Rather than drink the RC-cola on another site, I thought I'd post the information here and then point out the inaccuracies in it:
Changing the production line? How come? You would be very surprised to see how the Cayman is build on the same assembly line with the Boxster without any changes to it. What for?! Upgrading the engine? What upgrade? The Cayman S actually gets the 'old' M96 engine from the 996 with a few improvements. Don't forget that the 996 C4S was still available a short while ago.
Design and engineer a NEW(???) car. What new car? Adding a fixed roof to the Boxster? This has actually happened during Boxster development.
You see: things are not always like they may seem to be.
Almost don't know where to start, first the assembly line. Porsche builds its cars with JIT manufacturing, for example I've watched GT2's, 996's coupes, cabs and Boxsters all roll down the assembly line one right after another. Porsche doesn't have to change the assembly line for ANY of its cars on that line. I would never expect Porsche to build a whole new assembly line for the Cayman but to do what they already do, utilize their existing line and slipstream in the Cayman specific parts, the same way they slipstream in GT2 specific parts, etc. Anyone who has ever had the factory tour and paid attention would know this to be the case.
Um the Cayman gets the same basic M96 motor that the 986, 987, 996, 997 all share, what is different is simply the bore and stroke arriving at 3.4L although slightly different than the 1999-2001 configuration in the 911, and it adds to that the new vario cam plus heads of the new 997S. Once again Porsche shares parts among the cars but it is inaccurate to suggest that the 997 has a 'new' motor and the Cayman S has an 'old' motor as that simply isn't true.
Considering how the Cayman S shares more parts with the 911 than the Boxster I don't see how you can call it a Boxster with a fixed roof as it is much more than that. Of course the Cayman began its design in the Boxster studio, where else would it begin the Cayenne studio? Porsche chose the superior mid engine platform and design to create the Cayman S with so the Boxster was a natural starting point, but from there the car changed significantly, otherwise we'd simply have the Cayman S looking and performing like a Boxster S with a hard top and again the Cayman is much more than that.
It's really sad that some people try to pass themselves off as 'experts' on the Cayman yet they don't visit this website, don't read the engineering specs, don't pay attention during factory tours and end up blundering their so called facts to the degree they have.
Thank goodness we have this site where we can appreciate the Cayman for what it is instead of trying to slam it with falsehoods and innuendos. The next thing you know someone will be exposing the Cayman S as not a true Porsche because it is a water pumper.... sheesh...
I also read the funniest thing on yet another forum last night where a user came into the Cayman forum and posted that they'd never buy a Cayman until an RS or Club Sport version was created, after all they had owned a 930 and a 964 and a 993 and they knew what real performance was. Although blatantly overlooking that the Cayman S in standard form is a better performance/sport car by the numbers than any of the cars they mentioned. If those cars were good enough for this person why wasn't the Cayman S? People often fail to see their own blinders, again very sad....
Ok off the soapbox now...
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K-Man,
Thanks for the facts! I am not only grateful for this site, but you are really a priceless asset. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the work you do for us all.
Mucho Mahalos! Russ
RC's got a problem with the Cayman, thats for sure.
I started the 'how many posts can RC start with the word real in the title', Had no intention getting into a debate with him, just wanted to get across his obvious negative slant he starts every single Cayman post with. As I've said before it's just purchase justification, nothing more.
I think what turned me off the most was the number of RC Cola drinkers on the site practically begging RC to offer his 'review' of the Cayman S, as if he was Walter Rohrl or somebody. Gimme a break, can't they see how slanted his opinions are ????
Well wait until everyone sees the official Cayman Club review. /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/gossip.gif
Last time I was at the gas station with my boxster s, an older man told me that its the last of the true porsche sports cars, because it had a mid-engine and only 2 seats. I can't wait to see what people will say when they see the cayman!
I don't scan or post there anymore. I wouldn't have known (or cared) what was said until it was posted here. Your quite right about JIT (Just In Time) production, Porsche adopted that from the Japanese in the early to mid 90s when Porsche was just about to either go under or be bought out. The 986 and 996 "platforms" and assembly procedures allowed Porsche to minimize production costs and increase profits. Those changes and the inroduction of the Boxster rescued Porsche financially. There are a lot of problems with that particular forum, immature and aggressive personalities of many of the posters, inaccuracies of information proffered to suit a particular position, and sycophantism among many of the participants to gain favor with the controlling "gurus". To be fair there are a small number of very well informed and really expert Porsche enthusiasts who contribute, but they do not compensate for the infantile egos of those who dominate the tenor and tone of the forum. Most of what is offered as "inside informaton" subsequently proves to be untrue (rumor, anybody can provide that), or information that has just begun to become public. IMHO we really don't need to know what goes on there.
Edited by - DaveC on 11/19/2005 08:59:04 AM
I'm with you DaveC. I've ceased going to that forum altogether. Most of their posts are so patently biased that they really begin to be ridiculous.
Glad I've found Cayman Club.
Props to K-Man S.
I'd have to agree with the above. I stopped looking at that site after the RC worshipping / Cayman bashing thread just got too pathetic.
I like it here, and here I shall stay. Well done to K-Man for running this site, and to all the contributors for there well-balanced, and interesting posts.
Thanks
Tonse
I have stopped visiting all those other sites. The level of awareness is much higher here at Cayman Club and (other than the inflamed anticipation) we pretty much keep the creepy emotion out of the discourse. Thanks to you, K-Man, for keeping us informed about where the inflated rhetoric is coming from./fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/thanks.gif
Maybe RC Cola
read this article
and had to flame the Cayman because he couldn't adjust his mind to a new reality?
Hey Folks. Sorry to display my ignorance, but what site are you discussing. I'd like to see what has been said,although I'm sure it's a 911 fanatic. K-Man, if it shouldn't be posted here for some reason could you send me a private message.
Thanks
