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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Not that enthusiastic about the motor here either. Porsche 718 Boxster S (2016) review by CAR Magazine
Fuel economy same but more power.,l

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Good point. Having spent some time in Asia, I know that Asians care a LOT about image. You could poop in a box, write "Mercedes" on the side, and people will buy it, as long as it's expensive.

I am very badge conscious. If my bright red Boxster was not a Porsche, I doubt I would have bought it. i was very disappointed I couldn't get a gold-colored logo and gold wheels. In fact I am planning to add the 911 logo so that people don't think I bought the cheap Porsche. I also wear a Porsche hat, Porsche jacket and Porsche gloves when I drive even when it is 95oF. And I use a Porsche coffeee mug so that folks at work can know how narcissistic I am.
I only drive at the speed limit or slower so that fellow drivers can take a good look at my car and admire it. Love the adulation. And I keep a huge wad of one dollar bills in my Porsche wallet.
Silliness aside, the Asians I know who live in the good ole USA buy Lexus cars and SUVs. High end ones. They do not think European cars are reliable.
Maybe the Asians in Asia will soon realize that the Audi they bought is a POS.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

New 718 = Rodney Dangerfield.
Now I am paranoid that my Boxster might get stolen.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Have you paused and considered that possibly this is their plan? If this was 2000, it would have been foolish since they needed the Boxster for the company to survive as only the 911 was being built. Today, Box/Cay business is 10% of the business. These cars are the gateway cars. They don't really want you to buy one. You know that.

Now that Macan sales absolutely bury 981 sales, why would they care if you don't buy a 718? Look at it this way ...

If new customers buy one, PAG wins
If old customers buy one, PAG wins
If old customers won't buy a 718, some might be a 911. PAG wins
If old customers bail? No big loss. They have 5 times as many Macan customers. CUVs are obviously the cars sold and they are just expensive as the 718.

Win Win for PAG

And if the 960 comes in ... Win Win Win. The mid-engined guys get their dream car.

Admittedly it is a small fraction of sales, but it doesn't make any sense to spend R&D euros on new engines if the intention was to kill the car. As someone pointed out, market focus may be more for Asia, China in particular, and less US. That would make more sense. They will sell more of everything in China. That is a win-win. So what if they don't sell a few Boxsters and Caymans in the US. China's huge growing market will probably more than make up for it. Other Asian countries as well. If we, here in the US don't like it, we can always 'upgrade' to the 911. No company spends R&D money on a product on which it does not expect to increase sales and market share globally. I see Audis, MBs and BMWs on the streets of Delhi and Bangalore. And not just the low end cars. And all crawling along at 5 kmph. A PDK Cayman with a turbo four will do just fine. Putting the top down in a Boxster in Delhi would be committing suicide. A most miserable place.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

US midengined sales

2013 - 11782
2014 - 7292
2015 - 6663

China Mid-engined sales

2013 - 2903
2014 - 2860
2015 - 3829


3829/6663 = 57.4%

I would hardly call 57.4% of US sales a blip on the radar. And since the general trend in the US is down down down, and since Chinese Profits exceeded US profits in 2014 followed by Chinese delivered vehicles exceeded US delivered vehicle in 2015, the trend is very clear. The US is no longer the primary market and in regards to mid-engined cars, China will exceed the US in a few years.

But in no way is Chinese sales of B/C a blip on the radar.



I'm glad you brought that up. Governments set regulations and laws. Governments, at least democratically elected ones, are the will of the people. Discussing laws and regulations is an integral and essential part of auto enthusiasm. Whether it be emissions laws that effect us all, DOT standards, scandals, or whatever. They are very real, exist, and law abiding people abide them. They also change the face of the automotive world, whether we like it or not.

You do not have to dance around fact. But you do not get to make remarks concerning the people who make the laws and their agendas vice your own life view. That is virtual flaming and will not be tolerated as the rules clearly indicate.

