Good post, I like controversy as much as the next person ! My not so humble
opinions on the topics herein, and not in any particular order:
After 7000 miles in my 987 I have a sneaking suspicion that these Japanese transmissions are going to be a "trouble-spot". While I haven't had the transmission meltdown experienced and posted about by Eslai, I think the tranny has "issues".
If it's possible to characterize the ability of the workforce in one nation to assemble a car better than another based on demographics, I would have to agree with MNBoxster's observations and would prefer to have my car assembled by the Finns, although certainly not designed by them
I would also add, that in the contractor vs. employer relationship, there is more incentive for the "contractor" to do a good job and not f/up then the employer. I would assume that the Porsche contract is one of the most important and lucrative to Valmet, and certainly the most prestigious.
I don't think the Boxster is perceived so much as a chick car as much as it is considered to be a car for those who might be considered "flamboyant" (a chick/hairdresser type attribute?). Part of the joy of driving the Boxster is being seen in it and drawing attention, and if you can't concede this to be a source of pleasure, I'd say you're just kidding yourself and trying to buck human nature.
Simply put, in terms of bang for the buck, the 987 Base is a great "value", the S, not so much.
Given the choice, on the basis of performance, I'm not sure why someone would buy a tiptronic S which is slower "on paper" than the base. That being said, while I'm sure Walter Rorhl could do it with ease, I have my doubts as to whether your average manual base driver could consistently beat a tip S 0-60...not to mention that sometimes driving a manual is quite the hassle.
The superiority of the 987 to the 986 is no more debatable than Darwin's theory of evolution, and to argue the superiority of the 986 is equivalent to purporting that Homo Erectus was superior to Homo Sapiens. A more timely reference would be to state that people today are on average taller, stronger and faster than they were 100 years ago. But it certainly doesn't imply that the value of a human's life or the strength of the human spirit today is an any way greater than it was for those that came before us.
As far as looks go, I'm sure that Homo Erectus thought that other H-E were pretty attractive. Homo Erectus' powerful foreams (useful for fashioning stone knives), swarthy complexion and potruding brow might even appeal to modern Homo Sapiens who like the strong silent type. However, I know I wouldn't have bought a Boxster if Porsche hadn't made the changes that they did.