More Than 60% Since 1948!
 

Porsche states that, "more than 60% of all Porsches ever produced since 1948 are still on the road today!"

Sounds impressive to me. I don't want to debate the validity, because I believe it to be true. My question is as follows; is this a really big deal and does it say very much?

Hi,

I do question the 60%, but believe it's a high percentage whatever it is. This is probably more true of any Premium or Sports Car, than say a LeSabre of Galaxie 500. I suspect that the percentages are even higher for Lambo, Ferrari, Jaguar and such.

But, these things didn't just stay on the Road. They were maintained with countless man-hours and $$$ to keep them on the Road. Says more to me about their Owners than the Manufacturers...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Interesting figure, but the figure I heard was 100% of Porsches that were maintained using Mobil 1 at the recommended service intervals... :)

I think this speaks to the intrinsic attraction the cars have had over the years.

The number is similarly high for cars such as Corvettes, Ferraris, and the like.

Motorheads love their toys!!!!!

A Partially Misleading Claim
 

Remember that Porsche started out as a very low volume manufacturer. I'm willing to wager that a larger proportion of Porsches have been produced in the most recent twenty years (1986-2006) than in the first 38 years (1948-1986).

While the the "60% of Porsches still on the road" includes many 40 and 50-year old cars, most of that 60% is probably composed of cars 20-years old and newer. This is still impressive, but not as impressive as it first appears.

Dead right.
I don't know what the early car (356 model) total production figures were without looking it up, but they are pretty low. The total production of the Speedster ('55-'59) was something like 4,500 cars, for example.

Nevertheless, the build quality of the air cooled cars was extraordinary. The last couple years of 356 production ('63-'64) is reputed to have had an average warranty cost of $8 per car.

In a Porsche "coffee table" book that friend gave me there is a picture of Ferry Porsche standing in front of the 5000th Porsche as it leaves the factory in March 1954. Later on in the book there is a similar picture of him in front of the 70,000th Porsche in March 1956.

I believe that somewhere around 165,000 Boxsters have been built since 1997, so you can see that the higher production numbers at the end of the 1948-2006 period are skewing that 60% statistic.

If the story that Porsche is trying to tell is that there cars are durable and cherished by their owners - I agree with them. I just wish they didn't resort to using this kind of claim.

Also, I've seen pictures of old 356's that have been resurrected from piles of rust. That is more of a tribute to the Porsche enthusiast and the ability of the cars' design to stir the enthusiast's soul than to the manufacturing quality.

This >60% Claim comes from the Boxster Brochure in the section dedicated to the "Environment" and more specifically "Materials & Recycling". Strange but true. I think Porsche is using this claim more for a statement of being enviromentally friendly than one of quality.