[MikenOH]

the sleeved engine fiasco affecting the '99' model year is more troubling, IMHO.

For the uninitiated, in late '98' the supplier that provides blocks to Porsche had a major problem with the machinery that did the casting. The net result was they were out of new blocks while the machinery was repaired. During the interim, porsche reworked blocks that didn't pass the quality standards by boring them out and inserting--pressing in--sleeves. Not a bad idea--it has been used for years-- except the installation process was flawed and some of the reworked blocks failed as the sleeves moved, creating a catastrophic failure. Supposedly, most of the failures occurred early in the life of the car and were replaced by porsche at no cost to the owner. However since many of these cars are driven sparingly, an owner might not experience the failure until after the warranty has expired. I'm not sure how Porsche handled those cases but I have seen a few posted on Pete's board. Also, you have to wonder if the second owner would be treated as well or would even know what was going on. BTW, all of this is on the PCA site on the tech section of the Q&A for boxsters

In my view, to substitute a reworked engine block in order to keep the assembly lines running runs counter to everything that Porsche was supposedly about; the phrase " There is no substitute.." comes to mind first.

I would expect this from any of the Big Three but from a high end, limited production, specialty car manufacturer..? When decisions like this are made, you can only assume that the accountants, rather than the engineers, are running the show.