Reality comes

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Porsche PR blitzkrieg has been in full force with highly orchestrated media events for magazines and dealers. Drivers who participated were mostly controlled by Porsche and driving on some of the best roads and most interesting areas of the world. Re-reading a lot of the magazine articles shows that a lot of the verbiage is very similar, almost word for word in some cases and exactly “on message” as the PR types say. Videos have been released in which a lot of footage has been supplied by Porsche. Now the Teutonic Tease of dealer launches is drawing near with all the restrictions of an Ipod launch despite the proliferation of pictures and prior introduction at the <place w:st="on">Frankfurt</place> auto show. [/quote]A lot of us, me included, have based on the yet to be seen but perceived beauty of the car plus Porsches healthy performance reputation (however remember the underpowered 924) have put down deposits at MSRP to be first on the block with what we hope to be a uniquely capable automobile. But soon the Cayman will be released into the wild and into the hands of owners and perhaps more critical and longer term testing and comparison by magazines. Will we early adopters be rewarded for our forethought in putting down deposits to be first or will there be as yet unknown disappointments to discover? I sure hope that Porsche understands the old maxim that one should promise less and deliver more.

Well Santa Fe what can I say! That may or may not be the case, nevertheless it was a downer. I chose to think and stay positive and believe that the car in the metal will far exceed my wildest dreams. Thank you for your well worded thoughts as it is always wise to be objective. Aloha Russ

I dont care about criticis of anyone about this car... I know it's Porsche so it'd be great engineered... it's fast as I want it to be, well-handling... every car has its bad points... but I can't find any bad thing about this car at least by me

The Boxster is one of the best (if not the best) enthusiat's convertible on the market. Great steering feel, great brakes - perfect weight distribution and great dynamics. The Cayman will have better steering feel and the same great brakes and MUCH IMPROVED chassis dynamics. It's going to be a great car. I realy want to drive one to be 100% sure - but trust me, the press may have this right, regardless of Porsche's attempt to influence (and all the manufacturers play the game - when **** Macedo was at KIA they did it better than anyone ; -). I truly believe this will be an all time great car.

I think any car purchase has to match the expectations of the buyer. I'm old enough to know I do not want the power and speed of a 997 turbo! I'm a mid engine guy. The Cayman fits the model I'm looking for after the previous experiences of owning911s, a 308 Ferrari, anda Vintage 550 Spyder. There have been a few objective reviews that are not so glowing or glamorous, but they have been in the minority. Top Gear gives it a hearty thumbs up and I mostly agree with their opinions. I'm sure we'll all have a lot more to say come Jan 15!/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/beer2.gif

Buyers Remorse..before we've even seen the car in person? The expectations for the Cayman S might be a little high, due to the steady diet of positive press we've been reading, but I'm waiting to be smitten when I meet the Cayman S in person and fully expect to stare at it for hours and fully enjoytoweling it down the first time I hand wash it - getting intimately familiar with all of the Cayman's delicious curves. For the Cayman S owner, it's all about curves, looking at them, rubbing them down and driving through them.

Yeah, It's obvious that any journalist that has got to drive so far has been forced to tell the same story. It will be refreshing to hear objective reports. But as one who's had a deposit down since the spy-photo days, I'm betting there's little to complain about. My biggest worry is that, at 6'4', it will be cramped. Because as soon as I get mine, I'm going on a long road trip!

Chris, From what I've read about the Cayman, it sounds like you'll be able to wear your motorcycle helmet in the Cayman..if you choose to! Edited by - mpollard on 11/05/2005 7:48:14 PM

Nothing wrong with a little healthy skepticism. The proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating. My arrangement with my dealer is that if I don't find the car up to my expectation I am not obligated to purchase. I have no reason to believe that the Cayman will come up short, but I am capable of walking away. The majority of automotive "journalism" is really nothing more than sales pitch thinly disguised as "objective evaluation". Having said that the automotive press is far from the worst in terms of feeding readers manufacturer supplied propaganda. The boating/yachting magazines are much worse with reviews that totally pander to the advertising dollars spent by manufacturers. If you trust the boat magazine reviews you can easily end up spending big money on boats that are often very poorly designed and carelessly built. In general boaters put up BS from dealers and manufacturers that would never be tolerated by the car buying public.

