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Originally Posted by woodsman
Wasn't the German dollar at a, then, unfavourable high, relative to the Canadian and USA dollar, thereby making Porsche's much more expensive during the 90's and wasn't this a Huge factor in their ,near demise?
Also, I don't see a 'brilliant marketing concept' with regards to the 911 and Boxster's placement. I see them taking advantage of an icons special place in the minds of the general public and I contribute this to racing success's and the fact that the 911 turbo was for many years, the fastest damn thing you could buy, period. And while many knew of the 911 turbo at old, Porsche's height, what percent of the pop. knew of the mid-engine cars before it?The baby-boomers have most of the dough now and they dreamed of 911(turbo)'s, not the 550's.
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Yes luxury was much, much more expensive in those days of higher interest rates, irrational stock market exuberance and especially luxury from German car makes. But Americans were still buying Mercs and Bimmers, along with every other kind of toy from Italy and the UK. And frankly even if they were expensive propositions, the U.S. top 1% were buying like it was the late 80's all over again. I worked at a five star hotel at the time and had to greet our well-heeled customers at the valet entrance for black tie events and man it was one $100K car after another. And the parties going on inside, Dom Perignon flowed like water. Nobody was looking at what things cost in those income brackets. If Porsche couldn't sell rear-engine cars it wasn't really because the wealthy were all of the sudden demanding value. Porsche's biggest market had issues with the cars or were simly bored with them. Ye they loved the 996, bought 10x's as each year and now ironically that saturation of used Porsches is workign against the cars that saved Porsche's butts!
As for the Boxster placement and the 911 upselling, I simply have to recall one interview with Patrick Long, who at the time was still a brand new Porsche factory driver. In the interview he admitted that Porsche would not lease him, an extremely skilled driver, a Carrera. All new drivers were "only" issued Boxsters. And if they ate all their brocoli and did their homeworks (my words) they would give Long a Carrera. I belive he said you had to earn the right to even drive a Carrera strictly for personal rules. I think that tells it all right there about the ' stepping stone to a rear-engine car' that not only was the marketing department pushing so effectively to upsell the Carrera but apparently even the racing program!
Amazing that even the racing program forgot that mid-engine roadsters were what brought them to the party quickest.