March 2007 Panorama – Sales Figures

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

so if the CaymanS is a 987 variant, then is a 3.4 Boxster the same price as CaymanS?
And similarly, is the 3.6 996 Cab and 3.6 996 Coupe priced equally?

Hi,

Ha Ha... I doubt it, but Porsche never assigned another Project Number to the Caymen - it truly is a Boxster Coupe (probably to the chagrin of Cayman Owners who were the first in History to pay more for a Hardtop than a Cab)- right down to it's Project #...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Chills]

I am pretty surprised at the Cayman numbers. I thought with all of the glowing reviews of the car and it's lower price than a 911 it would outsell the rear-engine Porsche.

[Ronzi]

I still think the Cayman was intended as a fall-back race chassis when the red cars (or whoever) started to kick the crap out of the 911 in GT racing. So, they (Porsche) really don't care that much whether they sell that many of them, since it's basically a marketing deal anyway.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by Ronzi

I still think the Cayman was intended as a fall-back race chassis when the red cars (or whoever) started to kick the crap out of the 911 in GT racing. So, they (Porsche) really don't care that much whether they sell that many of them, since it's basically a marketing deal anyway.

I believe that you are wrong on that point. I think Porsche ALWAYS cares about how many units they sell. It is a money AND a pride issue and Piech wrote the book on pride and arrogance.

My dealer tells me that privately, Porsche is VERY disappointed in the Cayman/Boxster sales. They scratch their heads too, as they know what a great car it really is.

My take, is THE PRICE FOR BOTH IS TOO HIGH!

That is just my take.

[super66]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

My take, is THE PRICE FOR BOTH IS TOO HIGH!

That is just my take.

I agree and disagree with you on this Mr Lee.....The boxster I think carries a fair price for those that want to own a Porsche....the cayman is a rip because it is priced above the boxster ESPECIALLY once they gave them the same engine (we need a laughing spinning face icon here)

More power for the dollar, maybe....but by no means would I want to see the price dip and any yahoo buying my beloved boxster...

on the other hand I do think the sticker scares people, I couldn't drop the 52 and change they wanted for my base boxster, but once I saw them come all the way down to 42....we were talking....

a porsche at 42 versus an infiniti or 350 Z at 36-38...I'll go Porsche....

MN....this is one of the funniest and true observations "it truly is a Boxster Coupe (probably to the chagrin of Cayman Owners who were the first in History to pay more for a Hardtop than a Cab)"

[Ronzi]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

I believe that you are wrong on that point. I think Porsche ALWAYS cares about how many units they sell. It is a money AND a pride issue and Piech wrote the book on pride and arrogance.

My dealer tells me that privately, Porsche is VERY disappointed in the Cayman/Boxster sales. They scratch their heads too, as they know what a great car it really is.

My take, is THE PRICE FOR BOTH IS TOO HIGH!

That is just my take.

I agree with you , Rich, to the extent that Porsche is always primarily interested in 1.) making money, and 2.) protecting the Porsche name and brand. That's why they sue (or threaten to) the bejezzus out of anybody that uses the Porsche crest without authorization.
Usually their marketing research is spot-on when it comes to noodling out how to approach the marketplace. If they really thought the Cayman would sell in large numbers in spite of being a less useful automobile at almost the same price as compared to the 911, then somebody in market research screwed up, BAD.
The only thing that makes sense to me is that, in addition to another model to fill a miniscule slot in their product line, they felt it might be needed in the racing/marketing program.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by Ronzi

I agree with you , Rich, to the extent that Porsche is always primarily interested in 1.) making money, and 2.) protecting the Porsche name and brand. That's why they sue (or threaten to) the bejezzus out of anybody that uses the Porsche crest without authorization.
Usually their marketing research is spot-on when it comes to noodling out how to approach the marketplace. If they really thought the Cayman would sell in large numbers in spite of being a less useful automobile at almost the same price as compared to the 911, then somebody in market research screwed up, BAD.
The only thing that makes sense to me is that, in addition to another model to fill a miniscule slot in their product line, they felt it might be needed in the racing/marketing program.

You may be right. Sometimes I am not clear at all what the Porsche strategy really is. I think it is whatever Piech is feeling that day.

Time will tell I guess.