I think Santa Fe is absolutely correct. We will have to judge for ourselves when the time comes instead of listening to the manufacturer propaganda. But I don't think anyone is going to be dissapointed if we expect this to be a slightly more powerful and more rigid Boxster S. If we are expecting the Cayman S to be a 360 Modena or 911 turbo beater than I think we will have all fallen for Porsche marketing.

I can't imagine the Cayman would disappoint us. I saw him life in Frankfurt and I was positively surprised. For me, life he is even much prettier life than on pictures. I was impressed. The only negative point I heard from people who drove the car in Italy and Ibiza is the car makes more noise than other Porsches. But that's no problem for me because I will only drive the car for fun during the weekend. And the noise of a Porsche sounds like music to me/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/drive.gif

Is that noise as in tyre noise orexhaust note? If it is exhaust note that they are referring to than it is music to my ears as my only complaint about the current Porsche range is the relative lack of exhaust note!

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr id="quote" noshade="noshade" height="1" /> Is that noise as in tyre noise orexhaust note?<hr id="quote" noshade="noshade" height="1" /></blockquote>The reviews indicate it is mostly engine noise with some exhaust. All the reviews I have read say it is good noise and adds to the driving pleasure. Edited by - BiggerTwin on 11/06/2005 08:23:26 AM

Ramiel, I read that the engine noise is more noticable because of it being located mid craft. This is not a problem for me either even if I wasn't a weekend driver. I want to hear the hummm of the metal. Thanks for you first hand comments!! Aloha Russ

Santa Fe - I guess someone had to say it. We are probably all a bit anxious that the car won't be everyhting we expect, so I guess we'll have to thank you for voicing that doubt.I say have faith. In my experience, Porsche has disappointed the marketplace farfewer times than other marques.

santa fe if you are really that bothered about the first cars, why dont you sell your order. that way you get to think about the car a bit longer and get some extra free cash for those options that you always wanted.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">It is not buyer's remorseor serious doubts but Marketing Fatigue. I've owned seven Porsches beginning in 1965 with a 356SC. Each one has been a joy but each one also had a flaw or two. So I've earned my right to be a bit worried based on the high expectations promoted by Porsche PR. The cockpit heat issue ismy biggest concern given the summers here, but I'm not selling my slot and I will take delivery and find out along with all the other new owners. The car will eventually stand on its own without the assistance of marketing gurus.[/quote]

Re: heat. I have a small concern about the heat issue myself. The Automobile article posted by RussK mentions it. I think there are a couple of possibilities there. You can buy a thin lightweight insulation used in boat engine rooms and put it behind the seats and on top of the engine compartment. Probably change the sound levels too. Another possibilty would be to build a small plexiglass window to fit where the luggage partition goes. The car has air conditioning and windows so I'll see how the standard setup is here in Arizona first. Probably won't be much worse than a Boxster. I hope.

At the end of february I'm one of the happy few on earth who will own a Cayman. At the end of next year only a few thousend people on earth have the luck to drive this beauty

I am counting on the A/C to take care of any heat concerns. If heat was a problem I think we would have heard some about it by with all the reviews that are in. Aloha Russ

There are people out there that pay extra for more noise - no complains here ;-) In fact most of the time when I drive for pleasure the radio is off. As for the heat that could be an issue - I hate having to use AC - it robs us of HP. It will be interesting to see how much heat insulation has been put in, and if there will be any after market solutions ( I could think of a nice Maclaren F1 road car gold engine bay insulation ;-)) )