Is the Panamera Destined to Be Porsche's Edsel?
Ducati Minor
The US economy is crumbling, and the effects are beginning to spread to Europe and Asia.
Along with that catastrophe, Porsche is going full-steam ahead with its Panamera--another "four-door coupe."
What few images we can take point to the obvious: this thing ain't gonna win a beauty contest...unless you like 'em big and plump. Porsche has come a long way from postwar years; it has become techno powerhouse and built state-of-the-art and class-leading automobiles. But with a SUV in its lineup, increasing weight on its sports cars, tough competition in fast-paced market, and now a divisive sedan, is Porsche about to reach a turning point for the worst?
Or will there be enough rich people with bad taste to make the Panamera a hit?
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Ducati Minor
Let's provide a visual:
http://www.motortrend.com/future/spied_vehicles/112_0707_2010_porsche_pa...
Tom Martin
Mena
Unfortunately, I agree with tmartin. People will buy the crap out it just because it says Porsche. If you think it's bad now, wait till we go all electric and all you have to sell a car with is the nameplate.
Tom Martin
I, however, don't think the Panamera will be crap. Porsche has a very hard time doing crap, so they mostly don't. The Cayenne gave them their biggest physics challenge, and they tried but ultimately failed. The Panamera isn't nearly the physics problem the Cayenne was, and I (with no knowledge other than 11 prior Porsches owned) predict it will be a very good car. It will be neither ugly nor beautiful, but if driving dynamics are your thing, it won't matter. It will also sell to some clueless brand-mongers. Again, so what? Every ultra-premium car is driven by some form of sleaze.
Ducati Minor
Oh man martin, if I weren't a mostly hetero male, I'd marry you--you were almost spot-on.
As much as I liked the point you made, I diagree about the Cayenne. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Cayenne is a good SUV, but a terrible Porsche. The Cayenne performance, handling, and off-road abilities are superb. As an SUV, the Cayenne is excellent with regard to the "sport" in "sport-utility." The Cayenne's only class drawbacks that I see are that it lacks Mercedes's level of luxury or BMW's total balance of upscale comfort and versatility.
The Cayenne's problem is that Porsche tried to incorporate a sports car's character into a truck. That doesn't work. In fact, I would say others have done a better job of placing sportiness into design and road manners: the Infiniti FX35 is one example. BMW's polarizing X6 (which I like) is another. And I've contended from the start that Porsche should have made its SUV as much a crossover as possible, thereby preserving some carlike traits into the overall package.
Porsche has built crap. The 914 comes to mind; so does the 924. It isn't often, but it has happened. I don't think this Porsche sedan will be all that horrible on the road, though.
Tom Martin
Thanks but no thanks on the (almost) proposal.
I'd agree that starting with an SUV and trying to make it a sports car was on the misguided side. I still wouldn't call it crap though (if I wanted a fully off-road capable SUV, I think I'd consider the Cayenne).
I think your 914 and 924 point (never drove them so I don't really know) shows the degree to which Porsche has a hard time with crap. That was 25-35 years ago! Not trying to be a fanboy here, just saying that crap is a strong word and it doesn't fit Porsche since 1990. The Accord Hybrid was crap. The Trailblazer is crap. The old MB SLK was crap. The Fusion is crap. Don't get me started on Buicks in the first half of this decade. BMW, Jag, Audi have all had clunkers in that period. The SC430 was crap. In Porsche-land, the first-gen 996 wasn't great, but if we're talking crap, no.
Ducati Minor
That last statement of mine came out wrong. I didn't mean to leave impression I was calling the Cayenne crap; I meant to indicate that Stuttgart has built vehicles beneath its reputation. The 914/6 was just a botched VW/Porsche project. The 924's kinks were worked out with fine results in the 944, and then (one my favorites) the 968. But, yes, the two duds were from a long while back. But I'd still say even the revered 356 wasn't a great car for its time, and the early (901) 911s were underpowered handfuls on the track.
The Ford Fusion takes a lot of flack from fanboys because of all the Mondeo's acclaim. I'd rather have that Mondeo over a Fusion any day. But the Fusion with the V-6 and all-wheel-drive, I always repeat, is a good sedan. The V-6 could take a power boost, but it's ample. The AWD gives you tight traction. And the cabin is well above the Taurus it replaced. The Milan even more so.
Since you were mentioning the Lexus SC430 (which I don't hate), might as well add the old Audi TT: good-looking, but that's all.
Tom Martin
I'm with you on the early 911, though it is hard to remember how our brains felt in 1964.