Posted by Marc Gerges on July 17, 2010, 9:50 am
>>
>> And what about Porsche, what single core product, in your view, were
>> they overly dependent on?
>
> 911. Trouble is, they can't kill it the "ass-engined Nazi slot-cars".
> But Porsche has diversified quite successfully from one product without
> losing any of its reputation for making superbly built, very fast cars.
They tried that in the late 70s, with the 924/944 and 928 series. It
nearly killed them.
They started again in the late 90s, with Boxster, Cayenne and that
4-door-weird-thingy. This time it got them, since they've been taken
over by Volkswagen.
cu
.\arc
Posted by The Older Gentleman on July 17, 2010, 11:55 am
> >>
> >> And what about Porsche, what single core product, in your view, were
> >> they overly dependent on?
> >
> > 911. Trouble is, they can't kill it the "ass-engined Nazi slot-cars".
> > But Porsche has diversified quite successfully from one product without
> > losing any of its reputation for making superbly built, very fast cars.
>
> They tried that in the late 70s, with the 924/944 and 928 series. It
> nearly killed them.
Oh yes. The 924 was a smart move, actually, and I think it sold quite
well, but the Porsche cognosenti didn't really like the idea of
something that had an engine from.... an Audi van, wasn't it?
>
> They started again in the late 90s, with Boxster, Cayenne and that
> 4-door-weird-thingy. This time it got them, since they've been taken
> over by Volkswagen.
>
I think the Cayenne pre-dates the VW acquisition, BICBW.
--
BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Honda CB400F Triumph Street Triple
Suzuki TS250ER GN250 Damn, back to six bikes!
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com
Posted by J. Clarke on July 17, 2010, 1:15 pm
On 7/17/2010 11:55 AM, The Older Gentleman wrote:
>>>>
>>>> And what about Porsche, what single core product, in your view, were
>>>> they overly dependent on?
>>>
>>> 911. Trouble is, they can't kill it the "ass-engined Nazi slot-cars".
>>> But Porsche has diversified quite successfully from one product without
>>> losing any of its reputation for making superbly built, very fast cars.
>>
>> They tried that in the late 70s, with the 924/944 and 928 series. It
>> nearly killed them.
> Oh yes. The 924 was a smart move, actually, and I think it sold quite
> well, but the Porsche cognosenti didn't really like the idea of
> something that had an engine from.... an Audi van, wasn't it?
The big problem with the 924 was that it was intended to be a Volkswagen
and then they changed their minds and called it a Porsche and so it had
the same problem as the 914--it was never thought of as a "proper"
Porsche. The 928 didn't have that problem but they treated it as
something upscale from the 911 IIRC instead of an alternative.
>> They started again in the late 90s, with Boxster, Cayenne and that
>> 4-door-weird-thingy. This time it got them, since they've been taken
>> over by Volkswagen.
>>
> I think the Cayenne pre-dates the VW acquisition, BICBW.
Posted by Marc Gerges on July 18, 2010, 5:47 am
>>
>> They tried that in the late 70s, with the 924/944 and 928 series. It
>> nearly killed them.
>
> Oh yes. The 924 was a smart move, actually, and I think it sold quite
> well, but the Porsche cognosenti didn't really like the idea of
> something that had an engine from.... an Audi van, wasn't it?
IIRC there's been assorted suspension bits and interior elements from
Audi, but the engine was propper Volkswagen :)
>> They started again in the late 90s, with Boxster, Cayenne and that
>> 4-door-weird-thingy. This time it got them, since they've been taken
>> over by Volkswagen.
>>
> I think the Cayenne pre-dates the VW acquisition, BICBW.
Is the point I'm trying to make: they strayed from the one, true 911,
made Boxsters, made SUV's, made this i-still-don't-remember-the-name
saloon, and got themselves gobbled up by VW.
I don't wanna argue one way or the other that diversifying your brand is
a good or bad thing, or what it does - just wanted to raise an example
where diversification led to a company take-over.
I couldn't care more about HD's products than about Porsche, but HD seem
to be coping quite nicely. I personally think that offering my dad's
bike exclusively is going to bite them in the ass. I read one of these
days that the average age of the new HD buyer goes up some 0.7 years
each calendar year. I've noticed they started offering three-wheelers,
which makes sense in that light, but will only be a temporary fix.
cu
.\arc
Posted by The Older Gentleman on July 18, 2010, 6:24 am
> Is the point I'm trying to make: they strayed from the one, true 911,
> made Boxsters, made SUV's, made this i-still-don't-remember-the-name
> saloon, and got themselves gobbled up by VW.
I don't *think* the takeover was anything to do with diversification. It
was more to do with a corporate battle. IIRC, orsche tried to take over
VW, and VW's share price rocketed, making it (briefly) the most valuable
car maker on the planet.
Then the wheels fell off somehow, and VW wound up owning Porsche. Or
something.
<Googles>
Yeah, it was indeed something ike that. A corporate cock-up. Interesting
reading - Wiki has lots but it's about a year out of date now.
Your comments about the average age of the HD rider is interesting - if
you want a good example f how an ageing population is really creating
havoc, look at Japan right now.
--
BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Honda CB400F Triumph Street Triple
Suzuki TS250ER GN250 Damn, back to six bikes!
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com
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>> And what about Porsche, what single core product, in your view, were
>> they overly dependent on?
>
> 911. Trouble is, they can't kill it the "ass-engined Nazi slot-cars".
> But Porsche has diversified quite successfully from one product without
> losing any of its reputation for making superbly built, very fast cars.