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Old 03-22-2013, 07:41 AM   #10
Perfectlap
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 8,709
PDK is an automatic. Many people don't know how to drive "a stick shift". By offering automatic Porsches they can sell a lot more cars to people who wouldn't ordinarily put a Boxster or a Cayman at the top of their list. Namely women who for the most part, of course not all, avoid anything that isn't automatic while their incomes have been steadily climbing in the professional ranks. Porsche can't leave money on the table, they have to bring in more of these female buyers who have the means.

The other thing, the Boxster is not a chick car. Never has been -- nor any typically manually equipped roadster. The Boxster is largely an older man's car. A car that he buys once the kids are out of the house. While they're still in the house he buys a Carrera, two adults in the front and two young kids in the back. Older men are not as opposed to the stick shift as women, but if offered convenience or old school, most will choose convenience. Automatic Porsches reel in more female and older buyers no doubt about it.
Outside of North America, I feel most self-made wealthy learned to drive a stick shift well before the typical American. So I'm not so sure that PDK is intended to cater to Chinese billionaires so much as the brand prestiege will lure them in.

The third element is getting their money back on this strangely engineered PDK contraption that even Porsche mechanics don't know so well. At this point they've probably hit that mark and its all gravy from here forward. Equipping a Boxster, Panamera Coupe (aka Carrera) or Panamera sedan with PDK over 7 speed allows Porsche to do what they do best, mark up/inflate the price of car for a customer base that buys first and looks at the bill later. And for the really high end and powerful, like the GT3, I'm thinking that a PDK equipped car will lead to a healthier drivetrain since it won't be mistreated by the driver as much, at those repair prices I can live with a 991 PDK GT3 RS 4.0

The fact that an automatic Porsche is now quicker around places like the N-ring than a 7 mt is just extra sugar on top for Porsche's marketing department.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that in about a year or two Porsche is going to let it out that those paddles on the side of the steering really never were connected to anything. Strictly for novelty purposes, like some non-functioning gauge on your dash or non-functioning air inlet on the bodwork. The car was already starting the upshift or downshift by the time you clicked that PDK paddle. But it makes the driver feel like he's still at the party. It will be a huge brew-ha ha.
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Last edited by Perfectlap; 03-22-2013 at 08:17 AM.
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