching wives in the LI/NYC/NJ market alone that should absorb a lot of the production.

I disagree that upgrading X5'ers will be a large Cayenne market section; there is going to be a huge price difference (based on what I've read) -- trade in your X5, *and* pay more than it would cost you for another brand new X5 (4.6is notwithstanding) for a Cayenne? I see the market more in the "trade in the S500 or S55 AMG" crowd.

As for the contracting SUV market, when BMW entered the market a few years ago, I was rolling my eyes, declaring with apocalyptic certainty that BMW was late to the game and the SUV bubble had burst. I've since, grudgingly, revised my attitude.

On a similar thread a couple of months ago, a Cayenne-hater wrote "...if I want an SUV I'll get a Lexus or a BMW..."
My response was, could you have envisioned yourself 6 or 7 years ago (pre-X5, whenever that was) actually writing the words "if I want an SUV I'll get a ... BMW"?

All that said, I'm still not exactly "comfortable" with the notion of a Porsche SUV, but I'm intrigued. I'll definitely test-drive one, if given the chance.

- jPp

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by s_wilwerding


I don't think the people who are in the market for a Ford or Dodge are the same people who are in the market for a Cayenne. Hmm... let's see, a Porsche or a Dodge?

Of course not...but my bad typing led you to that argument. I was TRYING to say that the main SUV market (Ford and Dodge types) will continue to buy regardless of the market since they tend to buying these for utility (mall crawling, soccer camp, coffee run, or actually something off-road or utilitarian in nature) and not for some sort of status "my fat wallet" symbol.

[John Brandt]

Originally posted by James Adams
What makes you think the SUV craze is waning? I have not seen evidence of this, although maybe I have missed the clues.

James, nothing scientific, certainly, but as David said, I've also observed that the amount of SUVs on the road doesn't seem to be increasing like it was, and noticed a lot of newer sedans. I've also heard staments from a few of them like "it seemed like a good idea at the time" Gives me the impression that they might not get another one.

I also have felt from the beginning that the big buck Sport Ute was more of a fasion statement than anything; and fashion changes quickly.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by Overpaid Slacker

As for the contracting SUV market, when BMW entered the market a few years ago, I was rolling my eyes, declaring with apocalyptic certainty that BMW was late to the game and the SUV bubble had burst. I've since, grudgingly, revised my attitude.

This time its REALLY over

On a similar thread a couple of months ago, a Cayenne-hater wrote "...if I want an SUV I'll get a Lexus or a BMW..."
- jPp

I have all kinds of problems with that quote but they go beyond the scope of this BB. Short, if I want a SUV, I'd be looking at Jeep or Land Rover, a station wagon with fat wheels and bogus poser trim, BMW or Lexus.

[Jim Sims]

A SUV is a station wagon or van on tall tires. It has more room and versatility than a sedan can ever have. This is a fundamental need in the automotive world; it is not going to go away despite anybody's wishes or desires. Why am I thinking of an unholy alliance between the Sierra Club and traditional sports car owners.
Last week I spent a night in Ketchem, Idaho (Sun Valley) and the rich and famous appear to have an unwavering need for high end SUV's; the ratio of high end SUV's to high end sports cars appeared to be 50 to 1. Cheers, Jim

[Wayne 962]

Hmm, there's high end, and then there's rediculous. Some problems I have with the new Porsche SUV:

- Not too attractive in my opinion.
- The cheaper, VW version looks better for the same car
- The vehicle looks really small. If I'm upgrading, I'm going to want something that I can haul more stuff in. Of course, I'm not the typical buyer - I actually use my Pathfinder to haul stuff.
- The market for super-high end trucks doesn't really exist right now. There's not much out there in that price range besides Hummer, or that boxy Mercedes.

-Wayne

[John Brandt]

As I said, Fashion changes fast, and the rich and famous are slaves to fasion.

[GSpreeman]

Porsche makes sports cars. 365, 912, 911, 914, 930, 959, 964, 930, 928, 944, etc.

Whatever marketing guru at Porsche thought it would be a good idea to take a "slice of the SUV" market should be severely beaten.

What next? A sedan, minivan, straight truck, motorbike, station wagon? Don't dillute the product. Stick to your knitting and do what you do best. Make sports cars that guys/gals like us will lust after for 20-30 years before they have the "discretionary" cash to buy one.

Porsche makes sports cars and I refuse to recognize the retarded bastard child SUV.

[tobluforu]

YES! Where I live, I can guarantee that there will at least 100 of those things a yr from now in my area. Probably more. And that's in marin county only. My friend will be getting one to go along with his boxter.

[Kurt B]

1) The SUV market will never die unless it is killed by legislation, which in CA, might happen, but otherwise not because the main reasons people buy them is a) to make sure the other guys dies in an accident and not them b) they are taller and more foreboding than sedans. These same people do not want a truck, they want a Big Sedan, which is what an SUV is. Expect them to stay until killed.
2) Expect to get your ass kicked by some jerk in Porsche's version of it.

In the mean time, I believe my carrera is still faster than the fastest Cayanne available right now. For that, I'm glad. For those of you less fortunate than a 5.5 60mph, I'm sorry. Don't cry--it'll be faster than your 911, it will be an SUV, and Mommy will be turned round backwards yelling at junior while she puts it to the floor and spanks you as you struggle just to keep up.

[Wayne 962]

News flash: In CA, it already *has* happened...

-Wayne