When I bought my Boxster in 2013, the SA told me that their dealership was very concerned about the Cayennes they sold, to whom and where they ended up. Suposedly, there exists, a very lucrative smuggling racket for Cayennes in China because of the huge waiting periods, upto a year or more. Unless he was BSing me, Porsche apparently keeps a close eye on their dealers in the US to make sure that they are not enabling this smuggling.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

I drive with the AC on at full blast on a hot day with the top down in an effort to cool the hot ambient air. I am doing my part. Every little bit helps to combat warming.
Yes, I am not very mature even at my age.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

But if you really cared, you'd leave your refrigerator door open, to help your home A/C keep the house cool!

Good idea! But I fear that will ruin my craft beer and vegan pizza. There is only so much a dude can do.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Back to cars, what's the next GT4? A 718 with a 6? A 4?? Or is there nothing in the future?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I am looking at the past for my future Porsche purchases (potential). Check out this air-cooled 911.Used 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera

Looks nice and a beauty. I will be looking for a 991 GTS with with the 3.8 L and a manual over the coming years. Unless I am dead of course. Hopefully full of expensive scotch in my belly.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Porsche 718 Cayman driven: still one of the greats?

This one says the same thing. Sound is bad, otherwise the car drives very well. You decide whether you can live with the sound. I think there is some bias and resistance to change. Natural. Thankfully, I am not interested for now which is good for my wallet.

It wasn't even a cold start. There was heat in the four-cylinder block and the engine fired up immediately. But the ensuing cacophony was the worst I have ever heard from any internal combustion engine of any stripe. Something was clearly wrong, so I switched it off and looked at the dash. No, all was normal. I tried again, with exactly the same result.
So the new 718 Cayman's clattering, gurgling, chirking rattle is situation normal. Porsche did intend it to sound like that when it lopped two cylinders off its 911 six-cylinder turbo. The meister engineers from Weissach actually wanted a car that sounded as though it was running on two cylinders, or had dropped a valve guide into the inlet tract.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

Taking away that wail, that iconic pedigree from these cars, is probably considered sacrilegious to the existing customer base - and a sad day in Mudville. The 4 banger turbos are the future, but the NA flat 6 with its iconic wail is what it was all about. Sad day for enthusiasts.

Going 0.4 seconds quicker 0 - 60 is meaningless in a world buried in traffic. Missing the iconic wail? Sad.

You are too old school man! Folks now care about Apple car play, computer-aided rev matching, launch control, synthesized sounds, etc. It fits in perfectly with the increased power and perfromance of the turbo fours. Folks want a video game not a real car. Interestingly, when I was talking to my SA this morning, I muttered something about buying a 911 and he advised me to get a 997 with a manual. Times, they are changing.

 

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Re: The Worst Review of any Porsche I've read

I haven't heard the turbo four in person. Video reviews don't make it sound any good. Talked to my SA yesterday. He made a face and said it sounded like a Subaru. So I don't know. He is a car guy and likes my version of the Boxster and the 997 version (not 991) of the 911. He didn't seem to care that much for the new turbo six either from what I could tell. But that is his opinion. I have heard other turbo fours in person and don't like them especially the Subaru STI. That car sounds very gruff to me with no texture to the sound at all. Just volume. The NA 6 in my car has a very pleasing quality to the sound with a distinct change in tone at higher revs. At lower revs, it sounds like a turbine engine with some whistling which is OK. I like the sound much better above 4000 rpms. This is with the SE of course. Without it, the car was so quiet that I could hardly hear anything except above 5000 rpms.

 

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The new turbos, four or six, do not sound as nice as the NA flat sixes iMO. The turbo six sounds quite different, lots of whistling sounds, and I much prefer the sound of the 3.4 and 3.8 L engines. The new cars offer increased performance but performance was hardly lacking with the old engines. I was the dealership the other day and I can't say that I really like the sound of either of the new turbos after listening to them. Sound is important to me so the new Porsches are basically out of my consideration. But plenty of used ones around if and when I want to experience the 3.8L in a 911.

