[papasmurf]

Cars have not been lighter in a long time (since the 80's). All the early 90's sports cars (300zx, supra, 3000gt/stealth, vette, viper) were 3000+ lbs and many of them were much closer to 3500. The nsx and a few ferrari's were some of the few that were around the 3000 lb mark. I am a huge advocate for cars getting lighter (~2800) as I think it would do wonders for fuel economy and their would be no need for cars to have 400+ hp to have the performance they have today but it is not going to happen until people are content to do without navigation, backup cameras, A/C in the seats and glovebox, etc that they have come to expect of cars at this price point. When you can get many of those items on a kia or hyundai, it makes no sense not to have them on a car that costs 4-5 times as much. I am not fond of the trend of the 911 and boxster getting larger with each generation but will live with it as long as the weight stays the same. Porsche still builds some of the lightest cars on the road. Just check out the weight of a lamborghini murcielago or ferrari 599....they are anything but light weight and have a lot more exotic materials in them than any porsche currently in production. Porsche is doing what it has to do to sell cars....no one will buy a stripped down 911 or boxster in volume numbers...at least not at the prices they are selling at now. If you lower the price and the sales go up, then you anger those that think you are cheapening the brand. No matter what they do, there are going to be those that are upset. They are simply catering to the demand and marketplace. The lotus elise is a great lightweight car stripped down to the basics (like you suggest porsche should move towards again) but they are not exactly flying off the showroom floor and on every street corner are they?