718 sales poor

[Giller]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

This is by far the cars biggest weakness. The 968 was a very good 4 cylinder, but no one wanted to pay that much for one. When I think 4 cylinder at most I think of my mothers Camry or of domestic economy cars, saturns and etc.

You can sell a 718 still because it is fast and stylish, but you can't expect a 4 cylinder motor to not devalue the car regardless of speed improvements.

I want one pretty bad and it makes the 981 look ugly by comparison in many aspects, (at this point I think 986 and 718 are the purest exterior designs) however I wouldn't pay a premium over a 981 gts to get a car that reminds me more of an Audi TT at most rather than a pocket Carrera gt.

BMW M2 - premium sport coupe - 4 cylinder engine. Mercedes AMG Cl45 - 4 cylinder engine. Alfa Romeo 4C - 4 cylinder engine. Yeah, those are some low-end, dowdy vehicles!

Seriously people, a 4-cylinder will devalue it? Yeah, just like water-cooled has devalued all those cars.....or power steering, or any number of 'silly' technological advances.

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by Giller

BMW M2 - premium sport coupe - 4 cylinder engine. Mercedes AMG Cl45 - 4 cylinder engine. Alfa Romeo 4C - 4 cylinder engine. Yeah, those are some low-end, dowdy vehicles!



Seriously people, a 4-cylinder will devalue it? Yeah, just like water-cooled has devalued all those cars.....or power steering, or any number of 'silly' technological advances.

How much of a sales success are these cars?

Yes the introduction of the new alpine and 4c and lotus proves small sports cars with a 4 can be great... but great sellers....?

[Giller]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

How much of a sales success are these cars?

Yes the introduction of the new alpine and 4c and lotus proves small sports cars with a 4 can be great... but great sellers....?

What do you define 'success' by? These aren't Fords, they aren't going to fly off the shelf. But you weren't arguing success, you were arguing no one would take a 4 cylinder engine seriously. That is just wrong.

So far, Porsche is quite happy with the 718 sales - and expectations when the nicer weather rolls in we will see an uptick.

These are high end sports cars that appeal to a limited market. They aren't going to sell hundreds of thousands of these a year....

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by Giller

What do you define 'success' by? These aren't Fords, they aren't going to fly off the shelf. But you weren't arguing success, you were arguing no one would take a 4 cylinder engine seriously. That is just wrong.



So far, Porsche is quite happy with the 718 sales - and expectations when the nicer weather rolls in we will see an uptick.



These are high end sports cars that appeal to a limited market. They aren't going to sell hundreds of thousands of these a year....

I think it's a good car, I think it has a lot of merit. But let's be honest without the badge it would fail. It's worth less to most consumers, whatever improvements have been made don't outweigh the loss of the 6. It may still do well but for the same price as the last car it WILL sell less.... all else held equal of course.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

whatever improvements have been made don't outweigh the loss of the 6. It may still do well but for the same price as the last car it WILL sell less.... all else held equal of course.

I think it will be the other way. The 718 will outsell all flat 6 Boxsters. And when they dump manual transmission it will sell as if it were only a paddle shift car from the start. The people who can buy these cars new, for the most part, are buying the badge status not the badge heritage.. In other words they don't know Steve McQueen from Steve Harvey.
But on the flip side unless its a limited production engine, and this is true of any water cooled Porsche, the car's depreciation will be severe. You'll be able to get a 718 cheap sooner than it took to buy a 986/987 cheap.