 

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So it appears the fears of the 718 sales in NA not being a resounding success have not been grounded in fact. For August 2016, with a resounding 61.48% of Aug, 15 981 sales, it appears the sales have been far greater than many expected. 911 sales didn't fair as well being ~80% of 2015 sales in the same time period. Porsche Reports August 2016 Retail Sales

And someone didn't think 718 sales would be booming?

Entry level Macan is doing well. Macan the savior! Surprising to see 911 sales down despite such positive reviews. And no discounts from dealers.

 

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I am not sure how that can just be throw out there as fact. I can show otherwise in fact >5%.

OK. I will qualify that. Last time I checked a few months back in my area, MSRP was it. Good to know you can get 5% off which is what I got for my Boxster in 2013.

 

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Well, I hope that sales of these cars don't fall off a cliff. Then Porsche will kill them and that would be shame. The price increase can't have helped. MY car's MSRP was 67K in 2013. Similarly equipped, three years later, it is 74k. That is a big jump. Would I pay 74k if I had to buy the 718 Boxster S today? Probably not.
Maybe the price increase also reflects the lower sales figures of the 911. Macans, the new entry level model especially, are cheaper and/or get you more options for the same money. You can get a decently equipped Macan S for 74k and all you get for that money is a stripper Boxster S with a manual. Have to look the sales of other sports cars to see what the trend is but I haven't looked.

 

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I think you have a Cayman, not a Boxster. Top up, a Boxster really needs the blind spot warning. Or maybe you only drive on two-lane roads. Yes, you can angle the mirrors out, but still, on a rainy night, busy freeway, sudden need to avoid an obstacle...

Different story on the 914, which has great visibility.

Nope. My Boxster does not need blind spot warning. Just proper adjustment of mirrors. Never have had a problem even in crowded highways around Boston. My Volvos have them. I find them a nuisance. I perceive the arguments here as old school versus new. Thankfully we can indulge in what we like. New Porches are catching up with the rest. If you want old school, that is still available. I think my time stopped with the 981 and the 991. I can't go beyond that. In fact I keep looking at pics of the 997. But I won't disparage the 718. If that is where Porsche is going, I don't have to follow them.

 

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That is one big problem I have with the new turbos from Porsche with the 718 and 911. The performance is very impressive. Sound is very subjective. Some folks like it, some don't. But turbo replacement costs on a Porsche? Yikes! And the nature of the power delivery. Not my cup of tea, I mean my dram of scotch.

 

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I wouldn't have bought one, a 718S Boxster, if that was the choice back in 2013. Not with the big jump in price and no flat six.

 

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911 sales down 39% in September.

Again, a big jump in price, an engine that does not sound as good ( at least from the outside) as the NA engines. Documented turbo lag. I see no compelling reason to buy one instead of a CPO 991 with the 3.8. Unless you care for the upgraded navigation.

 

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If that is true, then its up quite a bit. The last time PAG or PCNA said anything about that maybe 5 years ago was >$400K but $650 makes sense.

I think sometimes the box/cay buyers have no idea as to how much money the 911 buyers spend or have. We all live in our own world and can complain about the cost of service or the high costs of options. OTH, the truly rich just don't care. They special order $220K cars and walk. Some don't care about credit. They need no credit. They literally change cars because they don't like the color.

I might search for a coupon to get a few dollars off a meal. Meanwhile, the wealthy flip cars like pancakes.

Hmmm.. always thought/assumed new 911 buyer has a mimimum seven figure annual income and the Boxster/Cayman buyer (the S models) about half of that. 650K is a very nice income but not that high if you live in some of the big cities. Try buying a decent house inside the 128 belt around Boston and 650k annual. if you have a family and are paying for college, you won't feel very rich.
Used buyers, I have no idea.