PCA Members

I like Panorama, I’m old I love a magazine to read. Lately though the editorials are becoming very similar. Porsche has made the 911 too heavy crowd? I can’t disagree, my brother had a ‘73 T and it’s like a foreign car to its own model line now so I get this sentiment. However the Porsche needs to make a cheap 912 / 914 ish entry model? I don’t see that happening kids. Porsche is not GM where they are going to manufacture a Corvette to Spark product line. I understand the desire but I can’t see it. Likewise examples? I’m not going to get a Hart Shaffner & Marx price fighter suit. No $300 Omega Seamaster. No affordable Malibu properties no $500 dollar PDK service complete. Having said all of this what about Porsche adding some juice to a VW hot hatch? I was very surprised to learn that the Duratech engine in my Ford was designed by Porsche and also has Cosworth technology in the heads. PS Anyone else think the new paper used for Panorama just took a HUGE step backwards? We need price fighter paper! 😀

Boris, I agree with you about the lower quality paper for Panorama. I guess PCA decided to cut costs rather than raise the annual membership dues. I'm a Mercedes club member and they cut back on their magazine as well, BUT also raised the annual membership fee to $85. A lot of folks are dropping their Mercedes membership, and the survival of that club is questionable. In terms of sports cars, Porsche has really priced themselves in the stratosphere by increasing prices at a far greater rate than inflation over the past couple decades. I don't want them to sacrifice quality or try to compete at the low end of the car spectrum. But they need to make sports cars for enthusiasts in the middle class. The Boxster and Cayman are those cars. Porsche's plans to make them EV's turns off a big portion of the enthusiast community. So the only way to get an ICE Porsche sports car is to shell out $150K for an entry level 911 which isn't even available with a manual transmission. Porsche doesn't need to create a new entry level sports car. They just need to sell an ICE Boxster/Cayman with a flat six at a reasonable price. The last time they did that was the 981. In related news, this past Friday Porsche announced plans to scale back some of the EV plans while continuing support for ICE longer than previously announced. They mentioned the 718 family, but lacked detail. Porsche Just Saved Our Favorite Combustion Sports Car At the 11th hour, Porsche has announced an extension on gas-powered models, and has delayed EVs in favor of more combustion models. carbuzz.com

Porsche Greg, I saw the same article and believe that was a shrewd move. In other news I am going on a trip soon, some of the route has 70 mph and new asphalt. I know because I was stuck behind it in my truck at 2:40 am a month ago. Anyhow looking forward to airing out the Spyder . The final last 80 miles are rural, mountainous vistas with tiny towns. Going to be truly epic hopefully top down. PS I agree with your assessment on the Boxster Cayman entry platforms. The youngsters may not know but back when a 944 was economically out of my reach as well till career change, these cars are expensive.

You guys always pose really interesting discussions. Interesting news RE: EV delay for 718 -- thanks for posting that. As an associate PCA member, I don't get Panorama but I hardly find myself reading paper magazines anymore although that's my generation. I finally brought a Hagerty Driver's Club mag to the beach and it was a refreshing throwback to years ago. Everyone seems to be dropping their paper quality... including my college alma mater. By still printing, they're trying to appease to us older peeps. Agreed - I doubt there's going to be an affordable P-car for the middle class. Then again, I never buy new and I'm fine with that and let others take the depreciation hit -- and then I get in when people are tired of their new stuff. That's just me.

The Spyder was the newest sports car I ever bought, the dealer owner put 2,700 on it before I bought it. So even though I’m first to register it , the car was used but it had a sweet CPO factory warranty due to the circumstances. That’s how many people get their cars. My 944 had almost 50k on it when I bought it. The reality is brand new cars are expensive so of course the marques traditionally higher than that are going to track according. In 1973 a 911 was about $10,500 a brand new Fiat 124 Spider was about $3,900. In 1973 twenty grand would get you 1000 sq foot ranch depending on location and age of the house, so again, it’s always been expensive.

