Will Porsche do themselves in?

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

From my experience, Exclusivity seems to be much more important to Porsche Owners than just about any other group of Enthusiats, except maybe Ferrari Guys.

As I've said before, Badging means nothing to me at all. I owned my last Porsche in 1983 ('67 912). Since that time, I've owned 2 Lotus, a Jag, and one Ferarri. My Esprit is one of 61 made, that even more exclusive than the 550 Spyder!. I don't own it for that, I own it for how it drives!.

If I came across a car with the Styling, Performance and Feel of my Boxster, I wouldn't care if it sported a Yugo Badge, it would still be an Excellent Car, and one which I would want to own.

Porsche doesn't care if you want Exclusivity, you are not a Customer of theirs, you were, they already got your money. They're going after the guy who has yet to own one, and an Entry-Level Car is a way of accomplishing this. Besides, moving the Brand toward the Center of the Market allows them to expand their line into other types of Cars in the Future as well. And, who nows where the Porsche/VW relationship will go in the Future? It is already rumored that in addition to the 18.5% stake Porsche already has, that they're likely to pick-up another 3%-5% in '06. Consolidation is a mainstay in Business Strategies, so a move in this direction would not be at all surprising either.

All this Chicken Little - The Sky is Falling retoric is kind of Silly. A little Reality Check - Porsche is going to do whatever they think they need to in order to sell more cars and to increase their Shareholders Equity. That's what they're in business for, not to satisfy your demand for Exclusivity...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99