Porsche Plans to buy out VW!

[porsche986spyder]

Found this article today...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9Lo8OSwVZhw&refer=home

[blinkwatt]

Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche first bought a stake in Volkswagen two years ago, saying it wanted to protect a strategic partnership between the two carmakers. Since 2002, Volkswagen has built the body of Porsche's Cayenne sport-utility vehicle, which shares a platform with the VW Touareg and the Audi Q7.

Volkswagen, now Porsche's largest supplier, will also build the body of the Panamera sports car, which goes on sale in 2009.

Why does Porsche insist on having someone else build their cars? I thought they were called PORSCHES not VOLKSCHE.

[racer_d]

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche first bought a stake in Volkswagen two years ago, saying it wanted to protect a strategic partnership between the two carmakers. Since 2002, Volkswagen has built the body of Porsche's Cayenne sport-utility vehicle, which shares a platform with the VW Touareg and the Audi Q7.

Volkswagen, now Porsche's largest supplier, will also build the body of the Panamera sports car, which goes on sale in 2009.

Why does Porsche insist on having someone else build their cars? I thought they were called PORSCHES not VOLKSCHE.

If not, the boxster would cost $100K and a Carrera closer to $150K. Porsche learned wisely in the 1990s how to protect itself. Bet you didn't know BMW supplied sheetmetal to porsche in the 1990s did you? The German autoworld is a bit ancestuous (sp?) when you have VW Group, Diamler-Benz, BMW and Porsche all in country the size of Oregon.

The other advantage in the ever "greening" of the Euro auto insdustry is it allows Porsche to use credits banked by 80mpg VW Lupos, for instance. Plus the ownership of VW contains the poison pill that prevents takeover from some other company/entity.

[RandallNeighbour]

I wouldn't call one German car maker using another's sheet metal incestuous.

Here's what I learned about Germans:

In Germany, there are two world-class printing press manufacturers that are fierce competitors. Mann-Roland and Heidelberg.

I can't remember which company had the problem, but one or the other had nearly 60% of their workforce out of the factory and flat on their backs with the flu or a stomach virus or something like that.

The fierce competitor shut down their factories two hours early the next few days because their workers wanted to help another German company from looking bad and losing too much money. One company's workers drove an hour or two away and worked a second shift for days on end ... for the competition.

All this to say, the German brand and keeping Germany running like a well-oiled machine is more important that castle-building one's personal empire. It's all about the kingdom, not the castle to a German.

So, bringing this little story back to the thread topic, I think these German auto makers probably care more about the good of the nation over thinking about their own company running another German auto manufacturer out of business.

[If I'm not mistaken, this happened with GM or Ford workers with Chrysler years ago, didn't it?]

On a completely different note, the airline industry is creating alliances and there will probably be only 4 or 5 airlines in 20 years. The same thing will happen with automakers too I think. It's just much easier to make dependable cars on a large scale.

Thoughts? Comments? Objections?

[Perfectlap]

makes sense...have VW make the cheap stuff, sheet metal, glass, plastic, ac, etc. and then Porsche puts in the expensive goodies (engines, wheels, brakes).

p.s.
Panamera looks lame, like another big Lexus sedan. I was hoping for a car to go head to head with the Maseratis

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

makes sense...have VW make the cheap stuff, sheet metal, glass, plastic, ac, etc. and then Porsche puts in the expensive goodies (engines, wheels, brakes).

Isn't BBS already supplying wheels to both?