More information to dovetail with PorscheGreg’s post. Porsche Rethinks Its Product Lineup - CleanTechnica Porsche is getting rocked in its two major markets -- China and the US. It just announced a new plan to stop the bleeding. cleantechnica.com

I'm a PCA member, and at 58 I may on the young side of the PCA demographic. I'm also still working, so my free time is limited. These days, I never find time to even open my Panorama. They pile up in the corner still in the wrapper until I get the urge to dump them in the recycle bin. When I first bought my Boxster and joined PCA, I used to read Panorama from cover-to-cover. The pics are great and the writing is generally very good. However, articles about cars that are outside my financial reach (or should I say, I'm too frugal to spend that kind of money on a car) eventually lost my interest. Maybe once I'm retired, I might find enough free time again to crack them open, and I may decide to blow my RMD on a GT car.

My issue with Porsche pricing is that the percentage of buyers over time has shifted away from enthusiasts to folks who simply like saying they have a Porsche . A Porsche enthusiast understands and appreciates the things that make a Porsche special. Some folks have no idea what is special about their Porsche . Just to use some made up numbers to illustrate my point. Let's say that 20 years ago, 50% of Porsche buyers were real enthusiasts while the other 50% simply wanted the Porsche name. Today we are at only 33% real enthusiasts. Dealerships are setup like an Hermes store with a cost structure that gets added to the price of a vehicle. Yet the dealership nearest to my home no longer has a parts counter. So I go to another dealer that is a bit farther away if I need something that I can't get from FCP. They have a parts counter and the service manager actually has a 997 he works on himself.

porschegreg, Twas the SUV production that I believe really shifted this phenomenon. Soccer mom’s who want athletic kids and a status whip to arrive in and in some cases thrilled dad’s to have that truck because they had to sell the 911 when Billy arrived. Making the cars puzzles for even experienced mechanics and the magnitude of computer technology application needed to repair a car, also dissuades the “ enthusiast” crowd.

42 years here. PCA was my go-to social club before kids. Before people blamed it on the SUVs, they criticized the 924 production that saved the company.

Funny you bring that car up, in some regards the blistering Porsche received over the 924 and the subsequent shape a lot of them ended up in was not Porsche ’s happy place and frankly may to this day be part of their reluctance to make a product below the current offerings. Now they all make hot SUV’s as you guys know and they do save the company and keep manufacturing humming. If you had told me that Lamborghini would someday make a truck and you told me that in the 70s, I would’ve doubted your word.

You do know that Lamborghini is a tractor company. What would you call the LM?

With the breadth of Marques owned by VW group, why not draw from that arsenal and relaunch the rabbit or scirocco? Make it nimble light and quick, just what enthusiasts want and keep it’s top end reasonable to not upset Porsche sales, besides it would not carry the prancing stuttgart horse but rather instead reflect it .

I still flip through Panorama on occasion but that’s due to the lack of time. What’s even more interesting is that my kids, who aren’t even old enough to drive, spends more time reading the magazine than I do! I will say, I am lucky enough to live relatively near the PCA headquarters and try to make it to their open house every year. Vu Nguyen mentioned, while other clubs like BMW are losing members, PCA has been growing and I have to say it has a lot to do with Vu putting his own sweat and tears into PCA. Sorry if I derailed the original discussion. 🙂

I had to opportunity to meet Vu and spend some with him at the recent Treffen at Sea. He is a great guy, smart, professional and a real asset to the PCA. We are lucky to have him!

A 1973 911T was $7,500. I know-I bought one in June 1973.

Porsche has been an SUV company for the last decade or longer as their SUVs have massively outsold all other categories. Other luxury manufacturers have followed suite as Porsche has done so well with this segment. However, I agree, Porsche needs to really look to the future and provide an entry level product which is NOT an EV, but is a reasonable priced sports car to reinvigorate the brand. Hybrid makes much more sense, but I get the impression Germany as a country wants EV’s and is applying pressure to the German automakers to provide EV’s. Ultimately, I think Porsche has chosen the wrong direction, and will cause Porsche to loose market share. I feel this is a turning point in the market and Porsche should make some changes. As for PCA, it’s a mixed bag, Panorama is okay, it’s not a periodical I keep, I read it and let it go.

I believe you are correct in the fact that Germany and the EU are forcing manufacturers to go the EV route but why cant Porsche still cater to the large Porsche market in the US? Kind of go the opposite direction of the 70s and 80s when they had to sell emissions compliant cars in the US while still selling ROW cars that didnt have to meet those regulations elsewhere. They can build emissions compliant cars/EVs in Germany/EU today but continue to build ICE vehicles in the US where the trend currently seems to be to lessen regulations on car emissions. I guess I dont really understand their all or nothing approach today...